New prophecy and “new visions”: Evidence of Montanism in the “Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas”

• Main Author: Butler, Rex Dale
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2002
• Subjects: Religious history; Theology
• ISBN: 9780493606101; 0493606106

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, a precious document of the early church, reported the imprisonment and martyrdom of six Carthaginian Christians in 203. The relationship of the Passion to Montanism, the reforming sect, is the subject of scholarly debate. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the Passion for evidence of Montanism and to propose that the three authors, Perpetua, Saturus, and the unnamed editor, were Montanists. The introduction surveys previous research into the Passion and its relationship to Montanism and outlines the methods of research used in the dissertation. Chapter one presents a brief history of the Montanist sect and details its beliefs and practices in order to establish the criteria by which the Passion can be judged as a Montanist document. Chapter two addresses issues of authorship: the authenticity of the diaries and the identity of the editor. Special attention is given to the possibility that Tertullian was the editor. Chapter three examines all the sections of the Passion, which include the editorial framework, Perpetua's diary, Saturus' vision, and the account of the martyrdom, for Montanist influence. The summary then presents a thematic overview, demonstrating that the entire Montanist matrix is represented in this document. Chapter four conducts three examinations into the literary/historical context of the Passion. First, a study of subsequent editions of the Passion, a Greek translation and the shorter Latin Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas, shows that later modifications made by orthodox redactors eliminated evidence of Montanism apparent in the Passion . Second, some scholars deny the presence of Montanism in the Passion due to its acceptance by the ecclesiastical establishment, particularly Augustine, so the relationship of the Passion and its participants to the larger church is examined. Third, other acts of martyrs are compared to the Passion to prove that it is a uniquely Montanist document. The conclusion summarizes the evidence of Montanist influence on the Passion and evaluates the importance of the document in the contemporary understanding of the early church and Montanism. Translations of two texts of the shorter Latin Acts, unavailable in English, are provided in an appendix.