Pseudo-Tertullian is the scholarly name for the unknown author of ''Adversus Omnes Haereses'', an appendix to the work ''De praescriptionem haereticorum'' of
Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of La ...
. It lists 32
heresies
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
, and there is consensus that this work is not by Tertullian himself.
A traditional theory is that the work is a Latin translation of a Greek original, a lost work ''Syntagma'' written by Hippolytus, c. 220. Recent scholarship, agreeing with a theory of
Richard Adelbert Lipsius, suggests that this work ''Syntagma'' was the common source for
Philastrius
Philastrius (also Philaster or Filaster) Bishop of Brescia, was one of the bishops present at a synod held in Aquileia in 381. Augustine of Hippo met him at Milan about 383, or perhaps a little later (St. Augustine, ''Ep.'' ccxxii). He composed a ...
and the ''Panarion'' of
Epiphanius, also.
The name "Pseudo-Tertullian" is also applied to the author of a poem written against
Marcion
Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...
. The ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' describes it as "
doggerel
Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is deri ...
hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It wa ...
s", and mentions two theories: that the poem was written by
Commodian
Commodianus (Commodianus) was a Christian Latin poet, who flourished about AD 250.
The only ancient writers who mention him are Gennadius, presbyter of Massilia (end of 5th century), in his ''De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis'', and Pope Gelasius i ...
; and that ''Adversus Omnes Haereses'' was written by
Victorinus of Pettau
Saint Victorinus of Pettau (also Ptuj or Poetovio; died 303 or 304) was an Early Christian ecclesiastical writer who flourished about 270, and who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. A Bishop of Poetovio (modern Ptuj in ...
.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Marcionites
/ref>
Notes
External links
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