The New Prophecy and New Visions: Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas (review)

The virtue of this book lies in its comprehensiveness as a systematic status quaestionis on the Montanism of the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas. The author begins by arguing that prophecy, women's authority, eschatological expectation, rigorism, and an exaltation of martyrdom define Montanism; but since these are also found in orthodox Christianity, Butler does well later in specifying what is idiosyncratic: ecstatic behavior (visions, glossalalia), the use of cheese in the sacramental meal, a belief that the Spirit inspired a new age of prophecy and an elevation of the Spirit's position in the Trinity, an anticipation of Christ's imminent return in the form of a woman, and the leadership of women as bishops and deacons. Butler disputes what many consider fundamental to Montanism, i.e., a denial of forgiveness for major sins after baptism. This, he argues, is a later development in Tertullian, reflecting the spiritual climate of Carthage.

Butler identifies historiographical traditions, correlating them with particular confessions: those who consider the Passion Montanist are generally Protestants while Catholics tend to view the work as orthodox even if acknowledging certain Montanist characteristics. The author gathers together the arguments of dozens of scholars, often to refute them in his contention that the editor of the Passion as well as Perpetua and Saturus were Montanist (among them, T. Barnes, F. C. Baur, N. Bonwetsch, J. Daniélou, C. Klaewiter, R. A. Knox, H. Kraft, P. de Labriolle, R. Rader, W. Ramsay, A. Ritschl, T. Ruinart, W. Schepelern, F. C. A. Schwegler, W. Tabbernee, M. Tilley, C. Trevett, and W. Weinrich).

On the whole, Butler argues judiciously, e.g., the editor of the text quotes Acts 2.17–18 ("For in the last days, God declares, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and their sons and daughters shall prophesy . . ."), and this can be taken as belief in the new prophecy of the spirit. Occasionally, however, Butler's evidence is quite speculative. Though Perpetua has elaborate visions, the evidence he adduces that she speaks in tongues is unconvincing (i.e., use of the verb ingemescere, 70); nor does the absence of a husband imply that Perpetua was, like Priscilla or Quartilla, a female leader. Most of Butler's evidence falls into the gray area shared with orthodox Christians. As a means of judging Montanist elements, he compares the Passion with other acts from North Africa, finding no Montanist tendencies in the Scillitan martyrs. He credits the Passion with influencing the Acts of Cyprian, Marion and James, Montanus and Lucius in appropriating charismatic gifts and emphasizing visions rather than sharing common beliefs. The martyrs of Lyons, he argues, were proto-Montanists in their emphasis on Spirit and in the prominence of women.

The question remains: what is uniquely Montanist in the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas and what is held in common with other Christians? Butler tends to minimize the shared elements. A case in point is the desire to ameliorate the sinner's suffering, which the Passion shares with orthodox teachers but which the rigorist Tertullian rejects. (Perpetua's intercession allows her deceased brother to leave the hot "place of darkness" to be refreshed by water and light.) To keep the Passion Montanist, Butler must dismiss the rigorism of Tertullian as idiosyncratic and not authentically Montanist. A more flexible approach, however, might serve better than rigid categorization.

Ultimately, what makes the Passion Montanist is a matter of degree. Compared with the Acts of the Martyrs of Lyons, for example, the theology of the spirit is more highly developed, the eschatological theme is more prominent, and the emphasis on visions and divine intervention granted to the confessors is greater (cf. 120). Strictly speaking, the question of orthodoxy is anachronistic, given that the Passion and its martyrs have been accepted by Catholic tradition. Butler's work demonstrates that the question of...