Tertullian and the ChurchWas Tertullian of Carthage a schismatic? How did he view the church and its bishops? How did he understand the exercise of authority within the church? In this study, David Rankin sets the writings of Tertullian in the context of the early third century church and the developments it was undergoing in relation to both its structures and its self understanding. He then discusses Tertullian's own theology of the church, his imagery and his perception of