Course:Carey HIST501/Project 1/Montanism

Controversy of Montanism (by Peter Kaunda)

The earliest serious heresy that cropped up in Christian history, was Montanism. It appeared rather suddenly in the middle of the second century, in central Anatolia, where it remained popular for quite some time. I have chosen to work with the word controversy as opposed to heresy, since Montanism has some biblical aspects of the current work of the Holy Spirit.

1.   Biographical information of Montanus as a key leader of the Montanism Controversy:

Montanism was founded by a man named Montanus, who suddenly announced that he was a prophet, speaking with the voice of the Paraclete, the “helper” that Christ had promised to send. Montanism, also known as the New Prophecy, was a heretical movement founded by the self-proclaimed prophet Mantanus. Little is known about Montanus. Before his conversion to Christianity, he apparently was a priest of the Oriental ecstatic cult of Cybele, the mother goddess of fertility. He appeared at Ardabau, a small village in Phrygia, in the year 156 according to Eusebius, in 172. He fell into a trance and began to "prophesy under the influence of the Spirit". Claiming to be the voice of the Holy Spirit, he announced the fulfillment of the New Testament promise of the Pentecost and the imminent Second Coming of Christ. He was soon joined by two young women, Priscilla and Maximilla, who left their husbands and also began to prophesy.

2.   Time frame when the Montanism Controversy flourished:

Montanus that arose in the Christian Church in Phrygia, Asia Minor, in the 2nd century. Subsequently it flourished in the West, principally in Carthage under the leadership of Tertullian in the 3rd century. It had almost died out in the 5th and 6th centuries, although some evidence indicates that it survived into the 9th century. Over time, the movement appears to have subsided, though it lived on for several generations. A Montanus shrine existed into the sixth century, by the command of emperor Justinian, it went down. Other sources suggest it continued into the ninth century.

3.   Context that gave birth to the Montanism controversy:

As the Christian Church grew in numbers and prosperity, the fire that had driven it on began to burn low. The heresies of Marcion and the Gnostics had been halted, but only at a cost. Increasing moral laxity and formalism produced fertile ground for a re-assertion of holiness and freedom in the Holy Spirit, things that the Gnostics had depreciated. Montanism is described as a reaction against the increasing authority of the Bishops, however this is not wholly correct, for the Montanists appear to have seen themselves as a step forward, rather than a rear-guard action. When Montanus came on the scene, the Church as an organization was still in its infancy, and unable to do anything about it.

4.   Central beliefs of Montanism:

It is not easy to discover any one reason why they were considered heretics at the time. In doctrine they were orthodox, yet their over-emphasis of certain aspects of the Faith proved too much for the Catholic Bishops. Overall, what is known historically regarding Montanism reveals a prophetic movement within the Christian churches that became concerning to the point that many rejected it, especially based on false prophecies. Montanists hold to most orthodox doctrines in their most generic forms (except the Sufficiency of Scripture), but believe in new prophecies that are outside of Scripture. Montanus and his followers believed that the Holy Spirit was very active in the life of believers, would continually give them new prophecies, even after the closing of the Biblical canon.

The teachings of Montanus and his followers are often not well-documented or are only available through those who opposed him and his practices. It is clear that he was condemned and rejected by many Christian leaders because of false prophecies or the odd ways in which he prophesied. The movement was also known by the name of the New Prophecy, referring to the belief by Montanus and his followers that their prophecies provided new revelation for those living in their time.

5.   Opponents to the Montanism controversy and church council which dealt with the controversy:

Perhaps the most notable opponent of Montanism, was the Church Father, Tertullian. He wrote extensively against the movement, especially since there were Montanists in his own backyard of Carthage. Surprisingly, however, he joined that very same Montanism community! Ultimately, he found the personal involvement of Montanism to be compelling.

In the historic account by Eusebius who wrote in 325 AD, he documents how Montanus and two women who lived about 140 AD, began claiming they had the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit like in the apostolic age. They all behaved like mad men and then blamed it on the Holy Spirit. So the mainstream Church began a campaign of propaganda. Christian scholars wrote tracts explaining in great detail the doctrinal errors of Montanism. Sermons were preached against it. Christians with Montanist sympathies were harassed or ostracized.

After the great Councils of the early to mid-4th century, the mainstream Church’s campaign against Montanism became more heated. With some political clout, they were able to have Montanist churches razed, and Montanists themselves driven from their homes. After a brief attempt at resisting, the late 4th century Montanists went into hiding. They kept their services secret, attending mainstream Churches so as to keep up a “veneer of respectability.” But over the years, this was hard to keep up, and the movement withered slowly over two more centuries. It died out, last, where it had begun.

6.    Impact of the Montanism controversy to the Christian Church

Montanism branched out, though, with communities popping up in large eastern cities, and as far away as North Africa. A number of Syrian and Anatolian bishops met and denounced it, several times, on the grounds that Montanists allowed women to speak in church something seemingly that the Pauline epistles prohibited.

The movement spread throughout Asia Minor. Inscriptions, some the earliest Christian ones in Asia Minor, have shown that many towns were almost completely converted to Montanism. Phrygia traditionally had been a center of religious mystery rites of Cybele and her consort Attis, whose devotees engaged in frenetic dancing. Hence Montanus and his followers began to be called Phyrgians or Cataphrygians. After the first enthusiasm had waned, however, the followers of Montanus were found mainly in the rural districts.

Today, some have suggested the Montanus movement was an early form of Pentecostalism and have sought to make connections between his movement and the modern Pentecostal or Charismatic movements. While some connections exist, too little is known regarding the practices of Montanus to either prove or disprove much in this regard.

Reference

1.    https://pulpitandpen.org/2016/08/31/heresies-montanism/

2.    http://www.earlychristianhistory.info/montanus.html

3.    https://earlychurch.org.uk/pdf/montanism.pdf.