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Montanist

Montanist

1 9.9
A member of an early Christian group who believes in messages from God and strict morals
  • noun
  • /mɒnˈteɪnɪst/
: montanista
  • A Montanist believed that prophecy was essential for the early Christian community.

Examples

  • My favorite example of such a difference of opinion within the Christian tradition concerns the school of devotees in the early church called Montanists, who believed that only by eating a steady diet of radishes could a person be saved.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Montanists also stood out for their bizarre behavior and appearance.

    Blog text (14)
  • Montanists were a motley crew.

    Blog text (14)
  • Many Montanists emphasized strict moral standards in their teachings.

  • The Montanist movement attracted followers who were drawn to its emphasis on direct divine revelation.

Surface Forms

Montanist singular
Montanists plural

Morphology

Montanist = Montanism (transparent) = Montan + ist

Formed from 'Montanism' with the standard suffix '-ist' indicating a member or follower; the morphological relation is regular.

Etymology

Montanist names a follower of Montanus, whose name is from the root mont- meaning 'mountain', the same root as the English word mountain. Because Montanus and his group stressed prophecy and strict moral rules, a Montanist is a member of that prophetic, strict Christian movement.