Montanism (/ˈmɒntəˌnɪzəm/), known by its adherents as theNew Revelation, was anearly Christian movement of themid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder,Montanus.[1] Montanism held views about the basic tenets ofChristian theology similar to those of the widerChristian Church, but it was labelled aheresy for its belief in newprophetic figures.[2][3] The prophetic movement called for a reliance on the spontaneity of theHoly Spirit and a more conservative personal ethic.[2]
Montanism originated inPhrygia, a province ofAnatolia, and flourished throughout the region,[2] leading to the movement being referred to elsewhere asCataphrygian (meaning it was "from Phrygia") or simply asPhrygian.[4] They were sometimes also calledPepuzians after the town ofPepuza, which they regarded as thenew Jerusalem. Sometimes the Pepuzians were distinguished from other Montanists for despising those not living in the new Jerusalem.[5] The Montanist movement spread rapidly to other regions in theRoman Empire before Christianity was generally tolerated or became legal following theEdict of Serdica in 311. It persisted in some isolated places into the 6th century.[6]
The Montanists did not want to separate themselves from the wider Christian Church, and the Christian theologianTertullian even recorded an event where a bishop almost declared Montanism asorthodox, albeit changing his mind later.[7] Some contemporary Christian theologians have drawn parallels between Montanism andmodern-day Protestant movements, such as theCharismatic movement, as well asPentecostalism (includingOneness Pentecostals).[8][9][10]
Scholars debate as to when Montanus first began his prophetic activity, having chosen dates varying from c. AD 135 to as late as AD 177.[11][12] Montanus was a recent convert when he first began prophesying, supposedly during the proconsulate of Gratus in a village inMysia named Ardabau; noproconsul and village so named have been identified, however.[13] Some accounts claim that before his conversion to Christianity, Montanus was a priest ofApollo orCybele.[14][a] He believed he was a prophet of God and that theParaclete spoke through him.[3]
Montanus proclaimed the towns ofPepuza andTymion in west-central Phrygia as the site of theNew Jerusalem, making the larger—Pepuza—his headquarters.[5][16] Phrygia as a source for this new movement was not arbitrary. Hellenization was slow to take root in Phrygia, unlike many of the surrounding eastern regions of the Roman Empire. This sense of difference, while simultaneously having easy access to the rest of the MediterraneanChristian world, encouraged the foundation of this separate sect of Christianity.[17]
Montanus had two female colleagues,Prisca (sometimes calledPriscilla, the diminutive form of her name) andMaximilla, who likewise claimed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Their popularity even exceeded Montanus' own.[18] "The Three" spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and to pray, so that they might share these revelations. Their followers claimed they received the prophetic gift from the prophetsQuadratus (prophet) andAmmia of Philadelphia, figures believed to have been part of a line of prophetic succession stretching all the way back toAgabus (1st century AD) and to the daughters ofPhilip the Evangelist.[19] In time, the New Prophecy spread from Montanus's native Phrygia across the Christian world, toAfrica and toGaul.[6]
The response to the New Prophecy split the Christian communities, and theproto-orthodox clergy mostly fought to suppress it. Opponents believed that evil spirits possessed the Phrygian prophets, and both Maximilla and Priscilla were the targets of failedexorcisms.[20] The churches of Asia Minor pronounced the propheciesprofane, andexcommunicated New Prophecy adherents.[21] Around 177,Apollinarius, Bishop ofHierapolis, presided over asynod which condemned the New Prophecy.[22] The leaders of the churches ofLyons andVienne in Gaul responded to the New Prophecy in 177. Their decision was communicated to the churches in Asia andPope Eleuterus, but it is not known what this consisted of, only that it was "prudent and most orthodox".[5] It is likely they called for moderation in dealing with the movement.
There was real doubt at Rome, and its bishop (either Eleuterus orVictor I) even wrote letters in support of Montanism, although he was later persuaded byPraxeas to recall them.[23][24] In 193, an anonymous writer found the church atAncyra inGalatia torn in two, and opposed the "false prophecy" there.[25]
Eventually, Montanist teachings came to be regarded asheresy by the orthodoxGreat Church for a number of reasons. The clash of basic beliefs between the movement's proponents and the greater Christian world was likely enough for such conflict to occur. Additionally, in the opinion of anti-Montanists, the movement's penchant for dramatic public displays by its adherents brought unwanted attention to the still fledgling religion. Thus, fears concerning the appearance of Montanist practices to their non-Christian rulers fueled anti-Montanist sentiment.[26] The imperial government carried out sporadic executions of Christians under the reign ofMarcus Aurelius, circa AD 161–180, which coincides with the spread of Montanism.[27]
There is no clear evidence as to what happened to Montanus. One of the most widespread stories at the time, as stated by an anonymous associate ofApollinarius, is that he hanged himself, as did Maximilla, although he does not exclude the possibility of them dying some other way.[28]
There was never a uniform excommunication of New Prophecy adherents, and in many places they maintained their standing within the orthodox community. This was the case atCarthage. While not without tension, the church there avoidedschism over the issue. There were women prophesying at Carthage, and prophecy was considered a genuinecharism. It was the responsibility of the council of elders to test all prophecy and to determine genuine revelation.[29]Tertullian, undoubtedly the best-known defender of the New Prophecy, believed that the claims of Montanus were genuine beginning c. 207.[30] He believed in the validity of the New Prophecy and admired the movement's discipline and ascetic standards. Debates continue as to whether Tertullian decisively left the orthodox Church and joined a separate Montanist sect or remained an early proto-orthodox Christian.[30][31]
Although what became the orthodox Christian Church prevailed against Montanism within a few generations, inscriptions in the Tembris valley of northernPhrygia, dated between 249 and 279, openly proclaim allegiance to the New Prophecy. Speros Vryonis considers these inscriptions remarkable in that they are the only set of inscriptions which openly reveal the religious affiliations of the deceased before the period of toleration, when Christians dared not to do so.[32] In the 3rd century, a new prophetess appeared in Pepuza,Quintilla. Her followers, the Quintillians, were regarded as an important Montanist sect into the 5th century.[33]
A letter ofJerome toMarcella, written in 385, refutes the claims of Montanists that had been troubling her.[15] A group of "Tertullianists" may have continued at Carthage. The anonymous author ofPraedestinatus records that a preacher came to Rome in 388 where he made many converts and obtained the use of a church for his congregation on the grounds that the martyrs to whom it was dedicated had been Montanists.[34] He was obliged to flee after the victory ofTheodosius I.
In his own time,Augustine (354–430) records that the Tertullianist group had dwindled to almost nothing and, finally, was reconciled to the church and handed over its basilica.[35] It is not certain whether these Tertullianists were in all respects "Montanist" or not. In 530 EmperorJustinian expelled Montanist clergy from Constantinople. In 550, on the orders of Justinian,John of Ephesus led an expedition toPepuza to destroy the Montanist shrine there, which was based on the tombs of Montanus, Priscilla and Maximilla.[36]
A Montanist sect in Galatia, theTascodrugites, is attested around 600 byTimothy of Constantinople and in the 9th century byTheodore the Studite.[37] A sect called "Montanist" existed in the 8th century; the EmperorLeo III ordered the conversion and baptism of its members. These Montanists refused, locked themselves in their houses of worship,set the buildings on fire and perished.[32]
Because much of what is known about Montanism comes from anti-Montanist sources, it is difficult to know what they actually believed and how those beliefs differed from the Christian mainstream of the time.[38] The New Prophecy was also a diverse movement, and what Montanists believed varied by location and period.[39] Montanism was particularly influenced byJohannine literature, especially theGospel of John and theApocalypse of John (also known as the book of Revelation).[40]
In John's Gospel, Jesus promises to send theParaclete (Holy Spirit) after his death, from which Montanists believed their prophets derived inspiration. In the Apocalypse, John was taken by an angel to the top of a mountain, upon which he saw theNew Jerusalem descend to Earth. Montanus identified this mountain as being located in Phrygia near Pepuza.[41] Followers of the New Prophecy called themselvesspiritales ("spiritual people") in contrast to their opponents, whom they termedpsychici ("carnal, natural people"[need quotation to verify]).[42]
Montanism, as suggested by the name "New Prophecy," was a movement centered on the prophecies of its founders, believed to convey the Holy Spirit's revelation for the current age.[43] Prophecy itself was not controversial within 2nd-century Christian communities.[44][45] However, the New Prophecy, as described byEusebius of Caesarea, departed from nascent Christian tradition:[46]
And he [Montanus] became beside himself, and being suddenly in a sort of frenzy andecstasy, he raved, and began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the constant custom of the Church handed down by tradition from the beginning.
— Eusebius of Caesarea[47]
According to opponents, the Montanist prophets did not speak as messengers of God; instead, they believed they became fully possessed by God and spoke as God.[5] A prophetic utterance by Montanus described this possessed state: "Lo, the man is as a lyre, and I fly over him as a pick. The man sleepeth, while I watch." Thus, the Phrygians were seen as false prophets because they acted irrationally and did not control their senses.[48]
A criticism of Montanism was that its followers claimed their revelation, received directly from the Holy Spirit, could supersede the authority ofJesus,Paul the Apostle, or anyone else.[49] In some of his prophecies, Montanus apparently—and somewhat like theoracles of the Greco-Roman world—spoke in thefirst person as God: "I am the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."[50]
Early Christians likely interpreted Montanus as claiming to be God. However, scholars agree that he exemplified a common practice among religious prophets who spoke as mouthpieces of the divine, echoing phrases like "Thus saith the Lord." This practice was observed in both Christian and pagan contexts.[51][52]
Other beliefs and practices (or alleged beliefs and practices) of Montanism are as follows:
North African Montanism and the form of Montanism practiced in Anatolia may have had differences. The Montanists in North Africa believed that the New Testament was the supreme rule of Christian life and theology; that bishops were successors of theapostles; and held similar theology to theGreat Church, while Montanus himself had different views.[61]
Origen addresses Montanism not as a heretical movement, but as those who are "the simple" among believers.[71]
H. The Hierarchy as an Ecclesiastical Institution.—(I) The utterance of Tertullian (De exhort. cast. vii), declaring that the difference between the priests and the laity was due to ecclesiastical institution, and that therefore any layman in the absence of a priest could offer sacrifice, baptize, and act as priest, is based on Montanistic theories and contradicts earlier teachings of Tertullian (e.g., De baptismo, xvii). (2)
