The ancient city of Carthage was situated on the sea-coast, near the present site of Tunic, and at the nearest point to Italy. This part of Africa has always been settled by white people. Those who embraced the faith as held by this church, at Carthage, were known by the name Montanists, from Montanus, who was a leader among them, and who had inveighed against the corruptions which had already begun to creep into the churches.
Indeed, Paul, in his time, declared “the mystery of iniquity doth already work,” (2 Thess 2:7,) and we have no means of knowing how corrupt a church may become, without losing its identity as a scriptural church. We know the church at Corinth became very irregular, desecrating the Lord’s Supper, yet it was regarded by the apostle as a true church, though in error.
So at this time Montanus had inveighed against some of the corruptions which existed in his day, and through his instrumentality a church was established at Carthage. Agrippinus was the first pastor of this church, and was aided in his labors by Tertullian, who had seceded from the Catholic church at Carthage, and had united with the Montanists on the ground of the purity of their communion.
Tertullian had complained that access to membership in the church was too readily gained, and that baptism was too hastily administered. When inquired of by a rich lady whether infants might be baptized on condition that they asked it, he replied that baptism ought not to be administered too hastily.
A.D. 200. When referred to the cases of the Eunuch and Paul, he declared that these were exceptional cases, and said that, “Such as understand the importance of baptism are more afraid of presumption than procrastination, and faith alone saves the soul.”
The looseness of doctrine touching baptism, and lack of discipline, finally forced Tertullian out of the dominant party which afterwards became known as the Catholic church, and he united with the Montanists’ church at Carthage, “which admitted members by examination and baptism, but all such as joined the Montanists from other communities were re-baptized.”
For this reason the Montanists were sometimes called Anabaptists. So at this early period in the history of Christianity we find churches of different faith existing in the same cities.
