Everything about Montanism totally explained
Montanism was an
early Christian movement of the mid-
2nd century A.D., named after its founder Montanus. It flourished mostly in and around the region of
Phrygia, where early on its followers were called
Cataphrygians. It spread rapidly to other regions in the
Roman Empire at a time before Christianity was generally tolerated or legal. Although the orthodox
mainstream Christian church prevailed against Montanism within a few generations, labeling it a
heresy, the sect persisted in some isolated places into the
8th century. Some people have drawn parallels between Montanism and modern
Pentecostalism (which some call Neo-Montanism). The most widely known Montanist was undoubtedly
Tertullian, who was the foremost Latin church writer before he converted to Montanism.
History
Scholars are divided as to when Montanus first began his prophecy, having chosen dates varying from c. AD 165 to as late as AD 177. Montanus travelled among the rural settlements of
Asia Minor after his conversion, and preached and testified what he purported to be the Word of God; however, his teachings were regarded as
heresy by the orthodox Church for a number of reasons. He claimed not only to have received a series of direct revelations from the Holy Ghost, but personally to be the incarnation of the
paraclete mentioned in the Gospel of John 14:16. Montanus was accompanied by two women, Prisca, sometimes called Priscilla, and Maximilla, who likewise claimed to be the embodiments of the
Holy Spirit that moved and inspired them. As they went, "the Three" as they were called, spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and pray, so that they might share these personal revelations. His preachings spread from his native
Phrygia (where he proclaimed the village of
Pepuza as the site of the
New Jerusalem) across the contemporary Christian world, to Africa and Gaul.
It is generally agreed that the movement was inspired by Montanus' reading of the
Gospel of John— "I will send you the advocate [
paraclete], the spirit of truth" (Heine 1987, 1989; Groh 1985). The response to this
continuing revelation split the Christian communities, and the more orthodox clergy mostly fought to suppress it. Bishop Apollinarius found the church at
Ancyra torn in two, and he opposed the "false prophesy" (quoted by Eusebius 5.16.5). But there was real doubt at Rome, and Pope Eleutherus even wrote letters in support of Montanism, although he later recalled them (Tertullian, "Adversus Praxean" c.1, Trevett 58-59).
Prisca claimed that Christ had appeared to her in female form. When she was excommunicated, she exclaimed "I am driven away like the wolf from the sheep. I'm no wolf: I'm
word and spirit and power."
The most widely known defender of Montanists was undoubtedly
Tertullian, onetime champion of orthodox belief, who believed that the new prophecy was genuine and began to fall out of step with what he began to call "the church of a lot of bishops" (
On Modesty).
Although the orthodox Christian church prevailed against Montanism within a few generations, inscriptions in the
Tembris valley of northern Phrygia, dated between
249 and
279, openly proclaim their allegiance to Montanism.
A letter of Jerome to Marcella, written in
385, refutes the claims of Montanists that had been troubling her (letter 41)
(External Link
).
A group of "Tertullianists" continued to exist at Carthage. The anonymous author of
Praedestinatus 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. He was obliged to flee after the victory of
Theodosius I. Augustine records that the Tertullianist group dwindled to almost nothing in his own time, and finally was reconciled to the church and handed over their basilica. It isn't certain whether the Tertullianists were Montanist or not.
In the
sixth century, at the orders of the emperor
Justinian, John of Ephesus led an expedition to Pepuza to destroy the Montanist shrine there, which was based around the tombs of Montanus, Priscilla and Maximilla.
The sect persisted into the
eighth century. The Columbia Encyclopedia claims that “in isolated areas of Phrygia, where it [Montanism] continued to the 7th cent.”
Some modern writers have suggested that some of its emphasis on direct, ecstatic personal presence of the
Holy Spirit bears resemblance to all forms of
Pentecostalism. “It [Montanism] claimed to be a religion of the Holy Spirit and was marked by ecstatic outbursts which it regarded as the only true form of Christianity”, While there may be some similarities between Montanism and modern Pentecostalism, there doesn't appear to be any historical link between the two, as most Pentecostals claim authenticity based on the
New Testament Book of Acts (chapter 2).
Differences between Montanism and orthodox Christianity
The beliefs of Montanism contrasted with orthodox Christianity in the following ways:
- The belief that the prophecies of the Montanists superseded and fulfilled the doctrines proclaimed by the Apostles.
The encouragement of ecstatic prophesying, contrasting with the more sober and disciplined approach to theology dominant in orthodox Christianity at the time and since.
The view that Christians who fell from grace couldn't be redeemed, also in contrast to the orthodox Christian view that contrition could lead to a sinner's restoration to the church.
The prophets of Montanism didn't speak as messengers of God: "Thus saith the Lord," but rather described themselves as possessed by God, and spoke in his person. "I am the Father, the Word, and the Paraclete," said Montanus (Didymus, De Trinitate, III, xli); This possession by a spirit, which spoke while the prophet was incapable of resisting, is described by the spirit of Montanus: "Behold the man is like a lyre, and I dart like the plectrum. The man sleeps, and I'm awake" (Epiphanius, "Panarion", xlviii, 4).
A stronger emphasis on the avoidance of sin and church discipline than in orthodox Christianity. They emphasized chastity, including forbidding remarriage.
Some of the Montanists were also "Quartodeciman" ("fourteeners"), preferring to celebrate Easter on the Hebrew calendar date of 14 Nisan, regardless of what day of the week it landed on. The orthodoxy held that Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following 14 Nisan. (Trevett 1996:202)
Jerome and other church leaders claimed that the Montanists of their own day held the belief that the Trinity consisted of only a single person, similar to Sabellianism, as opposed to the orthodox view that the Trinity is one God of three persons which Tertullian also had held. There were some that were indeed modalistic monarchians (Sabellians) and some that were closer to the Trinitarian doctrine. It is reported that these modalists baptized mentioning the name of Jesus Christ as opposed to mentioning the Trinity. Most of the later Montanists were of the modalistic camp.
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