LATER MONTANISM: EGGLESIOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY

The Three died. Themiso (of the ‘catholic epistle’) and Miltiades were then among the leading figures. Perhaps it was the latter's writings which were rejected in 11. 81–2 of the Roman Muratorian Fragment (cf. Eusebius HE v. 16, 3), for the Prophecy was known to its creator (see 3.9.3 above). We know little about the Prophets' churches, however, and there is near silence from Montanists themselves (though we learn a lot about catholic action against them, see 5.2 and 5.3 below). There is the account of the supposed Montanist of the Dialexis and some evidence from epigraphy, but mostly we are reliant on writers such as Epiphanius, Augustine and Jerome, none of whom had cause to present a balanced picture or desire to understand the finer points of Montanist teaching. As for ‘the simple faithful’ in the churches, they probably knew little about their more exotic neighbours and cared less. To the world ‘the Montanist in the street’ must have seemed like any other Christian, except of course that we know some of them lived exciting lives of the Spirit and communed with angels (Nanas).

Toleration (if it had ever existed) did not last. The age of Constantine and his successors brought emphasis on uniformity of worship and so Montanist peculiarities would have become obvious. Their celebration of Easter according to an alien calendar, for example, would have marked them out and might even have had them prosecuted. Loyal citizens of the state would be properly assembled (after catholic fashion) on the (proper) Easter Day (so the measure of Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius I, 382 ce).