About Montanism
An example of a false Charismatic movement
According to the known history, Montanus, a recent Christian convert, appeared at Ardabau, a small village in Phrygia, about 156. He fell into a trance and began to "prophesy under the influence of the Spirit." He was soon joined by two young women, Prisca, or Priscilla, and Maximilla, who also began to prophesy. The movement spread throughout Asia Minor. Inscriptions have indicated that a number of towns were almost completely converted to Montanism. After the first enthusiasm had waned, however, the followers of Montanus were found predominantly in the rural districts.
The essential principle of Montanism was that the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, whom Jesus had promised in the Gospel According to John, was manifesting himself to the world through Montanus and the prophets and prophetesses associated with him.
It soon became clear, however, that the Montanist prophecy was new. True prophets did not, as Montanus did, deliberately induce a kind of ecstatic intensity and a state of passivity and then maintain that the words they spoke were the voice of the Spirit. It also became clear that the claim of Montanus to have the final revelation of the Holy Spirit implied that something could be added to the teaching of Christ and the Apostles and that, therefore, the church had to accept a fuller revelation.
Another important aspect of Montanism was the expectation of the Second Coming of Christ, which was believed to be imminent. This belief was not confined to Montanists, but with them it took a special form that gave their activities the character of a popular revival. They believed the heavenly Jerusalem was soon to descend on the Earth in a plain between the two villages of Pepuza and Tymion in Phrygia. The prophets and many followers went there, and many Christian communities were almost abandoned.
In addition to prophetic enthusiasm, Montanism taught a legalistic moral rigorism. The time of fasting was lengthened, followers were forbidden to flee from martyrdom, marriage was discouraged, and second marriages were prohibited.
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