Tertullian's Repurposing of Irenaeus's Against Marcion

The relationship between Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Epiphanius in their writings against Marcion reveals a fascinating chain of intellectual dependence and the transmission of anti-heretical arguments. This blog post explores how Irenaeus’s promised but lost work Against Marcion likely served as the foundational text for Tertullian’s Adversus Marcionem and Epiphanius’s Panarion, and why this is significant in understanding early Christian polemics.

Tertullian’s Use of Irenaeus

Tertullian, in his five-book treatise Against Marcion, clearly states that he is building upon previous works. He describes his process of revising and expanding his arguments in successive editions, suggesting an evolving understanding influenced by earlier texts:

"Nothing I have previously written against Marcion is any longer my concern. I am embarking upon a new work to replace an old one. My first edition, too hurriedly produced, I afterwards withdrew, substituting a fuller treatment. This also, before enough copies had been made, was stolen from me by a brother, at that time a Christian but afterwards an apostate, who chanced to have copied out some extracts very incorrectly, and shewed them to a group of people. Hence the need for correction. The opportunity provided by this revision has moved me to make some additions. Thus this written work, a third succeeding a second, and instead of third from now on the first, needs to begin by reporting the demise of the work it supersedes, so that no one may be perplexed if in one place or another he comes across varying forms of it."

This revision process indicates that Tertullian was not working in isolation but was likely influenced by earlier works, including Irenaeus’s treatises.

In his Against the Valentinians, Tertullian frequently uses “I” while presenting material clearly derived from Irenaeus:

"As for me, I would prefer to be convicted of the better fault if I have to make a choice; it is better to have a lesser intelligence than an evil one; better to err than to deceive. Furthermore, the face of God is seen by those seeking in innocence—as the Wisdom of Solomon, not of Valentinus, teaches. Infants as well bore witness to Christ by their blood; can I call those who cried 'crucify him!' children?"

This personal approach, while using borrowed material, indicates a method of making existing arguments his own.

Epiphanius’s Parallels

Epiphanius’s Panarion shows striking methodological similarities to Tertullian’s work, further suggesting a common source:

"Some years ago, to find what falsehood this Marcion had invented and what his silly teaching was, I took up his very books which he had <mutilated>, his so-called Gospel and Apostolic Canon. From these two books I made a series of <extracts> and selections of the material which would serve to refute him, and I wrote a sort of outline for a treatise, arranging the points in order, and numbering each saying one, two, three (and so on)."

Epiphanius’s approach of using Marcion’s texts to refute him mirrors Irenaeus’s strategy described in Against Heresies:

"Wherefore also Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures, not acknowledging some books at all; and, curtailing the Gospel according to Luke and the Epistles of Paul, they assert that these are alone authentic, which they have themselves thus shortened. In another work, however, I shall, God granting [me strength], refute them out of these which they still retain."

The Hypothesis of a Common Source

The parallels in methodology and argument structure between Tertullian and Epiphanius suggest that both were drawing from a common source—likely Irenaeus’s lost Against Marcion. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that both Tertullian and Epiphanius follow a similar pattern of refuting Marcion using his own texts.

Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History mentions that Irenaeus wrote a work against Marcion:

"Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius, was bishop of the parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate work Against Marcion, as did also Irenaeus and Modestus."

This indicates that Irenaeus did indeed complete his work, and its influence persisted in later anti-Marcionite writings.

Conclusion

The interconnectedness of early Christian polemical writings against Marcion underscores the collaborative and derivative nature of theological argumentation in this period. Tertullian and Epiphanius’s works, while substantial in their own right, appear to be heavily influenced by Irenaeus’s foundational arguments. Recognizing this lineage not only highlights the continuity in early Christian orthodoxy but also demonstrates the strategic reuse and adaptation of existing theological rebuttals to combat persistent heretical teachings.