Apocalypse, Ignatius, Montanism

Montanism (a later appellation) or the New Prophecy (Eusebius HE v. 16, 4; v. 18, 2) was the flowering of tendencies already present. The New Prophets' teachings would have engendered less interest were there not already in Asia an atmosphere conducive to their acceptance. In this study I propose to draw attention to Asian Christian beliefs and practices which offered fertile ground for Montanism and in particular to consider the region of Philadelphia, making use of (a) the letter to its church preserved in the third chapter of the Revelation and (b) the letter of Ignatius of Antioch (c, 110) to the same place. Other sources will be cited also. One outcome of the study will be to suggest a possible and hitherto unexamined relationship between the strictures of Ignatius about certain aberrant forms of teaching and the expectations and practices of the kinds of Christians which the Seer had addressed. Before turning to the sources concerned a word about their inherent difficulties is in order, as also is a word about Montanism itself. J. M. Ford examined the possibility that Montanism was Jewish-Christian in origin ('Was Montanism a Jewish-Christian heresy?', Journal of Ecclesiastical History 17 [1966], 145-57) and went on to suggest that proto-Montanism was in evidence in the Pastorals ('A Note on Proto-Montanism in the Pastoral Epistles', New Testament Studies 17 [1970/71], 338-346). The Pastor's concern about the place of women, his stress on sobriety and his elevation of office-holders suggested opposition to 'a prophetical movement within the Church before the rise of Montanus and his women'. I remain unconvinced by the details of the argument, but the study was of interest because of its suggestion of proto-Montanist activity in Asia, something I suspect also. 'Montanism' was not a single phenomenon and what we know of it comes almost entirely from its enemies. The nature of the error(s) opposed in the Pastorals is much debated, and even more so are the error(s) encountered in Asia by Ignatius of Antioch.' Exactly the same

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• Contours of the Holy Jerusalem on Earth

  Open Access•Gyula Homoki•Religions•2025

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