The Montanist Churches

Prophets in the Hill Country of Phrygia

The movement its followers called the New Prophecy began in Phrygia, a rural region of central Asia Minor, in the second half of the second century. At a village called Ardabau, in Mysia near the Phrygian border, a recent convert named Montanus began to prophesy in ecstasy, claiming that the Holy Spirit, the promised Paraclete, was speaking through him. Two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, left their husbands to join him and prophesied in the same manner. Ancient writers date the beginning anywhere from about 157 to about 172.

Montanus gave the name Jerusalem to two small Phrygian towns, Pepuza and Tymion, and urged believers to gather there to await the descent of the heavenly city. His followers collected the prophets' oracles and read them as the Spirit's newest word. Pepuza remained the movement's center for some four hundred years, and archaeologists believe they have located its site in recent decades. The movement's teaching is examined in detail in the profile Montanism; this article follows its history.