Tertullian, a North African Latin lawyer turned Christian, wrote his Apology around 197 AD. Addressed to Roman provincial governors, it argued that Christians were the empire's most loyal subjects, that persecution was unjust on Roman law's own terms, and that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. It is the first major theological work composed in Latin.
Why this matters
Marks the moment Christianity became a Latin-speaking faith — setting up the theological vocabulary the Western church would use for the next 1,800 years (Trinitas, persona, substantia all appear here).
Scripture references
1 Peter 3:15Acts 5:29Romans 13:1-7
Location
Carthage