Its story
Montanism, which its followers called 'the New Prophecy', arose in Phrygia (Asia Minor). Its date is disputed: Eusebius suggests c. 172 and Epiphanius c. 156–157; scholars propose dates between c. 135 and 177. Montanus and two prophetesses, Priscilla (or Prisca) and Maximilla, spoke in ecstasy in the first person on behalf of the Spirit, and named the towns of Pepuza and Tymion as the place where the New Jerusalem would descend.
On the doctrine of God they did not depart from the common faith; what was new was the claim that the Paraclete promised in John 14–16 now spoke through their prophets with an authority that completed the Church's discipline: stricter fasts, rejection of second marriages, readiness for martyrdom without flight, and harsher penitential discipline. The prominence of women prophets also drew attention.
Bishops in Asia Minor held local synods—among the earliest on record—and judged that ecstatic prophecy of this kind was not that of the biblical prophets; the bishop of Rome eventually disapproved of the movement. It is known mainly through hostile sources preserved by Eusebius (Church History V.16–19) and Epiphanius, although Tertullian, who joined the New Prophecy around 207, offers a view from inside.
Montanism survived in Phrygia until the 6th century, when it was suppressed by imperial law under Justinian. Its story raised lasting questions: how prophecy relates to ordained ministry, whether public revelation closed with the apostles, and how to discern spiritual gifts. It is therefore often mentioned in modern debates about charismatic movements, though direct comparisons are contested.