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Handout 41 |
Christian marriage according to Tertullian |
| Tertullian
here writes to his wife to say what she is to do when he is dead. Having
asked her not to remarry, he nevertheless accepts that she may do so if
her next husband is a Christian. Tertullian is thus led on to describe
Christian marriage. Some scholars have regarded this text as an
indication, of a Christian ceremony of marriage from the second century
on. Today the majority think that Tertullian simply wants to say, with
reference to St. Paul, that faith transforms the marriage of
Christians.
Where can I find the words to describe adequately the happiness of that marriage which the church cements, which the oblation confirms and the blessing seals? The angels proclaim and the heavenly Father ratifies it ... "What kind of yoke is that of two Christians united in one hope, one desire, one discipline, and one service? Both are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, nothing separates them, either in the spirit or in the flesh; on the contrary they are truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh is one, so is the spirit. Together they pray, together they prostrate themselves together they observe the fasts; they teach each other, exhort each other, encourage each other. They are both equal in the church of God, equal at the banquet of God, equal in trials, persecutions, consolations ...Tertullian, To His Wife II, 8, 6-8. |
