Montanus (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Μοντανός) was the second century founder of

Montanism Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an History of Christianity#Early Christianity (c. 31/33–324), early Christian movement of the Christianity in the 2nd century, mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the n ...

and a self-proclaimed prophet. Montanus emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit, in a manner which set him apart from the

Great Church The term "Great Church" () is used in the historiography of early Christianity to mean the period of about 180 to 313, between that of primitive Christianity and that of the legalization of the Christian religion in the Roman Empire, correspond ...

Life

Little is known about the life of Montanus. Montanus used to be a pagan priest, but converted into Christianity. Montanus began his prophesying in a village called Ardabau,

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

. Montanus started prophesying circa 157–172, but Church Fathers give differing dates. Montanus was assisted by two women, Prisca and Maximilla, who also claimed to have prophecies.

Teachings

The teachings of Montanism include: # That a new age of prosperity would come, and New Jerusalem will soon be established in

Pepuza Pepuza (Greek: Πέπουζα ''Pepouza'') was an ancient town in Phrygia, Asia Minor (in today's Karahallı District, Uşak Province, in Turkey's Aegean Region). From the middle of the 2nd century AD to the middle of the 6th century, Pepuza was ...

. # One could marry only once. # Abandoning marriage for spiritual reasons was allowed. # Every true Christian had to have recognizable spiritual gifts. # Martyrdom was encouraged and trying to escape was seen as bad. # The prophets could forgive sins. # The church could never permit apostates, murderers and fornicators back. # Opposition to formalism in theology. # A high emphasis on morality.

Impact

The influence of Montanus and

Marcion Marcion of Sinope (; ; ) was a theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ, who was distinct from the "vengeful" God ( Demiurge) who had created the world. He considered himself a follower of Paul the Apost ...

helped to spur the early church to begin the process of developing the New Testament canon. Montanus was heavily attacked by other early church theologians and seen as a heretic. However,

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

is often said to have adopted Montanism.

References

{{Montanism Heresy in ancient Christianity 2nd-century Romans Converts to Christianity from ancient Roman religions Montanism