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Canonicity, Ecclesiastical Authority, and Tatian's CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CANONICITY, ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY, AND TATIAN’S DIATESSARON Before we hurl ourselves headlong into the topic of this lecture— “Canonicity, Ecclesiastical Authority, and Tatian’s Diatessaron”—it will probably be wise to prepare ourselves with a few preliminary comments on, first, Tatian; second, on his Diatessaron; and, third, the second-cen- tury context into which Tatian launched his Diatessaron.1 Reviewing these three topics will refresh our memories and high- light themes that we will explore in greater detail the two main sections of this lecture. Our first main section will explore what the Diatessa- ron can contribute to our understanding of “canonicity” in the early church; our second main section will explore what the Diatessaron’s reception tells us about the interplay between ecclesiastical “authority” and texts in ancient Christianity. Prologue A. Tatian Only one of Tatian’s writings has been directly preserved in the manu- script tradition, namely, his Oratio ad Graecos.2 The Oratio is an apol- ogy, probably | written about 172 or so. It affords us a few biographical 88 asides: Tatian tells us he was born in “Assyria,” and reports that he left home in search of “wisdom,” spending a considerable time, first, among the Greeks and then among the Romans. From these peregrinations and from a certain hauteur, we may conclude that he came from a fam- 1 Many of these themes have been explored in my publications: on the Diatessa- ron and Diatessaronic research, see: W. L. Petersen, Tatian’s Diatessaron. Its Creation, Dissemination, Significance, and History in Scholarship, SuppVigChr 25 (Leiden: Brill, 1994); on the second-century background, see: Gospel Traditions in the Second Century, ed. W. L. Petersen, CJA 3 (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1989); on the earliest gospel traditions and our first evidence for the gospels, see W. L. Petersen, “The Genesis of the Gospels,” inNew Testament Textual Criticism and Exegesis, ed. A. Denaux, BEThL 161 (Louvain: Peeters, 2002), pp. 41-73 (chapter 24 above). 2 The most significant editions are by: J. C. Th. Otto (1851), E. Schwartz (1888), and M. Whittaker (1982). 490 Chapter Twenty-Eight ily of means: only the wealthy have the luxury of wandering the world in search of wisdom. Tatian’s experience of Greek religion and philosophy left him un- satisfied. A pre-existent Puritan, he was revolted by the sensuality and coarseness of the Hellenistic religions. Eventually Tatian stumbled upon a “Christian” religious text—almost certainly the Septuagint. Impressed by its simplicity and artlessness (!), he converted to the new religion. This conversion probably took place about 150 ce. Eventually Tatian ended up in Rome, where he became one of Justin Martyr’s auditores. Upon the death of Justin (about 165), Irenaeus reports that Tatian lapsed into heresy.3 He levels four charges. First, Tatian—who had founded his own school in Rome—was arrogant and “puffed up with pride” at being a teacher. (In the Geneva of Calvin, one need hardly point out that such manifestations of egotism are well-known to any- one who has ever been associated with any religious organization, and need not detain us here; whatever such emotions may be, they are not heretical.) Second, Tatian embraced the teachings of Marcion and Sat- urninus; the essence of this charge is, of course, the charge of Gnos- ticism. Third, Irenaeus condemns Tatian for being an Encratite—that is, following those who rejected marriage, meat, and wine. (It is worth nothing that the frequently-repeated claim4 that Tatian was the “first” of the Encratites, or the “founder” of the Encratites, is incorrect. Both Valentinus and Saturninus rejected marriage and the consumption of meat, and Irenaeus’ report speaks of Tatian as following in the footsteps of earlier Encratites.) Fourth, Irenaeus says that Tatian has grafted a new idea onto Encratism: in addition to their rejection of wine, women, and meat, Tatian’s contribution was to deny that Adam could be saved. 89 Eusebius, in his Chronicon, places the expulsion of Tatian from the primitive Roman congregation in the year 172.5 We may imagine that Ta- tian lingered in Rome for a few years, tending his school, and seeking to persuade the Roman church of his case. Epiphanius is the only source to report what happened after Tatian’s separation from the Roman congrega- tion: he says that Tatian returned to the East, where his teachings had great impact in Cilicia, Pidisia, and Antioch on the Orontes. If Tatian returned to the East, then he presumably died there, probably about 185 or so. 3 Adv. haer. I.28. 4 Among the many: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (19973), s.v. “Ta- tian,” p. 1579; Whittaker’s edition of the Oratio, p. x; P. M. Head, “Tatian’s Christology and Its Influence on the Composition of the Diatessaron,” inTyndale Bulletin 43 (1992), p. 122. 5 Chron. (ed. Helm [GCS]), at the year 172..
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