Rejecting the "New Prophecy" Cult, Rejecting Nature: The Roman Rush to Redefine Human-Environment Relationships

In a previous paper, I have described the significance of the New Prophecy or Montanist Movement in central Anatolia beginning in 300AD. The movement embraced a more rural, feminist perspective in Christ worship with the belief that Christ’s New Jerusalem would be built in rural Anatolia. In this paper, I look more closely at the social and economic conditions of Anatolia and its relationship to larger social structures including urban Greek and Roman centers across the eastern Mediterranean. Silencing the Montanist Movement was not only an effort to create a unified central belief as described in the Nicean Creed of 325 AD; it was also a necessary move to protect access to land-based resources and labor pools.