ABSTRACT

To complete the picture of where Tatian belongs within the second century, we must return to the charges of the heresiologists mentioned in Chapter 2. I have, I hope, refuted the charge of Valentinianism laid against Tatian, but what of the charge of Encratism? Did Tatian found a sect called the Encratites on his return to the East, and what influence did he exert on his homeland? In this chapter we therefore turn to consider Tatian within the context of Syriac Christianity.