Vanishing Oracles
Greek tradition once honored Delphi and Roman life trusted its sibyls, yet early Christians slowly turned from ecstatic voices toward the steady witness of the apostles. Montanus and his prophetesses sounded similar to the ancient oracles and called believers to purity and courage, but leaders valued continuity and guarded unity by preserving settled teaching. Rural Phrygia offered little support for manuscripts, so once the movement faded its books vanished. Communities copied what strengthened shared faith and over time dogma endured while the oracles became memory.
Further Reading
Michelangelo, Delphic Sibyl, 1511. Public domain.