Christian Assembly in 197 CE: The Witness of Tertullian, Part 3
Post #3 Carthage, North Africa, in 197 CE. Tertullian describes a gathering of believers in Jesus for his Roman audience.
“We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final consummation.” (Oramus etiam pro imperatoribus, pro ministris eorum et potestatibus, pro statu saeculi, pro rerum quiete, pro mora finis.). From Apology, 39:2.
Tertullian previously characterized the assembly as a gathering of prayer warriors who besiege or surround God with their supplications. It is a communal “force”—an act of violent love (see Part 2). The congregation gathers to pray to God.
These prayers include the following.
- The community prays for their political rulers. Tertullian himself was from the upper governing class, though now part of a persecuted minority. Nevertheless, he prays for the rulers of the empire. But for what does he pray?
- The community prays for stability and peace. Literally, believers pray for the “state of the [current] age,” and they pray for the “quiet of things.” The latter reminds us of 1 Timothy 2:2, and the former reflects the desired state of the empire. The empire is filled with oppressive rule, chaotic shifts, and suppression of Christians. Tertullian himself became a Christian after watching martyrs die in the arena.
- The community prays for the delay of the end. This is a rather unusual request. Paul prays for the Lord to come (1 Corinthians 16:22, maranatha). Paul’s prayer appears to have been part of the liturgy of some early assemblies. Yet, Tertullian pictures his assembly as praying for delay. Given its context, perhaps Tertullian seeks time for repentance and a larger ingathering of people, especially since Christianity is growing at the end of the second century and the beginning of the third. The tension, however, is thick: a yearning for the Lord to return but also a desire for others to know God before the Lord returns. Perhaps that is a healthy tension in which to live.
Jesus-followers gathered to pray for the rulers of this world, the peace and stability of the world, and for the delay of the Messiah’s return. For his Roman audience, this information reshapes their suspicions. Christians did not gather to plot violence against the empire but to pray for its peace and stability, including its rulers.