The dialogue of a Montanist with an Orthodox

In my last post, I mentioned the existence of this mysterious Dialogue of a Montanist with an Orthodox (Dialogus Montanistae et Orthodoxi).  Thanks to Jesus de Prado, I’ve been able to access the text. 

As far as I can tell, no English translation exists.  But I find that the Dialog was edited with an Italian translation by Anna Maria Berruto Martone, Dialogo di un montanista con un ortodosso, Biblioteca patristica 34, EDB, Bologna 1999.  Interestingly no copy seems to be listed in COPAC, but then Italian editions are generally poorly represented in UK libraries.  Fortunately a copy is available on the web and I have ordered one.

The text was first edited by G. Ficker as Widerlegung eines Montanisten in ZKG 26 (1905), p.447-63.  This is online.  The Greek text fills some eight pages, which isn’t a lot.  I find that the text is also known as the Dialexis Montanistae et Orthodoxi.  It’s CPG 2572, I believe.

There seems to be a French edition and translation: Pierre de Labriolle, DIDYME L’AVEUGLE, “Dialexis Montanistae et orthodoxi” (introduction, traduction française et notes), although I can find no more details of it than that.  Is it possible that it formed part of his Les sources de l’histoire du Montanisme (1913)?   Hum.

So… more searching to do!

UPDATE: I had second thoughts and cancelled the order for the Italian edition.  I can’t believe that no translation exists of this already.

UPDATE: And I was right to be cautious.  It looks as if it exists in English in Heine, The Montanist Oracles, 1989, text from Ficker, plus English translation pp.112-27.  See the preview here.

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9 thoughts on “The dialogue of a Montanist with an Orthodox

  1. Thanks for the links, this does look like an interesting work. However, that scan from the German work is tough to follow! It’s definitely in need of a re-scan.

  2. Thanks for the info on Ficker. That’s a bit rough. But I think a transcription may exist (under Didymus) at the Khazar site.

  3. Hmmm… The book “Montanist Oracles and Testimonia” looks like a very good find. Unfortunatelly I cannot locate a copy of it in any online store 🙁 . . . from the “contents”, the heading “oracles attributed to Priscilla/Prisca” peaked my interest.

  4. Some of this is also translated into English in Kovacs, Judith L., ed. 1 Corinthians: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators. The Church’s Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2019. – it’s not the whole thing, but it might be easier to find 🙂

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