“They are not the words of a rational man”: ecstatic prophecy in Montanism

This paper reconstructs the Montanist prophetic experience by comparing heresiological descriptions of ecstasy with other accounts of ecstatic prophecy. The author argues that theological refutations of Montanism were shaped by attributing deceit and error to ecstatic prophecy. Analysis of linguistic components used by heresiologists to describe ecstasy is contrasted with vocabulary from other texts illustrating the same model of religious experience. The conclusions highlight how different observers' discourses and interpretations shaped understandings of ecstatic prophecy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Both the historiographical analysis and the ancient documents about the Christian movement known as Montanism place paramount importance on prophecy, visions, and ecstasy. The theological refutation of Montanist teaching and doctrine in the heresiological sources was almost entirely shaped by the attribution of deceitfulness and error to the experience of ecstatic prophecy. Even though some oracles uttered by the Montanist prophets are preserved, the most detailed description of their ecstasy is conveyed by the reports of the heresiologists. The present paper attempts to reconstruct the Montanist prophetic experience, comparing descriptions of Montanist ecstasy in the heresiological texts with other reports about ecstatic prophecy. More specifically, an analysis of the linguistic components that heresiologists used to describe ecstasy is contrasted with the vocabulary of other texts which illustrate the same basic model of religious experience. Finally, the conclusions draw attention to the discourses and interpretations of ecstatic prophecy related by different observers.