The Charismatic movement is one of the oldest and most dangerous phenomena in the history of the Church. This movement's rather controversial theological views stir until this day many violent discussions among the different churches. Many rational Orthodox theologians and believers accuse it of corrupting the true Christian faith and contradicting the traditions inherited from the Apostles and early Fathers. Not to mention that many "Christian" sects are using the practices it introduces to pull the simple-minded into their ideas, and to gather as many people as possible, in an age where humanity is sinking in the "latitudinarism" of modern religion, and the rise of individual faith and naïve personal beliefs in opposition to the faith of the Church and its saints throughout the ages.

A man called Montanus founded one of the oldest charismatic cults in Christianity. His heresy threatened the Church to a degree so grave that the Holy Fathers raged a ferocious war against it, and called for local councils to excommunicate it, despite its strict pietism, emphasis on what it called "prophecy" and some gifts. Nevertheless, the heresy spread throughout Asia Minor and northern Africa.

Montanism started in the village of Ardabau near Mysia in Phrygia, in the second half of the second century. Montanus, who was a priest of the ecstatic cult of Cybele before converting to Christianity, began prophesizing in the year (172 AD). He taught his followers that second marriages were acts of adultery that must be avoided, enforced strict fasts, taught of non-forgiveness to those who fell in great sins, and despised arts and science. Because this heresy was characterized with prejudice and strictness, it brought Montanus many enthusiastic followers. Montanus later dedicated many people to carry on his charismatic work; the most famous among those were the prophetesses Priscilla and Maximilla, and the prophets Alexipias and Theodoritus.

Montanism continued spreading until it reached Leon in the time of Elvuthreius Bishop of Rome (174 - 189). It is also mentioned that Montanism became very powerful in Ankara, the capital of Galatia. Before 190 the heresy had already reached Antioch, forcing its Bishop Serapion (190 - 211; the ninth bishop after Saint Peter the Apostle) to send a letter to the hierarchs Kryxus and Pontius containing signatures of various bishops in the Church excommunicating Montanism. The heresy reached Rome probably in the year 200, and many discussions were held with its followers (Such as that held between Proclus the Montanist and Ghayus in the time of Zephyrinus Bishop of Rome 198 - 217). The Canon of Moratori (the oldest list of authorized New Testament books, written in Rome between 170 - 180) mentions Montanism among heresies and rejects its teachings and writings.

The oldest reference to Montanism is in the "Ecclesiastical History" by Eusebius of Caesarea (+ 340). The writer quotes from one of the early Fathers that the prophecies of Maximilla never came true, even thirteen years after her death. And that just because Montanism has martyrs does not mean that they hold the truth, because even heretics have their own martyrs. It is clear from this reference that one of the greatest arguments between Montanists and the Church in Asia Minor was whether a real prophet prophesies in a state of hallucination and frenzy.

In the "Refutation of Heresies" by Hippolytus of Rome (217 - 235) Montanists are criticized for preferring their prophets and holding them above Christ, the Apostles, and every gift, and for not investigating the teachings they receive. In a different section he points to the fact that there are no differences between Montanists and Orthodox Christians on creation and Christ. Their error, in his opinion, lies in relying on their prophets' words rather than the Gospels, and enforcing new practices that disagree with tradition.

Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus (215 - 403) wrote in his "Panarion" a whole chapter on Montanism using ancient documents. He says that Montanists receive the Holy Bible in all, the resurrection of the dead, and the Trinity; but they mislead in their teachings on gifts. He mentions Montanist books, the verses they use, and the Church's refutation of them, and reveals the fundamental question of whether it is possible to rely on a person who prophesizes absent-mindedly.

Modern charismatic groups acquired a great deal from the experiences of their predecessors, directly or indirectly. The spreaders of these ideas preach themselves as divine mediators and carriers of superior gifts, as if these are granted through them, although they are numbered in the hundreds and contradict each other's doctrines.

Benny Hinn is a modern charismatic whose shows are broadcasted all over the world to serve the charismatic Protestant propaganda. His "holy" power has been criticized and studied by parapsychologists. Many healers follow his footsteps in the religious media, and spread dangerously in the United States and elsewhere. On the other hand, we have Emiliano Tardif, a Catholic charismatic whose visits to many European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries strengthened a new charismatic wave within the Catholic Church, in opposition to the charismatic Protestant movement in those countries; nevertheless, he has been criticized bitterly by some rational Catholic theologians.

We can name hundreds of healers and movements with such practices: The Children of God, the Mormons, the Amish, the "new thought" groups, many Baptist sects, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many other fundamentalist cults that surround us. Our Church in the Middle East suffers today from this growing disease, which is supported by Christian Zionist organizations and Israeli media.

History shows that most of these movements rely on clever individuals who exploit religion to make a fortune, attract followers, and to enjoy the ability to control the public. In doing so, they deprive Christianity of everything that is truly significant. Nevertheless, many of its misled followers have great love for God, which needs to find the correct way to be expressed, and no way is greater, nor holier, than the Orthodox way.

By Abraham Aboud
Saint Andrew Orthodox Church - Riverside, CA