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Montanism was an early heresy. The movement was begun by Montanus in the second century, shortly after Montanus' conversion to Christianity. He claimed to have received a series of direct revelations from the Holy Spirit, or the paraklete, and was joined by two women, Prisca and Maximilla. His teachings spread from his native Phrygia, where he proclaimed the village of Pepuza as the site of the New Jerusalem and threatened the church hierarchy. The beliefs of Montanism included the belief that the Trinity consisted of only a single person, similar to Sabellianism.

Although the mainstream Christian church prevailed against Montanism within a few generations, inscriptions in the Tembris valley of northern Phrygia, dated between 249 and 279, openly proclaim their allegiance to Montanism. This sect persisted into the eighth century.

The most widely known Montanist was undoubtedly Tertullian, the early Church Father who coined the term "Trinity" but who later rejected Christian orthodoxy.

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