Synopsis
MONTANISM. About the middle of the second century (in
156, according to Epiphanius: Hær., xlviii. 1) Montanus appeared
as a new prophet in Phrygia, at Ardaban on the frontier of Mysia, and found
many adherents, among whom were Alcibiades and Theodotus. Under him, also,
prophetesses appeared, - Priscilla and Maximilla. Prophecy was, indeed, the
most prominent feature of the new movement. Ecstatic visions, announcing the
approach of the second advent of Christ, and the establishment of the heavenly
Jerusalem at Pepuza in Phrygia, and inculcating the severest asceticism and the
most rigorous penitential discipline, were set forth as divine revelations, of
which the prophet was only the bearer, and proclaimed as the direct
continuation and final consummation of the prophetical gift of the apostolic
age. In spite of the sensation it created and the discussion it caused, the
movement remained for a long time within the pale of the Church; but as it grew
in strength, penetrating from Asia Minor into Thrace, it naturally roused a
stronger opposition, and, in several places, synods were convened against it.
Some persons considered it to have been caused by a demon, and employed
exorcism against it, such as Sotas of Anchialus, Zoticus of Comane, and Julian
of Apamea. Others attacked it in a literary way, such as Claudius Apollinaris
of Hierapolis, and Miltiades. Gradually the very contrast to it developed, - a
party which rejected all Christian prophecy, and even denied the authenticity
of the Gospel according to John on account of the Paraclete therein promised.
At last, towards the close of the eighth decade, it became necessary for the
Montanists to separate from the Orthodox Church in Phrygia, and form a
schismatic congregation, organized by Montanus himself, which, however, did not
stop the vehement literary polemics carried on against them by Serapion,
Theodotus, and the Anonymous.
[1562]
The first time the Montanists are spoken of in Western
Europe is in those letters, which, during the persecution of Marcus Aurelius,
the confessors of the congregations of Lugdunum and Vienna sent from their
prisons to Asia Minor and Rome. Between Asia Minor and the Gallic congregations
there existed very intimate relations. Among the martyrs of Lugdunum and Vienna
were several Phrygians. The principal object of the letters was, consequently,
simply to inform the Christians of Asia Minor and Phrygia of the sufferings
which their brethren in Gaul had endured. But, according to
Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., V. 1), a kind of
statement was added to the letters, of the view which the Gallic congregations
took of the Montanist prophecy; and the presbyter Irenæus, who carried the letters to Rome, was
enjoined to beg the Roman pope, Eleutherus, to continue in peaceful
communication with the Asiatic congregations. Characteristically enough,
Eusebius omits the statement; but every thing seems to indicate that the view
it contained was very kind and mild. Now, in his book Adversus Praxeam,
Tertullian speaks of a Roman pope, who, in
opposition to the example of his predecessors, felt inclined to make peace with
the Phrygian and Asiatic congregations, and recognize the prophecy of the
Montanists, but was persuaded by the calumnies of the Monarchian Praxeas to change his mind, and condemn
Montanism. That Roman pope was probably the very same Eleutherus (174-189,) to
whom Irenæus was sent; and a condemnation of Montanism by Eleutherus
would go far to explain the harsh measures which his successor, Victor, chose
to employ in the paschal controversy. A Montanist congregation was at all
events not formed in Rome; but the Montanist views of church discipline took,
nevertheless, root there, and came more than once in conflict with the somewhat
laxer practice of the Roman popes.
Condemned in Rome and in its native country,
Montanism found a new home in North Africa, and its most prominent
representative in Tertullian. He adopted all its views, and further developed
them. The speedy advent of Christ, and the
establishment of the millennium, are the fundamental ideas of his theology.
A Christian church, which governs the world by slowly penetrating it, he does
not understand. The living gift of prophecy,
according to the divine plan of salvation, constitutes the true mediator
between the times that are and the coming millennium; and the true preparation
from the side of the Church is the establishment of a moral discipline which
forces her members away from the whole merely natural side of human life.
Science and art, all worldly education, every ornamental or gay form of life,
should be avoided, because they are tainted by Paganism. The crown of human
life is martyrdom. Fasts were multiplied, and rendered more severe. The second
marriage was rejected, and the first was not encouraged. Against a mortal sin
the Church should defend itself by rigidly excluding him who committed it, for
the holiness of the Church was simply the holiness of its members. With such
principles, Tertullian could not help coming into conflict with the Catholic
Church. To him the very substance of the Church was the Holy Spirit, and by no means the episcopacy, whose right
to wield the power of the keys he even rejected. Soon the conflict assumed such
a form, that the Montanists were compelled to separate from the Catholic
Church, and form an independent or schismatic church. But Montanism was,
nevertheless, not a new form of Christianity; nor were the Montanists a new
sect. On the contrary, Montanism was simply a reaction of the old, the
primitive Church against the obvious tendency of the Church of the day, - to
strike a bargain with the world, and arrange herself comfortably in it.
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Montanists
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Susanna Elm, "Pierced by Bronze
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The
Montanists (Roger Pearce) |
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Tertullianists
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William Tabbernee, "Revelation 21 and
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William Tabbernee, "Remants of the New
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pp.193-201. |
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William Tabbernee, "Montanist Regional
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Studies 1 (1993): 249-280. |
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William Tabbernee, "Portals of the
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Christine Trevett, "Prophecy and
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(1989): 313-338. |
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Christine Trevett, "Fingers up Noses
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 Christine Trevett, Montanism: Gender, Authority and
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F.E. Vokes, "The Use of Scripture in
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F.E. Vokes, "Penitential Discipline in
Montanism," E.A. Livingstone, ed., Studia Patristica xiv. 1976.
pp.306-15. |
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A.F. Walls, "The Montanist Catholic
Epistle and its New Testament Prototype," Studia Evangelica iii. Texte
und Untersuchungen 88. Berlkin, 1964. pp.436-46. |
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John
S. Whale, "Montanus," Expository Times 45 (1934): 496-500. |
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David F. Wright, "Why Were The
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Andrzej Wypustek, "Magic, Montanism,
Perpetua, and the Severan Persecution," Vigiliae Christianae 51.3
(1997): 276-297. |
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Montanism
(D F Wright) |
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