TIXERONT, JOSEPH. - Sulpician theologian, born on March 19, 1856, at Ennezat (Puy-de-Dôme), died in Lyon on September 3, 1925. A pupil of Duchesne (v.), he was ordained priest in 1879. A long apprenticeship in teaching theological disciplines at the Seminary of Lyon (1884-98) prepared him for the university chair of patrology in that city (1898).
He gained international fame with his *Histoire des dogmes dans l'antiquité chrétienne* (3 vols., Paris 1905-12), which was reprinted and translated into various languages within a few years. The author sought to fill the gap that was lamented in the Catholic field, in contrast to the Protestant one, regarding a scientific and comprehensive treatment of the development of Christian doctrinal thought in antiquity; he succeeded admirably, though today his work already seems somewhat outdated. T., not in an apologetic tone but with the attitude of an observer, with erudition and absolute respect for the truth, soberly outlines the evolution of religious beliefs, following a chronological order rather than a systematic and analytical treatment of individual dogmas; the result is a complete picture of the life of the Church in a given historical period; perhaps, however, exegesis is more carefully treated than in-depth discussion of certain questions.
He also wrote: *Les origines de l'Eglise d'Edesse et la légende d'Abgar* (Paris 1888); *Vie mondaine et vie chrétienne à la fin du IIe siècle* (Lyon 1906); *La vie monastique en Palestine au V et VIe siècle* (ibid. 1911); *Le Sacrement de Pénitence dans l'antiquité chrétienne* (Paris 1914); *La démonstration de la prédication apostolique de St Irénée* (ibid. 1916); *Précis de patrologie* (ibid. 1918); *Mélanges de patrologie et d'histoire des dogmes* (ibid. 1921); *L'Ordre et les ordinations* (ibid. 1924).