Seth has written 21 articles

John De Soyres on the Montanist doctrine of prophecy

The New Revelation Montanus and his followers claimed to have received a revelation of God, of a nature supplementary to that communicated by Christ and His apostles. Its foundation is to be found in a literal and exclusive acceptation of the promise of the Paraclete, “who will guide you into all truth,”and “shew you things to come”(John xvi.…

Scholar and Protestant John De Soyres’ 1878 summary of Montanist beliefs

We conclude then, as follows, as to the origin and character of Montanism : I. That it was neither the individual theory propounded by a man, nor the reflection of any past manifestation, whether Jewish or Heathen; but a simple reaction towards the primitive simplicity of Christianity, with a claim to the fulfilment of distinct promises from Christ to His Spiritual…

Tertullian, a Montanist, believed in baptism of believers by immersion, not sprinkling

The following paragraphs are excerpts from Tertullian’s work, Concerning Baptism, written some time in the late second or early third century. It is almost certain that Tertullian authored this work before he became a Montanist.1See http://www.tertullian.org/chronology.htm for a suggested chronology  This is significant because it means that the practice of dipping/immersing repentant converts did not originate primarily from…

Eusebius’s account of Montanus — Schaff’s footnotes included

Chapter XVI.—The Circumstances related of Montanus and his False Prophets.1Montanism must not be looked upon as a heresy in the ordinary sense of the term. The movement lay in the sphere of life and discipline rather than in that of theology. Its fundamental proposition was the continuance of divine revelation which was begun under the…

Dr. Thomas Armitage on Tertullian and the Montanists

A brief sketch of Tertullian may aid in throwing light upon the Montanists, who held some peculiarities in common with modern Baptists. He was the greatest of the Latin fathers, except Augustine, being pre-eminently the father of his day and class, A. D. 160-240. He was born at Carthage, North Africa, where his father was…

Montanists were the subject of the first Synods according to Tertullian

The first Synods of which we have any account were held (in 160-170) in Greece, the seat of the Amphictyonic Councils, to deliberate respecting the Montanists, and respecting the time of celebrating Easter. Tertullian, in his book ” On Fasts” (De Jejuniis), written about the year 200, thus describes them (c. 13) : “Throughout Greece,…

The Struggle For a Pure Church – Montanism, Novations, Donatists, Arianism, Athanasius – by Charles Vedder 1907

CHAPTER V THE STRUGGLE FOR A PURE CHURCH THIS degeneration in the church, whose stages we traced in the preceding chapter, was a gradual process, whose completion occupied several centuries. It did not occur without resistance, determined, prolonged, and frequently renewed. Many attempts were made at a reformation of the church, a return to the…