Jarrel - Baptist Church Perpetuity - Landmark Baptist

“The Montanists maintained themselves as a distinct sect down to the sixth
century, bearing beside their usual names the names of Cataphrygians (oji
kata Fu>gav), Pepuzians and many other names of local or contemptuous
signification.” f560
Gieseler says:
“The Montanists in Asia continued down to the tenth century. f561
Thus we see that the Montanists, the Novatians and the Donatists were not
only identical in doctrine, practice and the complaint on which they excluded
the so-called Catholics from their church fellowship, but that they were seen in
church fellowship with each other, taking and being known by the same name
or names.
To believe that a people of such: “moral earnestness,” of such unconquerable,
unflagging and propagating zeal, of such vast numbers and occupying almost
universal territory, and with God on their side against a false church, ceased to
exist as the distinguishing names by which they were known in their early
history drop from history — saying nothing of God’s promises to his church
— is certainly far more difficult than to believe that they were perpetuated
under other names. In the case of the Anabaptists losing their name in the
names Mennonite and Baptist and the various Baptist bodies, in the history of
the Baptists of the United States, merging into but one body and afterwards
known by but one name, we have illustrated the historical tendency which we
should expect to often see operating in the Baptists of the remotely past ages.
We have just seen, by the testimony of Guericke, that the Montanists, before
the name Paulician appears, were given the names: “Cataphrygians, Pepuzians
and many other names of a local or contemptuous signification.” Throughout
the history of the various Baptist bodies which church historians in deference
to the Romish church, call “sects” and “heretics” and which Revelation calls
the: “Mother of Harlots,” we see them all given names, from their localities,
their leaders and other things connected with their history. Thus, though as old
as the Christian age, from Montanus, their first great leader, after the first
century, called: “Montanists;” from Tertullian, their next great leader:
“Tertullianists;” from Novatian, another great leader: “Novatians;” from
Donatus, another great leader: “Donatists;” from Waldo, another great leader,
and the valleys: “Waldenses;” from Peter de Bruis, another great leader:
“Petrobrussians;” from ‘Henry, another great leader, “Henricians: “from
Arnold, another great leader, “Arnoldists;” from Meno, another great leader:
“Mennonites.” In the seventh century, when the names Montanists, Novatians
and Donatists are retiring from historical view appears the name Paulician.
This name appears in its application to churches which in doctrine and practice
— see previous chapters — were essentially identical with the Montanists, the