Women of the New Prophecy
Priscilla, whom Tertullian calls Prisca, and Maximilla were the two women who joined Montanus in Phrygia in the second half of the second century and became, with him, the founders of the New Prophecy. Like Montanus, they are known almost entirely from their opponents. Apollonius, a critic writing in Asia late in the century, says they were the first to leave their husbands once they were filled with the spirit, and he mocked the movement for calling Priscilla a virgin.
Little else about their lives is certain: not their birthplaces, their ages, or how they came to the movement. Priscilla died before Maximilla, who was the last of the three founders to die, around 179. Their followers treasured their oracles, and the movement appealed to them for generations.
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