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96-512: Montanism ( / ˈ m ɒ n t ə ˌ n ɪ z əm / ), known by its adherents as the New Revelation , was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century , later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus . Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theology similar to those of the wider Christian Church , but it was labelled a heresy for its belief in new prophetic figures . The prophetic movement called for

192-678: A synod which condemned the New Prophecy. The leaders of the churches of Lyons and Vienne in Gaul responded to the New Prophecy in 177. Their decision was communicated to the churches in Asia and Pope Eleuterus , but it is not known what this consisted of, only that it was "prudent and most orthodox". It is likely they called for moderation in dealing with the movement. There was real doubt at Rome, and its bishop (either Eleuterus or Victor I ) even wrote letters in support of Montanism, although he

288-636: A Christian, and in 313, just two years after the close of Diocletian's persecution, issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. The Edict was a pluralist policy, and throughout the Roman Empire of the fourth to sixth centuries, people shifted between a variety of religious groups in a kind of "religious marketplace". Constantine also took important steps to support and protect Christianity. He gave bishops judicial power and established equal footing for Christian clergy by granting them

384-837: A Roman Emperor is under Nero , probably in 64 AD, in the city of Rome. Scholars conjecture that the Apostles Peter and Paul were killed then. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria had produced the Septuagint , a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, between the third and first centuries BC. This was the translation of the Hebrew Bible used by the apostles and early Christians. Christian writings in Koine Greek, including Gospels containing accounts of Jesus's ministry, letters of Paul, and letters attributed to other early Christian leaders, were written in

480-459: A few generations, inscriptions in the Tembris valley of northern Phrygia , dated between 249 and 279, openly proclaim allegiance to the New Prophecy. Speros Vryonis considers these inscriptions remarkable in that they are the only set of inscriptions which openly reveal the religious affiliations of the deceased before the period of toleration, when Christians dared not to do so. In the 3rd century,

576-531: A freedom otherwise denied to them. The Pauline epistles in the New Testament provide some of the earliest documentary sources of women as true missionary partners in the early Jesus movement. Female figures in early Christian art are ubiquitous. In the church rolls from the second-century, there is conclusive evidence of groups of women "exercising the office of widow". Judith Lieu affirms that influential women were attracted to Christianity. Much of

672-595: A million. This provided enough adopters for its growth rate to be self-sustaining . In the first-century, it spread into Asia Minor ( Athens , Corinth , Ephesus , and Pergamum ). Egyptian Christianity probably began in the first-century in Alexandria. As it spread, Coptic Christianity , which survives into the modern era, developed. Christianity in Antioch is mentioned in Paul's epistles . Early Christianity

768-567: A new prophetess appeared in Pepuza, Quintilla . Her followers, the Quintillians, were regarded as an important Montanist sect into the 5th century. A letter of Jerome to Marcella , written in 385, refutes the claims of Montanists that had been troubling her. A group of "Tertullianists" may have continued at Carthage. The anonymous author of Praedestinatus records that a preacher came to Rome in 388 where he made many converts and obtained

864-503: A pharisee who became Paul the Apostle , persecuted the early Jewish Christians, then converted . Paul was influential in the early spread of Christianity making at least three missionary journeys and writing letters of instruction and admonishment to the churches he founded. Beginning with less than 1000 people, Christianity had grown to around one hundred small household churches consisting of an average of seventy members each, by

960-526: A reliance on the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit and a more conservative personal ethic. Montanism originated in Phrygia , a province of Anatolia , and flourished throughout the region, leading to the movement being referred to elsewhere as Cataphrygian (meaning it was "from Phrygia") or simply as Phrygian . They were sometimes also called Pepuzians after the town of Pepuza , which they regarded as

1056-413: A set of apocalyptic Jews , proclaimed him risen from the dead. Christianity began as a Jewish sect and remained so for centuries in some locations, diverging gradually from Judaism over doctrinal, social and historical differences. In spite of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire , the faith spread as a grassroots movement that became established by the third-century both in and outside

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1152-502: A variety of hostile and discriminatory imperial laws aimed at suppressing sacrifice and magic and closing temples that continued their use. Blood sacrifice had been a central rite of virtually all religious groups in the pre-Christian Mediterranean, but it disappeared by the end of the fourth-century. This is "one of the most significant religious developments of late antiquity," writes Scott Bradbury, and "must be attributed to ...imperial and episcopal hostility". Christian emperors wanted

1248-592: The Diocletianic Persecution , took place in 303–311. There was also periodic persecution of Christians by Persian Sassanian authorities, and popular opposition from Graeco-Roman society at large. Christian authors of the second and third centuries were on the defensive, and the term Hellene became equated with pagan during this period. The Edict of Serdica was issued in 311 by the Roman Emperor Galerius , officially ending

1344-731: The Epistle to the Hebrews , the Epistle of James , the First and Second Epistle of Peter , the First Epistle of John , and the Book of Revelation . Gnostic texts emerged in the early second century challenging the physical nature of Jesus. In 172, Montanism suggested that current prophecy could supersede the apostles, and Monarchianism emphasized the unity of God over the Trinity. In

1440-454: The Roman province of Judea during the first-century. It was impacted by - and impacted - the geographical, cultural and socio-economic context in which it first developed. In the Roman Empire around the ancient Mediterranean, elites (2 - 5 % of the population) controlled the means of economic production, had a virtual monopoly on literacy, and most of the political power. Life for peasants

1536-660: The fall of Constantinople in 1453. The fall of the Byzantine Empire put an end to the institutional Christian Church in the East as established under Constantine, though it survived in altered form. Various catastrophic circumstances, combined with a growing criticism of the Catholic Church in the 1300–1500s, led to the Protestant Reformation and its related reform movements . Reform, and

1632-430: The ministry of Jesus ( c.  27–30 ) Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure . His crucifixion is well attested. He was a complex figure, which many see as a sage, a holy man, a prophet, a seer, or a visionary. Jesus saw his identity, mission, and that of his followers, in light of the coming kingdom of God and the prophetic tradition of Israel. His followers believed he

1728-601: The new Jerusalem . Sometimes the Pepuzians were distinguished from other Montanists for despising those not living in the new Jerusalem. The Montanist movement spread rapidly to other regions in the Roman Empire before Christianity was generally tolerated or became legal following the Edict of Serdica in 311. It persisted in some isolated places into the 6th century. The Montanists did not want to separate themselves from

1824-668: The oracles of the Greco-Roman world, spoke in the first person as God: "I am the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Many early Christians understood this to be Montanus claiming himself to be God. However, scholars agree that these words of Montanus exemplify the general practice of religious prophets to speak as the passive mouthpieces of the divine, and to claim divine inspiration (similar to modern prophets stating "Thus saith

1920-479: The "proto-orthodox" has the most common ground with the immediate followers of Jesus in the Apostolic Age and Christianity in the 1st century , and were indeed the most common variety of Christianity even then. According to Ehrman, " 'Proto-orthodoxy' refers to the set of [Christian] beliefs that was going to become dominant in the 4th century, held by people before the 4th century." Ehrman expands on

2016-655: The 2nd-century apologist Justin Martyr . The claimed institutional unity of the Christian Church was propaganda constantly repeated by orthodox Christian writers, rather than a genuine historical reality. In order to form a New Testament canon of uniquely Christian works , proto-orthodox Christians went through a process that was complete in the West by the beginning of the 5th century . Athanasius , bishop of Alexandria, Egypt , in his Easter letter of 367, listed

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2112-599: The Black Sea, in Ethiopia , India , Nubia , South Arabia , Soqotra , Central Asia and China . By the sixth-century, there is evidence of Christian communities in Sri Lanka and Tibet . Early Christianity was inclusively open to men and women, rich and poor, slave and free ( Galatians 3:28 ). Baptism was free, and there were no fees, which made Christianity a substantially cheaper form of worship compared with

2208-755: The Catholic Counter-Reformation , were followed by the European wars of religion , the development of modern political concepts of tolerance, and the Age of Enlightenment . Christianity also influenced the New World through its connection to colonialism , its part in the American Revolution , slavery in the west, and the long-term impact of Protestant missions. In the twenty-first century, traditional Christianity has declined in

2304-519: The Christian communities, and the proto-orthodox clergy mostly fought to suppress it. Opponents believed that evil spirits possessed the Phrygian prophets, and both Maximilla and Priscilla were the targets of failed exorcisms . The churches of Asia Minor pronounced the prophecies profane , and excommunicated New Prophecy adherents. Around 177, Apollinarius , Bishop of Hierapolis , presided over

2400-530: The Christian movement. That is, proto-orthodox faith tended to affirm and develop devotional and confessional tradition [...] Arland Hultgren has shown that the roots of this appreciation of traditions of faith actually go back deeply and widely into first-century Christianity. Conversely, David Brakke argues that the "proto-orthodox" category tends to obscure the diversity of views among the very Christian thinkers and groups that are categorized as "proto-orthodox," sustaining an erroneous backward-looking view that

2496-761: The Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament was improperly literal, and the Epistle offered metaphorical interpretations as the truth, such as on the laws concerning diet, fasting, and the Sabbath. Also, the Old Testament was specifically written to presage the coming of Jesus, Christ's covenant superseded the Mosaic covenant, but also, "the Jews had always adhered to a false religion". Those themes were also developed by

2592-531: The King of Armenia, to convert to Christianity. Driven by a universalist logic, Christianity has been, from its beginnings, a missionary faith with global aspirations. It first spread through the Jewish diaspora along the trade and travel routes followed by merchants, soldiers, and migrating tribes. It achieved critical mass in the years between 150 and 250 when it moved from fewer than 50,000 adherents to over

2688-617: The Lord"). That practice occurred in Christian as well as in pagan circles with some degree of frequency. Other beliefs and practices (or alleged beliefs and practices) of Montanism are as follows: It appears that North African Montanism and the form of Montanism in Anatolia had many differences. The Montanists in North Africa believed that the New Testament was the supreme rule of Christian life and theology, and bishops were successors of

2784-468: The New Prophecy called themselves spiritales ("spiritual people") in contrast to their opponents whom they termed psychici ("carnal, natural people"). As the name "New Prophecy" implied, Montanism was a movement focused around prophecy, specifically the prophecies of the movement's founders which were believed to contain the Holy Spirit's revelation for the present age. Prophecy itself was not controversial within 2nd-century Christian communities. However,

2880-688: The New Prophecy, as described by Eusebius of Caesarea , departed from Church tradition: And he [Montanus] became beside himself, and being suddenly in a sort of frenzy and ecstasy , he raved, and began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the constant custom of the Church handed down by tradition from the beginning. According to opponents, the Montanist prophets did not speak as messengers of God, but believed they became fully possessed by God and spoke as God. A prophetic utterance by Montanus described this possessed state: "Lo,

2976-519: The Nicaean council. Clement , a first-century bishop of Rome, refers to the leaders of the Corinthian church in his epistle to Corinthians as bishops and presbyters interchangeably. The New Testament writers also use the terms overseer and elders interchangeably and as synonyms. It is unlikely that Christian offices were derived from the synagogue. The Second and Third centuries included both

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3072-613: The Second Temple by Roman Emperor Titus in 70 contributed to the divergence of Judaism and Christianity as did disagreements about Jewish law, Jewish insurrections against Rome which Christians did not support, and the development of Rabbinic Judaism . What had begun as a Jewish messianic movement becomes a largely Gentile movement that is increasingly divorced from Judaism and its practices. However, Jewish Christianity remained influential in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor into

3168-602: The West, while new forms have developed and expanded throughout the world. Today, there are more than two billion Christians worldwide and Christianity has become the world's largest , and most widespread religion. Within the last century, the centre of growth has shifted from West to East and from the North to the Global South becoming a global religion in the twenty-first century . Early Christianity begins with

3264-565: The apostles and held much similar theology as the Great Church , while Montanus himself had different views. Origen indirectly addresses montanism. History of Christianity#Early Christianity (c. 31 The history of Christianity begins with the ministry of Jesus , a Jewish teacher and healer who was crucified and died c.  AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea . Afterwards, his followers,

3360-476: The beginning of the second century. Imperial authorities arrested him "evidently for Christian activities" and condemned him as fodder for wild beasts. He expressed eagerness to die, expecting thus to "attain to God". Following Ignatius, many proto-orthodox theorists saw it as a privilege to die for faith. In fact, martyrdom became a way to tell the true believers from the heretics. Those who were not willing to die for what they believed were seen as not dedicated to

3456-501: The charitable distributions connected to it. Accordingly, Christian bishops began forming an alternative elite. The first Christian communities were predominantly Jewish, although some also attracted God-fearers : Gentiles who visited Jewish synagogues. The religious, social, and political climate in Judea was extremely diverse and characterized by turmoil. Judaism itself included numerous religious and political movements. One

3552-412: The claims of Montanus were genuine beginning c. 207. He believed in the validity of the New Prophecy and admired the movement's discipline and ascetic standards. Debates continue as to whether Tertullian decisively left the orthodox Church and joined a separate Montanist sect or remained an early proto-orthodox Christian. Although what became the orthodox Christian Church prevailed against Montanism within

3648-412: The commandment…We are clearly obligated to look upon the bishop as the Lord himself ... You should do nothing apart from the bishop." The role of the bishop paved the way for hierarchies in churches that is often seen today. Another important aspect about proto-orthodox Christianity involves its views on Jews and Jewish practices. An important book for them was the Epistle of Barnabas , which taught that

3744-479: The conversion and baptism of its members. These Montanists refused, locked themselves in their houses of worship, set the buildings on fire and perished . Because much of what is known about Montanism comes from anti-Montanist sources, it is difficult to know what they actually believed and how those beliefs differed from the Christian mainstream of the time. The New Prophecy was also a diverse movement, and what Montanists believed varied by location and time. Montanism

3840-410: The costly aristocratic models of patronage, temple building, and cult observances. Inclusivity extended to women who made up significant numbers of Christianity's earliest members. Traditional social expectations of women in the Roman Empire did not encourage them to engage in the same activities as men of the same social class. However, through religious activities, women were sometimes able to attain

3936-440: The cross, as most Gnostics believed). For Ehrman, in the canonical gospels , Jesus is characterized as a Jewish faith healer who ministered to the most despised people of the local culture . Reports of miracle working were not uncommon during an era "in the ancient world [where] most people believed in miracles, or at least in their possibility." The traditional Christian view is that orthodoxy emerged to codify and defend

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4032-570: The early Egyptian churches were largely Gnostic, the 2nd-century churches in Asia Minor were largely Marcionist, and so on. But because the church in the city of Rome was "proto-orthodox", in Ehrman's terms, Bauer contended they had strategic advantages over all other sects because of their proximity to the Roman Empire 's centre of power. As the Roman political and cultural elite converted to

4128-560: The early fifth-century, continuing in parts of the empire into the seventh-century, and into the ninth-century in Greece. Jews and Christians were both religious minorities, claiming the same inheritance, competing in a direct and sometimes violent clash. Augustine's ethic regarding the Jews rejected those who argued they should be killed or forcibly converted. Instead, he said Jews should be allowed to live in Christian societies and practice Judaism without interference because they preserved

4224-583: The empire to become a Christian empire, and they used imperial law to make it easier to be Christian and harder to be pagan. However, there was no legislation forcing the conversion of pagans until the sixth-century, during the reign of the Eastern emperor Justinian I, when there was a shift from generalized legislation to actions that targeted individual centers of paganism. Despite threatening imperial laws, occasional mob violence, and imperial confiscations of temple treasures, paganism remained widespread into

4320-503: The empire. New Testament texts were written and church government was loosely organized in its first centuries, though the biblical canon did not become official until 382. Constantine the Great was the first Roman Emperor that converted to Christianity . In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. He did not make Christianity the state religion, but he did provide crucial support. Constantine called

4416-400: The face of such diversity, the scriptures commonly used in worship provided some unity. The early church fathers rejected the making of images. This rejection, along with the necessity to hide Christian practice from persecution, left behind few early records. What is most likely the oldest Christian art emerged on sarcophagi , and in burial chambers in frescoes and statues, sometime from

4512-457: The faith. Another facet of the faith was the structure of the church. It was common, as it is today, for a church to have a leader . Ignatius wrote several letters to several churches instructing them to let the leaders, usually the bishops , handle all the problems within the church. He exhorted church members to listen to the bishops since they were the leaders: "Be subject to the Bishop as to

4608-635: The first of seven ecumenical councils . By the Early Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had already begun to diverge, while missionary activities spread Christianity across Europe. Monks and nuns played a prominent role in establishing a Christendom that influenced every aspect of medieval life. From the ninth-century into the twelfth, politicization and Christianization went hand-in-hand in developing East-Central Europe , influencing culture, language, literacy, and literature of Slavic countries and Russia . The Byzantine Empire

4704-626: The first-century and had considerable authority even in the formative period. The letters of the Apostle Paul sent to the early Christian communities were circulating in collected form by the end of the first-century. According to Gerd Theissen , institutionalization began very early when itinerant preaching transformed into resident leadership in the first-century. Edwin Judge argues that there must have been organization long before 325 since many bishops were established enough to participate in

4800-468: The fluidity and the consolidation of Christian identity. A more formal Church structure grew, and according to Carrington, that hierarchy developed at different times in different locations. Bishops began presiding over multiple churches and rose in power and influence. The Ante-Nicene period included increasing but sporadic persecution from Roman authorities, and the rise of Christian sects , cults , and movements . The destruction of Jerusalem and

4896-451: The foundation of this separate sect of Christianity. Montanus had two female colleagues, Prisca (sometimes called Priscilla , the diminutive form of her name) and Maximilla , who likewise claimed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Their popularity even exceeded Montanus' own. "The Three" spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and to pray, so that they might share these revelations. Their followers claimed they received

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4992-552: The government's action. Augustine's authority on coercion was undisputed for over a millennium in Western Christianity, and according to Peter Brown, "it provided the theological foundation for the justification of medieval persecution". Opponents of Gnosticism used it to develop better Christian theology. Montanism was mentioned at Nicea but not condemned, however, there were repeated and ongoing writings against it after 324. Traditionally, scholars have seen

5088-464: The greatest controversy as that between Arianism and trinitarianism . Exactly what occurred has long been a matter of intense debate. Sometime around 320, Arius wrote a letter to his bishop, Alexander, distinguishing three distinct "substances" of God with the Father alone as eternal and not having a beginning. In this metaphysic, the Son is not of the same substance as the Father. Alexander responded by taking formal action against Arius and advising

5184-493: The late second to the early third-century. This art is symbolic rather than representative. Much of it is a fusion of Graeco-Roman style and Christian symbolism. Jesus as the good shepherd is the most common image of this period. In 250, the emperor Decius made it a capital offense to refuse to make sacrifices to Roman gods , resulting in widespread persecution of Christians. Valerian pursued similar policies later that decade. The last and most severe official persecution,

5280-485: The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus" and "handed down to us the entire New Testament, twenty-seven books". Similar to later Chalcedonian views about Jesus, the proto-orthodox believed that Christ was both divine as well as a human being, not two halves joined. Likewise they regarded God as three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; but only one God. Martyrdom played a major role in proto-orthodox Christianity, as exemplified by Ignatius of Antioch in

5376-601: The locally held form of Christianity, they started exercising their authority and resources to influence the theology of other communities throughout the Roman Empire, sometimes by force. Bauer cites the First Epistle of Clement as an early example of the bishop of Rome interfering with the church of Corinth to impose its own proto-orthodox doctrine of apostolic succession , and to favour a certain group of local church leaders over another. According to Ehrman, proto-orthodox Christianity bequeathed to subsequent generations "four Gospels to tell us virtually everything we know about

5472-522: The man is as a lyre, and I fly over him as a pick. The man sleepeth, while I watch." Thus, the Phrygians were seen as false prophets because they acted irrationally and were not in control of their senses. A criticism of Montanism was that its followers claimed their revelation received directly from the Holy Spirit could supersede the authority of Jesus or Paul the Apostle or anyone else. In some of his prophecies, Montanus apparently, and somewhat like

5568-432: The opinion of anti-Montanists, the movement's penchant for dramatic public displays by its adherents brought unwanted attention to the still fledgling religion. Thus, fears concerning the appearance of Montanist practices to their non-Christian rulers fueled anti-Montanist sentiment. The imperial government carried out sporadic executions of Christians under the reign of Marcus Aurelius , circa AD 161–180, which coincides with

5664-655: The orders of Justinian, John of Ephesus led an expedition to Pepuza to destroy the Montanist shrine there, which was based on the tombs of Montanus, Priscilla and Maximilla. A Montanist sect in Galatia, the Tascodrugites , is attested around 600 by Timothy of Constantinople and in the 9th century by Theodore the Studite . A sect called "Montanist" existed in the 8th century; the Emperor Leo III ordered

5760-418: The orthodox community. This was the case at Carthage . While not without tension, the church there avoided schism over the issue. There were women prophesying at Carthage, and prophecy was considered a genuine charism . It was the responsibility of the council of elders to test all prophecy and to determine genuine revelation. Tertullian , undoubtedly the best-known defender of the New Prophecy, believed that

5856-534: The pagan world. Late Antiquity can be seen as an era of economic struggle with periods of stagnation and periods of tremendous activity. The Christian faith grew and spread through the Empire into Western Europe and around the Mediterranean basin . Different doctrines and practices emerged as schisms and heresies due to its multiple geographic and cultural contexts. Church organization began to mirror

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5952-499: The persecution of Christians in the East. With the promulgation of the Edict of Milan in 313, in which co-emperors Constantine and Licinius legalized all religions, persecution of Christians by the Roman state ceased. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first country in the world to establish Christianity as its state religion when, in an event traditionally dated to 301, Gregory the Illuminator convinced Tiridates III ,

6048-454: The powerful psychological attraction of elitism. Christian and non-Christian witnesses testify to the zealousness of Christian communities for almsgiving and charity. Christians showed the poor great generosity. Early Christianity redefined family by burying together church members not related by blood and extending funeral rites to include the Christian community. Christians had no sacrificial cult, and this set them apart from Judaism and

6144-469: The prophetic gift from the prophets Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia , figures believed to have been part of a line of prophetic succession stretching all the way back to Agabus (1st century AD) and to the daughters of Philip the Evangelist . In time, the New Prophecy spread from Montanus's native Phrygia across the Christian world, to Africa and to Gaul . The response to the New Prophecy split

6240-468: The same immunities polytheistic priests had long enjoyed. By intervening in church disputes, he initiated a precedent for ecclesiastical councils. Constantine was the first emperor to order the restoration of properties to the churches. There was a burst of church building under Constantine, and Christian art and literature blossomed. By the late fourth-century, there were churches in essentially all Roman cities. Overt pagan-Christian religious conflict

6336-595: The same twenty-seven New Testament books as found in the Canon of Trent . The first council that accepted the present canon of the New Testament may have been the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa (393). The acts of this council are lost. A brief summary of the acts was read at and accepted by the Council of Carthage (397) and the Council of Carthage (419) . To Ehrman, "Proto-orthodox Christians argued that Jesus Christ

6432-416: The second and third centuries. By the early third-century, there existed a set of early Christian writings similar to the current New Testament . Although a general acceptance of the four gospels and the letters of Paul as authoritative is found in the second and third centuries, it is significant that church leaders assigned different degrees of authority to different writings. There were disputes over

6528-437: The spread of Montanism. There is no clear evidence as to what happened to Montanus. One of the most widespread stories at the time, as stated by an anonymous associate of Apollinarius , is that he hanged himself, as did Maximilla, although he does not exclude the possibility of them dying some other way. There was never a uniform excommunication of New Prophecy adherents, and in many places they maintained their standing within

6624-424: The structure of the Roman Empire. The Theodosian Age embracing the last twenty years of the fourth century and the first twenty years of the fifth has been described as "the last renaissance of the Roman Empire". By the second half of the fifth-century, cities were in decline, streets were no longer being built, and fortifications were decaying. Constantine the Great became emperor in the West, declared himself

6720-478: The teachings of the Old Testament and were "living witnesses" of the New. According to Anna Sapir Abulafia , scholars agree that "with the marked exception of Visigothic Spain in the seventh-century, Jews in Latin Christendom lived relatively peacefully with their Christian neighbors" until the 1200s. Sometime before the fifth-century, the theology of supersessionism emerged, claiming that Christianity had displaced Judaism as God's chosen people. Supersessionism

6816-442: The thesis of German New Testament scholar Walter Bauer (1877–1960), laid out in his primary work Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (1934). Bauer hypothesised that the Church Fathers, most notably Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History , "had not given an objective account of the relationship of early Christian groups." Instead, Eusebius would have "rewritten the history of early Christian conflicts, so as to validate

6912-410: The third-century had already produced a decline of urbanism and prosperity. Further economic disruption in the fourth and fifth-centuries occurred when various Germanic peoples sacked Rome, and invaded Britain, Gaul, and Iberia. Such disruption made fewer public funds and private donations available to support expensive pagan festivals and temples. Under Constantine, non-Christians became subject to

7008-636: The towns of Pepuza and Tymion in west-central Phrygia as the site of the New Jerusalem , making the larger—Pepuza—his headquarters. Phrygia as a source for this new movement was not arbitrary. Hellenization was slow to take root in Phrygia, unlike many of the surrounding eastern regions of the Roman Empire. This sense of difference, while simultaneously having easy access to the rest of the Mediterranean Christian world , encouraged

7104-564: The traditional Eusebian narrative. Bauer was the first to suggest that what later became known as "orthodoxy" was originally just one out of many early Christian sects, such as the Ebionites , Gnostics , and Marcionists , that was able to eliminate all major opposition by the end of the 3rd century, and managed to establish itself as orthodoxy at the First Council of Nicaea (325) and subsequent ecumenical councils . According to Bauer,

7200-481: The traditions inherited from the Apostles themselves. Hurtado argues that Ehrman's "proto-orthodox" Christianity was rooted into first-century Christianity : ...to a remarkable extent early-second-century protoorthodox devotion to Jesus represents a concern to preserve, respect, promote, and develop what were by then becoming traditional expressions of belief and reverence, and that had originated in earlier years of

7296-596: The use of a church for his congregation on the grounds that the martyrs to whom it was dedicated had been Montanists. He was obliged to flee after the victory of Theodosius I . In his own time, Augustine (354–430) records that the Tertullianist group had dwindled to almost nothing and, finally, was reconciled to the church and handed over its basilica. It is not certain whether these Tertullianists were in all respects "Montanist" or not. In 530 Emperor Justinian expelled Montanist clergy from Constantinople. In 550, on

7392-479: The victory of the orthodox party that he himself represented." Eusebius claimed that orthodoxy derived directly from the teachings of Jesus and his earliest followers, and had always been the majority view; by contrast, all other Christian views were branded as "heresies", that is to say, willful corruptions of the truth, held by small numbers of minorities. In modern times, many non-orthodox early Christian writings were discovered by scholars, gradually challenging

7488-592: The vociferous anti-Christian criticism of the early church was linked to "female initiative" which indicates women were playing a significant role. Monasticism was one area of antique life that gave women who practiced charismatic asceticism some control over their destinies. Ross Kraemer theorizes that the ascetic life was attractive to large numbers of women. It offered an escape from marriage and motherhood and offered an intellectual life with access to social and economic power that would otherwise have eluded them. A key characteristic of these inclusive communities

7584-606: The wider Christian Church, and the Christian theologian Tertullian even recorded an event where a bishop almost declared Montanism as orthodox , however changing his mind later. Some contemporary Christian theologians have drawn parallels between Montanism and modern-day Protestant movements , such as the Charismatic movement , as well as Pentecostalism (including Oneness Pentecostals ). Scholars debate as to when Montanus first began his prophetic activity, having chosen dates varying from c. AD 135 to as late as AD 177. Montanus

7680-460: The wider church to do the same. Proto-orthodox Christianity Although early Christianity had many diverse sects and doctrines, critics of the stance of downplaying the proto-orthodox's prominence (such as Larry W. Hurtado ), generally argue that the writings of the Catholic anti-heresiologists condemning others as heretics was still essentially accurate: that of all the Christian groups,

7776-553: The year 100. The earliest date for the council is 47, but most likely it was held in 49 or 50. The issue concerned Gentiles joining the movement in increasing numbers and the Judaizers who wanted them to follow Jewish law. "The faith that was Jewish in form, and universal in content, had to be adjusted to non-Jewish people". In its first three centuries, some saw Christianity as a threat which led to localized persecution by mobs and governors. The first reference to persecution by

7872-528: Was Jewish messianism with its roots in Jewish apocalyptic literature . Its prophecy and poetry promised a future anointed leader (messiah or king) from the Davidic line to resurrect the Israelite Kingdom of God and replace the foreign rulers. The nature of the earliest communities and the texts they produced indicate Jesus' first followers saw him as that promised Messiah. Saul of Tarsus,

7968-404: Was a much higher priority than paganism for Christians of this period. In North Africa during the reign of Constantine, Donatism formed as a schism. Donatists refused - sometimes violently - to accept back into the Church those who had handed over sacred texts during Diocletian's persecution. After many appeals, the empire responded with force, and in 408 in his Letter 93, Augustine defended

8064-524: Was a recent convert when he first began prophesying, supposedly during the proconsulate of Gratus in a village in Mysia named Ardabau; no proconsul and village so named have been identified, however. Some accounts claim that before his conversion to Christianity, Montanus was a priest of Apollo or Cybele . He believed he was a prophet of God and that the Paraclete spoke through him. Montanus proclaimed

8160-706: Was both divine and human, that he was one being instead of two, and that he had taught his disciples the truth." This view that he is "a unity of both divine and human" (the Hypostatic union ) is opposed to both Adoptionism (that Jesus was only human and "adopted" by God, as the Ebionites believed), and Docetism (that Christ was only divine and merely seemed to be human, as the Marcionists believed), as well as Separationism (that an aeon had entered Jesus' body, which separated again from him during his death on

8256-800: Was in Gaul , North Africa, and the city of Rome. It spread (in its Arian form) in the Germanic world during the latter part of the third-century, and probably reached Roman Britain by the third-century at the latest. From the earliest days, there was a Christian presence in Edessa (modern Turkey). It developed in Adiabene in the Parthian Empire in Persia (modern Iran). It developed in Georgia by

8352-503: Was later persuaded by Praxeas to recall them. In 193, an anonymous writer found the church at Ancyra in Galatia torn in two, and opposed the "false prophecy" there. Eventually, Montanist teachings came to be regarded as heresy by the orthodox Great Church for a number of reasons. The clash of basic beliefs between the movement's proponents and the greater Christian world was likely enough for such conflict to occur. Additionally, in

8448-653: Was more prosperous than the Western Roman Empire , and Eastern Orthodoxy was influential, however, centuries of Islamic aggression and the Crusades negatively impacted Eastern Christianity. During the High Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had grown far enough apart that differences led to the East–West Schism of 1054. Temporary reunion was not achieved until the year before

8544-419: Was needed. The owner of the house was patron and host. The typical setting for worship was the communal meal which was not yet formally distinguished from the eucharistic meal. These house churches would each have been overseen by a presbyter/bishop whose primary role was economic. Any liturgical role would still have been linked to the substantial character of the eucharistic meal, the resources needed for it, and

8640-544: Was never official or universally held, but replacement theology has been part of Christian thought through much of history. Many attribute the emergence of antisemitism to this doctrine, while others make a distinction between supersessionism and modern antisemitism. There has been a paradigm shift in modern scholarship that questions the existence of heresy and orthodoxy before the Council of Nicea (325) and differentiates heresy from schism. The Church of Late Antiquity

8736-408: Was not easy, and hunger was common. 'Religion' in this context did not exist separately from politics or the family household. The 'house church' was the earliest stage of development and organization in the new Jesus movement. Voluntary associations known as collegia served as a model. Some church members were of higher social and economic standing than others and used their means to provide what

8832-554: Was once the dominant view of Late Antiquity. Twenty-first-century scholarship indicates that, while hostile Christian actions toward pagans and their monuments did occur, violence was not a general phenomenon. As Jan N. Bremmer writes, "religious violence in Late Antiquity is mostly restricted to violent rhetoric". Support for the polytheistic religions had been declining since the second-century B.C. and continued to decline throughout Late Antiquity. The economic crisis of

8928-728: Was particularly influenced by Johannine literature , especially the Gospel of John and the Apocalypse of John (also known as the Book of Revelation). In John's Gospel, Jesus promised to send the Paraclete or Holy Spirit, from which Montanists believed their prophets derived inspiration. In the Apocalypse, John was taken by an angel to the top of a mountain where he sees the New Jerusalem descend to earth. Montanus identified this mountain as being located in Phrygia near Pepuza. Followers of

9024-426: Was seen by its supporters as a universal church. Membership was based on belief, and correct belief - defined by apostolic tradition - identified variations as heresies according to their degrees of difference from the "true church". Ancient authors labeled anyone with doctrinal variations and different practices as heretical. The sheer number of laws directed at heresy in the fourth and fifth centuries indicate it

9120-713: Was the Son of God, the Christ , a title in Greek for the Hebrew term mashiach (Messiah) meaning “the anointed one", who had been raised from the dead and exalted by God . As Frances Young has written, "The incarnation is what turns Jesus into the foundation of Christianity". The Christian church established these as its founding doctrines, with baptism and the celebration of the Eucharist meal (Jesus' Last Supper) as its two primary rituals. Christianity initially emerged in

9216-403: Was their unique type of exclusivity. Believing was the crucial and defining characteristic of membership. Correct belief identified and separated believers from the "unbeliever" creating a high social boundary. Such exclusivity formed an important part of Christianity's success by enabling independence in a society that syncretized religion. In Daniel Praet's view, exclusivity gave Christianity

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