utumn of the nineteenth
regnal year
of Antoninus Pius (156 C.E.), in the dusty, remote Phrygian
village of Ardabau...
In a private chamber of the village shrine of Magna Mater,
Archigalla Carata spoke
solemnly to Prisca,``A new religion is drawing the common people
from our ancient practices.
They call us heathens and ridicule us. People sense that the
world is coming to an ending;
they are desparate for simple answers... seeking assurance of
salvation, not esoteric mysteries so loved
by the learned sophisticates. Perhaps this Jesus is Attis
reborn! Yet, it disturbs me to see how
these Christian dogmas decrease women, manifesting men as
superior, to dominate over women.
When I was dancing for the Mother and Her only Son, but two
nights ago, Her voice spoke within me! I was given
to know that our only chance for survival is to meld our
spirituality into a new form.''
``My Lady, what are we to do?'' asked Prisca, her stola shimmering in the light from the temple torches.
``Dancing to the music of the flute and drum and playing my tympanum until my hands bled, Magna Mater descended into me and spoke through me. She called herself the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, Divine Sophia, the Holy feminine aspect of God. Behold! Man is a lyre and I play upon him as with a plectrum; man sleeps and I arouse him. Behold! It is the Lord who throws men's souls into ecstasy and gives them a heart! (2) I've been charged with bringing forth the New Prophecy, and at my side shall be Maximilla and you, my Priscilla, my little proud one. The Holy Spirit will continue to speak with my tongue, and with yours.''
``What is the New Prophecy?'' asked Maximilla, slipping an arm around the waist of Prisca.
``Some Christians, believing the usurper Paul, claim the time of prophecy is past, and the books are closed. This isn't true. I have been given to know that the Divine Creator, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are Three, yet they are One. The Triple Goddess is retained in the heart of the Christian Way, although they aren't aware of it,'' answered Carata, casually plucking a grape from the patera of offerings upon the altar.
``How do they view deity, if not as we do?'' questioned Prisca, strolling casually toward the brazier sitting on the altar near the dish of fruit. Warming her hands she gazed expectantly at Carata, waiting for an answer.
``They view divinity as three separate beings and have rejected, at least for now, that the three are one. Also they cast off the feminine aspect, making the Holy Spirit sexless and leaving no place in their religion for women, except as obedient, mindless servants of men. Neither do they honor Eve, considering her wicked for disobeying God's admonition not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They are, of course, unversed. How is it that God would put it there, if he had not intended the fruit to be eaten? '' responded Carata placing the grape in her mouth, biting down gently, and then swallowing.
``They can't do such a thing. Women won't put up with it,'' responded Maximilla, her blood beginning to boil.
``They can and they do, and dissenters are relentlessly hounded. Dispute from the grave is fraught with extreme difficulty,'' answered Carata, light perspiration glistening on (he)r forehead warmed by the flames of the torches.
``What are we to do?'' asked both women, their voices joined in unison.
``We must bring forth new prophecies, retaining as much of our ancient worship as we dare. We will retain our musical instruments, our dancing, our singing, and our ecstasies. I will invoke the Goddess in the form of the Paraclete; speaking Her ancient wisdom. We can't allow Her to be swallowed up by the new religion. If we disguise Her, She may yet be saved. You both will have, as you do now, the highest authority and will continue guiding the people with your prophecies,'' answered Carata, placing a hand on the left shoulder of Prisca and (he)r other on the right shoulder of Maximilla, as they stood before (he)r arms encircled around each other's waist.
``And you, what will become of you?'' asked Prisca, her eyes glistening, wide awake, alert.
``I will do as I must. Except for the ecstasies, and in private with my dearest friends, I retake my family name, Montanus. I will be known to them as a priest. The hatred of the Messianic Jews for the Gallae is retained in the Christian theologies. They wouldn't tolerate me in the form you know me. However, for those who understand me, I shall always call forth the Goddess in my person and in my heart. I am no less a woman for what I do, I am more. I'm presenting the greatest of womanly virtues; self-sacrifice for the greater good,'' Carata spoke with pride and a certain joy, then (s)he hugged both women together and they hugged (he)r in return.
``With the blessing of the Goddess, we will endure,'' (s)he continued, tears brimming (he)r eyes. ``I am most blessed to have the two of you at my side.''
``It's we who are blessed, My Lady,'' quietly cooed Prisca, her head on Carata's shoulder.
``I agree,'' spoke up Maximilla, kissing Carata lightly on the lips.
Two years later... in ecstatic trance before the crowds
in Pepuza...
Maximilla, trembling, whirling, drenched in frenzied sweat,
shouts,
"I am the Word, and the Spirit, and the Power! (3)
"Be resolute! Be chaste! Be perfect! I see the coming of a great
war... a war of
all against all, in which the mighty shall be brought low! The
Spiritual will triumph over the
Carnal. We must dedicate our bodies to chastity. Blessed are they
who leave their husbands and
wives for the sake of the Lord! Those widowed should not remarry
in any case, for the time
grows short. Spirit enjoins us henceforth to fast two
extra weeks on dried foods. In this fast,
abstain from flesh, wine, and the bath. Focus your spirit wholly
on the Blessed Lord!"
Prisca rose, singing in an unknown tongue, then grew still and
spoke of her ecstasies
in hushed tones. The crowd strained to hear. "I had a vision
of the Christ, come in the
glorious form of a woman, arrayed in royal garments of purple and
gold. She has inspired
me with wisdom of events which will transpire soon. Only
those of purest heart shall
endure. Most Blessed are they, for they shall see New Jerusalem
desending
from the Heavens in Celestial Glory. This very city, Pepuza,
shall be the earthly throne of
the Divine One. And She shall come as the Bride of Heaven,
arrayed with jewels of light!" (4)
Thus it was that Carata (Montanus), Prisca, and Maximilla
began the Montantist
sect of Christianity and it thrived, spreading into Europe as
well as North Africa. In 178 C.E., as it grew in
influence, Roman bishops condemned it. Spreading abroad, and with
the passage of time,
Montanist doctrines grew more in accord with those of other
sects, though retaining strict morality
and apparent eagerness for martyrdom. Tertullian embraced the
cause while placing his own stamp
upon it.
Among facets of Montanism that were originally found
objectionable were Prisca's prophecies
that the return of Christ would be as a woman, implying that
Christians watching only for a man would miss
Her. The Spiritual Ones (pneumatikoi) had little
enthusiasm for building up earthly organizations
and hierarchies, because they believed in the immanence of the
Apocalypse. Not to mention that Montanism encouraged
followers to prophecy through ecstatic dancing and speaking in
tongues. If common folk had the gift of prophecy and
the authority that came with it, what need would they of priests?
Church coffers would be empty. Then, some Christians regarded the
sect as too ascetic, their morality too strict in character.
Others honored it too highly, Hippolytus wrote: "They claim to
have learned more from these women than from the
Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels. Yet they raise these wretched
females above Christ's own Apostles and the gifts of Grace... so
much so that a few of them dare to assert that they contain in
themselves something superior to Christ Himself!" (5)
After the passing of Montanus and the prophetesses, leadership of
the community passed to Themiso. The sect, under Themiso's leadership,
shed many of its more radical aspects, which was when it attracted the
allegiance of Tertullian, a church father of North Africa. It also had become
obvious that the expected universal wars and awaited Second Advent were not
taking place in that generation.
Eventually, after Theodosius formally established his Church as
the Imperial state religion in 381 C.E., Montanism
was outlawed and state authority employed to harrass the remnant
of the followers. However, it was during the reign
of Justinian and Theodora that the worst toll was taken, decades
after the last vestiges of Empire had crumbled
in Rome itself. The Byzantine Emperor was determined to
eradicate all remains of the Montanist heresy. All Montanists,
adults and their children, gathering in despair, were burned
alive in their temples. Some historians prefer to
believe that the Montanists, thousands of people, committed communal
suicide; a most suspect conjecture.The Montanists' homes
too were burned, along with all their meager possessions. Even
the bones of Montanus/Carata, Prisca, and Maximilla were
dug up and burned by John of Ephesus in 550 C.E., lest their
spirits walk the earth seeking vengeance.
Thus, despite some possible survivals in the sect of the
"effeminate" Messalians in Mesopotamia, orthodoxy
succeeded in crushing the last surviving members of Montanism in
Phyrgia... and the strong voice of the
feminine in Christianity, was to all intents and purposes,
silenced for centuries.
References for the direct quotations from Maximilla, Prisca,
and commentators:
Two other books documenting the continuation of classical
religion in the formative period of Christianity: