Early North African Christianity

L. Eastman David

Description

An internationally recognized scholar highlights the important role the North African church played in the development of Christian thought. This accessible introduction brings Africa back to the center of the study of Christian history by focusing on key figures and events that influenced the history and trajectory of Christianity as a whole. Written and designed for the classroom, the book zeroes in on five turning points to show how North African believers significantly shaped Christian theology, identity, and practice in ways that directly impact the church today.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• North Africa
• History of Christianity
• History of religions
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 17 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493431328
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2021 by David L. Eastman
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3132-8
Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Unless otherwise attributed, translations of ancient texts are from the author.
Dedication
This book is dedicated with deep respect and gratitude to J. Patout Burns Jr.,
renowned scholar of early African Christianity, dear friend and colleague to many of us who are endeavoring to pick up the mantle. His conversations in heaven with Augustine will be worth overhearing.
Contents
Cover i
Half Title Page ii
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Dedication v
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
1. A (Re)Introduction to Africa 1
Part 1: Perpetua and Felicity 7
2. The Life and Times of the Early Martyrs 9
3. Perpetua and Felicity: Models of Christian Devotion 19
4. Perpetua: Leadership and Controversy 27
Part 2: Tertullian 37
5. The Life and Times of Tertullian 39
6. Tertullian Defending the Faith: Apologetics and Heretics 49
7. Tertullian Defining the Faith: The Fullness of the Trinity 57
Part 3: Cyprian of Carthage 67
8. The Life and Times of Cyprian 69
9. Cyprian: On Forgiveness and Unity 79
10. Cyprian: The Rebaptism Controversy 89
Part 4: The Donatist Controversy 99
11. The Life and Times of the Later Martyrs 101
12. Caecilianists versus Donatists: Rival Churches 111
13. Donatists versus Caecilianists: Rival Martyrs 121
Part 5: Augustine of Hippo 131
14. The Life and Times of Augustine 133
15. Augustine: Theologian of the West 143
16. Augustine: Debate with Pelagius on Grace and the Will 153
Conclusion 163
Select Resources for Further Reading 169
Index 173
Back Cover 175
Figures
Figure 1.1 Map of Roman North Africa 2
Figure 2.1 Person condemned to the wild beasts (El Djem) 15
Figure 3.1 Mosaic image of Perpetua (Ravenna) 20
Figure 4.1 Montanist holy city of Pepouza 28
Figure 5.1 Remains of a Christian basilica in Carthage (Damous el Karita) 40
Figure 6.1 Roman amphitheater of Carthage 54
Figure 7.1 Tertullian’s legal metaphor for the Trinity 61
Figure 8.1 Roman emperor making an offering to the gods in honor of the three sacred animals: pig, sheep, and bull 72
Figure 9.1 Mosaic image of Cyprian (Ravenna) 82
Figure 10.1 Baptistery at Tipasa 92
Figure 11.1 Person condemned to the wild beasts (Tripoli) 104
Figure 12.1 Caecilianist and Donatist bishops of Carthage 117
Figure 12.2 Donatist baptistery at Timgad 119
Figure 13.1 Caecilianist and Donatist martyrs: lines of succession 126
Figure 13.2 Uppenna mosaic linking the Abitinian martyrs to the apostles 128
Figure 14.1 Baptistery of St. Thecla (Milan) 139
Figure 14.2 Basilica of Augustine (Hippo Regius) 140
Figure 14.3 Baptistery of Augustine (Hippo Regius) 141
Figure 15.1 Mosaic image of Augustine (Palermo) 145
Figure 15.2 Augustine’s relational model of the Trinity 149
Figure 16.1 Cathedra of Augustine’s church (Hippo) 156
Acknowledgments
This book is based on a course that I taught in Cairo in the summers of 2014 and 2015: “Readings in Early African Christianity: Carthage and Its Vicinity.” The course was taught for the Center for Early African Christianity (CEAC) under the direction of Dr. Michael Glerup and hosted by the Rev. Dr. Jos Strengholt. The students in this course provided invaluable feedback, and the CEAC has continued to provide generous support throughout the production of this volume. I would also like to express my gratitude to the late Thomas C. Oden, who was the founding director of the CEAC and who did so much to raise awareness of the early Christian history of Africa, particularly for readers outside the academy.
Kiersten Payne was my research assistant at Ohio Wesleyan University in the initial stages of moving this project from lecture to text. Her comments also contributed greatly to preparing the material for a broader reading audience.
I have also benefited from interactions with colleagues at the University of Regensburg in Germany as part of the German Research Foundation (DFG) Collaborative Research Group “Beyond Canon: Heterotopias of Religious Authority in Ancient Christianity.” This international group studies the reception of canonical traditions in early Christianity. My interactions with them have informed this book’s discussions of the interpretation and reception of the life and letters of the apostle Paul.
Finally, I wish to thank my dear friends and colleagues David Wilhite, Chris de Wet, Young Kim, and James Papandrea for fruitful discussions of big ideas in liminal spaces.
Abbreviations 1 Apol. Justin, First Apology Acta Cypr. Acts of Cyprian Acta mart. Scillit. Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs Adv. Donat. Optatus of Milevis, Against the Donatists Apol. Tertullian, Apology Civ. Augustine, The City of God Coll. John Cassian, Conferences Comm. Jer . Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah in Six Books Conf. Augustine, Confessions CPD Augustine, To the Donatists after the Conference Dies nat. Pet. Paul . Augustine, Sermon on the Birthday of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Enchir . Augustine, Enchiridion ( On Faith, Hope, and Love ) Ep. Epistle Grat. Chr . Augustine, On the Grace of Christ and Original Sin Haer. Augustine, On Heresies Hist. eccl . Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History Inst . John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Jejun. Tertullian, On Fasting: Against the Carnal Believers Laps. Cyprian, On the Lapsed Mort. Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors Nupt. Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence Oboed . Augustine, On Obedience Orat. Gregory of Nazianzus, Orations Pass. Dat. Saturn. Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs Pass. Perp. Passion of Perpetua and Felicity Praescr. Tertullian, Prescription against Heretics Prax. Tertullian, Against Praxeas Trin. Augustine, On the Trinity Vir. ill. Jerome, On Illustrious Men Vit. Cypr. Pontius, Life of Cyprian
1 A (Re)Introduction to Africa
Defining “Africa”
This book focuses on early Christian Africa, but we need to clarify what we mean by “Africa.” If we say “Africa” today, many people think of the entire continent. This can create misunderstandings because when media outlets refer to problems in “Africa,” they mask the great variety among the different nations on this enormous and beautiful continent. Egypt is very different from Kenya, and both of these places are quite different from South Africa.
Because we are studying the ancient world, in this book we are going to define Africa by its ancient boundaries. In our period of study, the northern coast of the continent was under the control of the Roman Empire, and the Romans called this particular area “Africa.” Africa for the Romans did not include Egypt (which they just called Egypt—Aegyptus) or anywhere south of the Sahara. So in this book Africa refers not to the whole continent but to a very particular part of the northern coast of the continent.
For the sake of clarity, many scholars of early Christianity refer to this region as “North Africa.” They want to be more specific about what is and is not included.
The map in Figure 1.1 shows the area of Roman Africa. It stretched from modern-day Libya all the way to the northwest coast of the continent in modern-day Morocco.

Figure 1.1 Map of Roman North Africa [ © Baker Publishing Group ]
Now let us look in more detail at the map of this region. In the Roman Empire, Africa was actually divided into four smaller regions for the sake of administration. Proconsular Africa covered much of modern Tunisia and northern stretches of Libya. It included Carthage, the largest and most important city in this entire region. (It was called Proconsular Africa because this was where the proconsul, or regional governor, resided.)
For a long period of time prior to Roman rule, Carthage controlled this part of the world, even including Sicily. Carthage was an ancient economic and military superpower. Because the Romans and Carthaginians kept running into each other, a series of three wars, called the Punic Wars, eventually erupted between these two empires. Rome finally came out on top, but only by a narrow margin. The famous Carthaginian general Hannibal, who marched his army across the Alps in winter (including his war elephants), very nearly conquered Rome at one point.
But Rome finally won and took over this region, and Carthage remained a key city. This was true before Christianity arrived here, and it remained true after Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. Carthage became one of the most significant cities in early Christianity, and the relationship between Carthage and Rome remained important and was, as we will see in this book, sometimes strained.
Farther to the west, including part of modern Algeria, was Numidia. This region also included a number of important cities. Hippo Regius (“Royal Hippo,” modern Annaba) is probably the most famous. “Hippo” was a Latinized form of the city’s older name in the Punic language, and “Regius” designates that the ancient kings of Numidia used to reside there.
In Christian history, Hippo’s most famous resident was a bishop named Augustine (St. Augustine), who will be the focus of part 5 of this book. He served as the city’s bishop from 395 or 396 CE until his death in 430. He was also bo