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In Western medieval church doctrines and rituals, active prophecy had no place. Prophetic activity was carried on, however, through holy orders. Mystically oriented holy men would sometimes appear as prophets with a special message, and even ecstatics found their places within the monasteries. In Eastern Christianity, monastic life stressed training in mystical experience. Throughout Christian history there have been millenarian movements, usually led by prophetic-type personalities and based on the New Testament belief in Christ’s return. Their basic doctrine is chiliasm (from Greek chilioi, “thousand”), which affirms that Christ will come to earth in a visible form and set up ...(100 of 7955 words)