Praxeas

Praxeas was an early Christian theologian active in the late second and early third century, known primarily from the polemics of Tertullian. He is associated with monarchianism and, in particular, modalism, the view that there is one God who reveals Himself in different modes or forms rather than three distinct persons.

Little is known about his life beyond what Tertullian reports. Some ancient traditions place him as a presbyter from Asia Minor who traveled to Rome to teach his views, which then provoked strong opposition from the Roman church.

Doctrinally, Praxeas stressed the unity of God and treated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as modes or manifestations of the one divine person, rather than as numerically distinct persons. In this scheme the Father, Son, and Spirit do not stand as separate hypostases; instead, the same God reveals Himself in different ways. Some accounts associate this view with Patripassianism, the claim that the Father suffered in the crucifixion; however, the sources are inconsistent and much of what is known comes from critics.

Praxeas' teachings were widely condemned by early Christian writers who argued for three distinct persons in one essence. Tertullian's Adversus Praxean is the principal surviving critique, asserting the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity against modalist monarchianism. The figure of Praxeas thus serves as an early reference point in the debates over the nature of God in early Christianity.