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66-624: According to the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis (ch. 26), and Theodoret 's Haereticarum Fabularum Compendium , the Borborites or Borborians ( Greek : Βορβοριανοί ; in Egypt , Phibionites ; in other countries, Koddians , Barbelites , Secundians , Socratites , Zacchaeans , Stratiotics ) were a Christian Gnostic sect , said to be descended from the Nicolaitans . It is difficult to know for sure

132-700: A Gospel of Eve , The Apocalypse of Adam , and The Gospel of Perfection . They also used a version of The Gospel of Philip , but a quotation from the Borborite Gospel of Philip found in Epiphanius ' Panarion is not found anywhere in the surviving version from Nag Hammadi . Several of the Borborites' sacred scriptures revolved around the figure of Mary Magdalene , including The Questions of Mary , The Greater Questions of Mary , The Lesser Questions of Mary , and The Birth of Mary . The Borborites also used

198-432: A certain occasion when Nicolas had been sharply reproved by the apostles as a jealous husband, and he repelled the charge by offering to allow his wife to become the wife of any other person. Clement also writes that Nicolas was in the habit of repeating a saying which is ascribed to the apostle Matthias , that it is our duty to fight against the flesh and to abuse (παραχρῆσθαι) it . His words were perversely interpreted by

264-418: A doctrine of indifference concerning eating meat sacrificed to idols is put forward along with a doctrine of licentious sex, but no mention of Nicolaitanes is made nor blame assigned to Nicolas. Among later critics, Cotelerius seems to lean towards the favourable view of the character of Nicolas in a note on Constit. Apost . vi. 8, after reciting the various authorities. Edward Burton was of opinion that

330-534: A male would have sex for each one of the archons as an offering. Tangentially during his description of the Nicolaitans , Epiphanius claims that certain Gnostics, a subset of those "who are called Gnostics and Phibionites, the so-called disciples of Epiphanes, the Stratiotics, Levitics, Borborites and the rest", believed Barbelo to appear repeatedly to the archons in an attractive form so as to collect their semen, and in

396-757: A number of sacred texts attributed to Seth , the son of Adam and Eve, including the Second Treatise of the Great Seth and the Three Steles of Seth . Although the Borborites did also use both the Old Testament and the New Testament, they renounced the God of the Old Testament as an impostor deity. Epiphanius of Salamis records that The Greater Questions of Mary contained an episode in which Jesus took Mary Magdalene up to

462-528: A pagan culture where the worship of Aphrodite included hierodoule who engaged in ritual prostitution in her shrines and temples, and that the Dionysian Mysteries used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques to remove inhibitions and social constraints of believers to enter into an animalistic state of mind. Blunt holds that the Nicolaitans either believed that the command against ritual sex

528-550: A separate archon . In the seventh reigned a figure variously called Yaldabaoth or Sabaoth , creator of heaven and earth, the God of the Jews, represented by some Borborites under the form of an ass or a hog; hence the Jewish prohibition of swine's flesh. In the eighth heaven reigned Barbelo , the mother of the living; the Father of All, the supreme God; and Jesus Christ . They denied that Christ

594-601: A sequel to the Ancoratus (374), which takes the form of a letter to the church of Syedra in Pamphylia , describing how the " barque " of the church can counteract the contrary winds of heretical thought, and become "anchored" ( ἀγχυρωτός ); hence the title of the work; the Ancoratus even outlines the content of the Panarion within its text. The treatise begins with two proems :

660-399: A snake. Necessarily much of the information in this large compilation varies in value. The Panarion reflects the character of Epiphanius and his method of working. Sometimes, his intense passion prevents him from inquiring carefully into the doctrines he opposes. Thus, on his own avowal ( Haer. , lxxi), he speaks of Apollinarianism on hearsay. At Constantinople , he had to acknowledge to

726-455: A table of contents, and a description of Epiphanius's methods and purpose in writing. The work is divided into three books, with a total of seven volumes. It ends with what has since been called De Fide , a short description of the orthodox catholic faith of the Great Church . The number of sects covered in the work is based on Song of Songs 6:8-9, quoted below in the original Hebrew, and in

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792-405: A while but in the end could not bear to control his incontinence.... But because he was ashamed of his defeat and suspected that he had been found out, he ventured to say, "Unless one copulates every day, he cannot have eternal life." Hippolytus agreed with Epiphanius in his unfavourable view of Nicolas. Jerome believes the account of Nicolas succumbing to heresy, at least to some extent. This

858-416: Is claimed by Epiphanius to derive from an Aramaic term for a dish or bowl; J. J. Buckley writes that the likely root, kuda , refers in both Syriac Aramaic and Mandaic Aramaic to a hemorrhage after birth, to or the caul of a fetus , suggesting that the reference to a 'bowl' is euphemistic. The Borborites possessed a number of sacred books, including Noria (the name they gave to Noah 's wife),

924-582: Is so, when he brought his wife, whom he jealously loved, into the midst of the apostles, he was evidently renouncing his passion; and when he used the expression, 'to abuse the flesh,' he was inculcating self-control in the face of those pleasures that are eagerly pursued. For I suppose that, in accordance with the command of the Savior, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and the Lord [Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13]. ...So much concerning those who then attempted to pervert

990-668: Is the only one to give us any information concerning the Gothic sect of the Audians ( Haer. , lxx), as well as the Arabian sect of the Collyridians . He has made use of the lost report of the discussion between Photinus ( Haer. , lxxi), and Basil of Ancyra . He has transcribed a very important letter from Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra ( Haer. , lxxii) to Pope Julius , and fragments of the treatise of Acacius of Caesarea against Marcellus. With regard to

1056-487: The Gospel of John was written to counter the teachings of Cerinthus , which he holds was influenced by the Nicolaitans. Later, Augustine of Hippo ascribed to them Cerinthian doctrines concerning the creation of the world (in his De haeresibus ad Quodvultdeum , v). Victorinus of Pettau held that the error of the Nicolaitans was that they considered it necessary to exorcise things offered to idols before eating, and that there

1122-592: The Manichaean belief that when vegetables are consumed by the Elect, the captive light-particles or divine sparks within are purified and liberated. The ritual use of semen and menses parallels the use of water and hamra , respectively, in a ritual metaphor for fertilization in a Mandaean masiqta . Contrasts include Mandaean pronatalism versus Phibionite antinatalism , the stratification of society into priests and laity (Mandaeism) or elect and hearers (Manichaeism) versus

1188-463: The Nag Hammadi library do not seem to match what the anti-heresy writers claimed. While both their opponents and the Gnostics agreed that Gnosticism scorned the material world of the flesh, Gnostic writing has generally indicated a trend toward asceticism as a result – of ignoring or punishing the flesh through exertion and fasting. Proto-Orthodox writers instead concluded that if the Gnostics believed

1254-494: The Origenist monks, whom he opposed, that he was not acquainted with either their school or their books, and that he only spoke from hearsay ( Sozomen , Hist. eccl. , VIII, xl). There is, however, much information not found elsewhere. Chapters devoted only to the doctrinal refutation of heresies are rare. As an apologist , Epiphanius appeared generally weak to Photius . The Panarion furnishes very valuable information concerning

1320-749: The Semiarians ( Haer. , lxxiii), he gives in the Acts of the Council of Ancyra (358) a letter from Basil of Ancyra and one from George of Laodicea , and the stenographic text of a singular sermon of Melitius at the time of his installation at Antioch . In the chapter dealing with the Anomeans ( Haer. , lxxvi) he has preserved a monograph of Aetius . Epiphanius also wrote the Anacephalaeoses , as an epitome, or abridged version, of his Panarion . Augustine used them as

1386-500: The English translation from JPS 1917: Epiphanius interpreted the fourscore (80) concubines as sects, who take the name of Christ without being truly matrimonial; the threescore queens as the generations from Adam to Jesus; the one dove as the true wife, the church; and the numberless virgins as all the philosophies unrelated to Christianity. The first section of the first of the three books contains an account of 20 heretical sects before

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1452-618: The Nicolaitans and Nicolas (in his Church History iii, 29), saying "At this time the so-called sect of the Nicolaitans made its appearance and lasted for a very short time. Mention is made of it in the Apocalypse of John. They boasted that the author of their sect was Nicolaus, one of the deacons who, with Stephen, were appointed by the apostles for the purpose of ministering to the poor." Eusebius repeats Clement's story about Nicolas and his wife and holds that those he decries as heretics are claiming his name for their sect because they misunderstand

1518-476: The Nicolaitans as authority for their immoral practices. Theodoret repeats the foregoing statement of Clement in his account of the sect, and charges the Nicolaitans with false dealing in borrowing the name of the deacon. Clement (in Stromata 3, 2) does condemn heretics whose views on sex he sees as licentious, but he does not associate them with Nicolas: Clement asks: Eusebius of Caesarea speaks directly about

1584-471: The accounts written by Epiphanius and later writers plausible and connects them with earlier Gnostic myths. J. J. Buckley, similarly, highlights parallels which the Phibionite or Koddian belief system and rituals described by Epiphanius show with other Gnostic groups. The consumption of seminal and fetal material, as a microcosm of Barbelo's seduction of the archons to recover captive light, shows parallels with

1650-410: The archons' clutches". Epiphanius wrote that he had some first-hand knowledge of the sect. According to him, two Gnostic women approached him and attempted to recruit him into the sect and seduce him. They also allowed him to read their scriptures, yet Epiphanius claims he was untempted and did not join. Instead, he reported the group to the bishops, resulting in the expulsion of around 80 people from

1716-514: The basis for his Contra Omnes Haereses , "Against all Heresies". The original text was written in Koine Greek . Three Latin versions were published in the 16th and 17th centuries, from writers focused on ecclesiastical interests. Since then, writers have been interested in the historical content of the text itself. An Old Church Slavonic translation was made, probably at the Preslav school during

1782-484: The bishops who were there, and finding out which ones were hidden in the church. Thus they were expelled from the city, about 80 persons, and the city was cleared of their tare-like, thorny growth. Because everything that is known about the Borborites comes exclusively from polemics written by their opponents, it is still disputed whether or not these reports accurately reflect Borborite teachings or if they are merely propaganda intended to discredit them. Stephen Gero finds

1848-574: The blood and body of Christ respectively. He also alleges that, whenever one of the women in their church was experiencing her monthly period, they would take her menstrual blood and everyone in the church would eat it as part of a sacred ritual. The Borborites were also said to extract fetuses from pregnant women and consume them, particularly if the women accidentally became pregnant during related sexual rituals. Buckley notes that this implies treatment of an aborted foetus as "strayed semen", and would serve to prevent it from developing into another body "for

1914-436: The chief cook—because they wanted me in my youth.... Now the women who taught this dirty myth were very lovely in their outward appearance but in their wicked minds they had all the devil's ugliness. But the merciful God rescued me from their wickedness, so that after reading their books, understanding their real intent and not being carried away with it, and after escaping without taking the bait, I lost no time reporting them to

1980-405: The city of Alexandria. 17:4 For I happened on this sect myself, beloved, and was actually taught these things in person, out of the mouths of people who really undertook them. Not only did women under this delusion offer me this line of talk, and divulge this sort of thing to me. With impudent boldness moreover, they even tried to seduce me themselves—like that murderous, villainous Egyptian wife of

2046-423: The context of his presentation of his wife to the apostles and are "imitating blindly and foolishly that which was done and said, [in order to] commit fornication without shame. But I understand that Nicolaus had to do with no other woman than her to whom he was married, and that, so far as his children are concerned, his daughters continued in a state of virginity until old age, and his son remained uncorrupt. If this

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2112-490: The doctrine." The letters which Jesus dictates for the churches in Revelation 2 "show that these heretics had neither formally separated themselves from the church nor had been excommunicated." A common view holds that the Nicolaitans held the antinomian heresy of 1 Corinthians 6 . One scholar who espouses this interpretation, John Henry Blunt , maintains that the comparison between the Nicolaitans and Balaam "proves that

2178-623: The early Church Fathers mentioned this group, including Irenaeus , Tertullian , Clement of Alexandria , Hippolytus , Epiphanius , and Theodoret , stating that Nicolas the Deacon , one of the Seven Deacons , was the author of the heresy and the sect. The New Testament mentions the Nicolaites in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation . Yet this is to your credit [the church of Ephesus]: you hate

2244-404: The eating of meat offered to idols and the unguarded renunciation of the faith in times of persecution were matters of indifference; and that he enjoined upon his followers, like Pythagoras, a silence of five years. ...Thus it came to pass that the malignant demon, making use of these ministers, on the one hand enslaved those that were so pitiably led astray by them to their own destruction, while on

2310-453: The fornication spoken of is not that crime under ordinary circumstances, but fornication connected with religious rites". Blunt points out that the Hebrews had a long history of preaching against or alternatively using cult prostitutes (Genesis 38:21–22; Deuteronomy 23:17–18; 1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; Ezekiel 16:16; Hosea 4:14). He also points out that the early Christians lived in

2376-412: The heresy]. The general form, though not universal, in which Epiphanius described each sect included four parts: a brief mention of the sect's relationship to previously-mentioned sects; a description of the sect's beliefs; a lengthy refutation of its doctrine, including arguments from the scriptures and reductio ad absurdum of their beliefs; a comparison of the sect to a repulsive animal, particularly

2442-494: The holding of wives in common. Eusebius claimed that the sect was short-lived. Several Church Fathers derive the term Nicolaitans from Nicolaus (Νικόλαος) a native of Antioch and one of the first Seven Deacons mentioned in Acts 6:5 . The nature of the link between Nicolaus and Nicolaitans was questionable. Some scholars believe that it was another Nicolas, rather than Nicolas the Deacon himself becoming an apostate. Irenaeus

2508-532: The mainstream early Christian Church. According to Revelation 2:6 and 15, they were known in the cities of Ephesus and Pergamum . In this chapter, the church at Ephesus is endorsed for "[hating] the works of the Nicolaites, which I also hate"; and the church in Pergamos is rebuked: "So thou hast also some [worshiping in their midst] who hold the teaching of the Nicolaites". In the original Greek , they are called, in genitive, Νικολαϊτῶν ( Nikolaïtōn ). Several of

2574-546: The material world to be inferior to that of the spirit, they would have thrown themselves into debauchery, a claim Ehrman finds unsupported by evidence and the opposite of what the actual Gnostics likely thought. Gelbert (2013, 2023) suggests that one passage in the Ginza Rabba ( Right Ginza 9.1, paragraph 26) describes the Borborites, although they are not given a name in Mandaic . Panarion The treatise can be considered

2640-400: The name Balaam, as meaning either lord of the people , or he destroyed the people ; and that, as the same effect was produced by their doctrines as by those of Balaam, that the people were led to commit fornication and to join in idolatrous worship, they might be called Balaamites or Nicolaitanes—that is, corrupters of the people. But to this it may be replied, (a) that it is far-fetched, and

2706-474: The name of our religion, brought to the depth of ruin such of the believers as they could win over, and at the same time, by means of the deeds which they practiced, turned away from the path which leads to the word of salvation those who were ignorant of the faith." He traces heresy from the biblical figure of Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-29) through Menander to both Saturnius of Antioch and Basilides of Alexandria. Following Irenaeus, Eusebius says "Basilides, under

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2772-601: The opinion that Nicolas became a heresiarch (in Refutation of All Heresies vii. 24). In other writings of the early church this connection is disputed and the Nicolaitans are said to be "falsely so called" (ψευδώνυμοι). Clement of Alexandria put forward a defense of Nicolas (in Stromata ii. 20, iii. 4) which Eusebius accepts and repeats (in Historia Ecclesiastica iii. 29). The description of Nicolas as celibate

2838-496: The origin of the term Nicolaitans is uncertain, and that, "though Nicolas the deacon has been mentioned as their founder, the evidence is extremely slight which would convict that person himself of any immoralities." Tillemont was possibly influenced by the fact that no honour is paid to the memory of Nicolas by any branch of the church. He allows more weight to the testimony against him, and peremptorily rejects Cassian's statement (to which Neander adheres) that some other Nicolas

2904-454: The other hand he furnished to the unbelieving heathen abundant opportunities for slandering the divine word, inasmuch as the reputation of these men brought infamy upon the whole race of Christians. In this way, therefore, it came to pass that there was spread abroad in regard to us among the unbelievers of that age, the infamous and most absurd suspicion that we practiced unlawful commerce with mothers and sisters, and enjoyed impious feasts." Here

2970-457: The practice turned into debauchery, with partners being exchanged in turn. Jesus condemns them in the book of Revelation, saying (2:6): "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites." John Henry Blunt points out that the Bible (if taken at face value) condemns the false teachings, and the use of a name to describe a group "shows that there was a distinct heretical party which held

3036-466: The practices of the group, as both Epiphanius and Theodoret were opponents of the group. According to Epiphanius, the sect were libertines who embraced the pleasures of the earthly world. The word Borborite comes from the Greek word βόρβορος , meaning " mud "; the name Borborites can therefore be translated as "filthy ones", and is unlikely to be the term the sect used for themselves. The name Koddian

3102-545: The pretext of unspeakable mysteries, invented monstrous fables, and carried the fictions of his impious heresy quite beyond bounds." He reports that Christian author Agrippa Castor "While exposing his mysteries he says that Basilides wrote twenty-four books upon the Gospel, and that he invented prophets for himself named Barcabbas and Barcoph, and others that had no existence, and that he gave them barbarous names in order to amaze those who marvel at such things; that he taught also that

3168-489: The process of doing so recover the power that had been "sown" in them. J. J. Buckley notes that this belief may have served as the grounds for certain Phibionite rituals. Epiphanius claims that the Borborites were inspired by Sethianism and that elements of sexual sacramentalism formed an important role in their rituals. He asserts that the Borborites engaged in a version of the eucharist in which they would smear their hands with menstrual blood and semen and consume them as

3234-470: The reign of Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria in the early 10th century. It is preserved in the 12th-century kormchaya of Ephraim. A full Russian translation was published in the 19th century. A partial translation exists in German and another in English (by Philip Amidon). The first English translation of the entire Panarion was published in 1987 (Book I) and 1993 (Books II and III), by Frank Williams. This

3300-679: The religious history of the fourth century, either because the author confines himself to transcribing documents preserved by him alone, or because he writes down his personal observations. With regard to Hieracas ( Haer. , lxvii), he makes known a curious Egyptian sect by whom asceticism and intellectual work were equally esteemed. In connection with the Melitians of Egypt ( Haer. , lxviii), he has preserved important fragments of contemporary Egyptian history of this movement. With regard to Arianism ( Haer. , lxix), he provides an apocryphal letter of Constantine . He transcribes two letters of Arius . He

3366-542: The sword of my mouth. The last Western Church Father was Isidore of Seville , who finished the Etymologies , in AD 636. In Book VIII titled "The Church and sects (De ecclesia et secta)" he wrote, "The Nicolaites (Nicolaita) are so called from Nicolaus, deacon of the church of Jerusalem, who, along with Stephen and the others, was ordained by Peter. He abandoned his wife because of her beauty, so that whoever wanted to might enjoy her;

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3432-589: The term "Nicolaitans" to describe other antinomian groups with no attachment to the historical Nicolaitans. Tertullian in his Prescription Against Heretics , 33, is such an example: "John, however, in the Apocalypse is charged to chastise those 'who eat things sacrificed to idols,' and 'who commit sexual immorality.' There are even now another sort of Nicolaitans. Theirs is called the Gaian heresy ." Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses III. xi. 1; I. xxvi. 3 holds that

3498-415: The time of Jesus ; the remaining portion is occupied with the description of 60 sects of Christianity . However, the total number of sects is actually 77, because three of the first 20 are general names: Hellenism , Samaritanism , and Judaism . In the editions of the Panarion , each heresy is numbered in order; hence it is customary to quote the Panarion as follows: Epiphanius, Haer. N [the number of

3564-423: The top of a mountain, where he pulled a woman out of his side and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. Then, upon ejaculating, Jesus drank his own semen and told Mary, "Thus we must do, that we may live." Upon hearing this, Mary instantly fainted, to which Jesus responded by helping her up and telling her, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" They taught that there were eight heavens, each under

3630-448: The truth, but in less time than it has taken to tell it became entirely extinct." Eusebius (in his Church History , iv, 7) held that as Satan was shut off from using persecution against Christians "he devised all sorts of plans, and employed other methods in his conflict with the church, using base and deceitful men as instruments for the ruin of souls and as ministers of destruction. Instigated by him, impostors and deceivers, assuming

3696-512: The word to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people". The name Balaam is perhaps capable of being interpreted as a Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Nicolas. Some commentators think that John alludes to this in Revelation 2:14; and C. Vitringa argues forcibly in support of this opinion. However, Albert Barnes notes: Vitringa supposes that the word is derived from νικος, victory, and λαος, people, and that thus it corresponds with

3762-841: The work to liberate divine sparks being carried out by the Phibionite laity, and the Manichaean view of semen and menses as demonic versus the Phibionite identification of their own bodily fluids with the body of Christ. Bart Ehrman , conversely, finds Epiphanius almost entirely unreliable. Ehrman writes that accusing opponents of wild sexual practices was common in Roman antiquity, so Epiphanius's lurid accounts should be seen as an outgrowth of that. He also finds Epiphanius's story of how he learned of their alleged doctrines implausible – if they truly were having scandalous rites, they would be unlikely to share them with non-members. More generally, documents written by Egyptian Gnostics themselves such as those found in

3828-465: The works of the Nicolaitans, which I [Jesus] also hate. But I have a few things against you [the church of Pergamos]: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with

3894-402: Was also the opinion of the unknown Christian author (writing around 435) of Praedestinatus (in i. 4.), as well as other writers in the 4th century. This view of Nicolas is irreconcilable with the traditional account of his character given by Clement of Alexandria, an earlier writer than Epiphanius. He states that Nicolas led a chaste life and brought up his children in purity. He describes

3960-489: Was based on Karl Holl's edition, released in 1915 (Book I), 1922 (Book II), and 1933 (Book III), totaling 1500 pages. Nicolaitans Nicolaism (also called Nicholaism , Nicolaitism , Nicolationism or Nicolaitanism ) was an early Christian sect mentioned twice in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament . The adherents were called Nicolaitans, Nicolaitanes, or Nicolaites. They were considered heretical by

4026-471: Was born of Mary, or had a real body, defending instead docetism ; and also denied the resurrection of the body. The human soul after death wanders through the seven heavens , until it obtains rest with Barbelo. Man possesses a soul in common with plants and beasts. Epiphanius also indicates that the Phibionites honored 365 archons, with the 8 listed archons merely being the greatest of them. According to him,

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4092-574: Was no sin of fornication after seven days had passed. "But the works of the Nicolaitanes in that time were false and troublesome men, who, as ministers under the name of Nicolas, had made for themselves an heresy, to the effect that whatever had been offered to idols might be exorcised and eaten, and that whoever had committed fornication might receive peace on the eighth day." Bede states that Nicolas allowed other men to marry his wife. Thomas Aquinas believed that Nicolas supported either polygamy or

4158-469: Was of the opinion that Nicolas was their founder. The Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolas who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is very plainly pointed out in the Apocalypse of John, [when they are represented] as teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Hippolytus of Rome shared

4224-681: Was part of the Mosaic law and it was licit for them, or that they went too far during Christian " love-feasts ". Blunt sees echoes of this behavior in the admonitions which Paul gives the Corinthians, though he does not name them as such. Blunt also believes that similar echoes can be found in the admonitions of Jude 4-16 (which invokes both "Balaam's error" and "love feasts") and 2 Peter 2:2-21 (which repeats much of Jude's statements, including invoking Balaam). The trend began early in Christianity of applying

4290-568: Was the founder of the sect. Tillemont concludes that, if not the actual founder, he was so unfortunate as to give occasion to the formation of the sect by his indiscreet speaking. Grotius ' view is given in a note on Revelation 2:6 and is substantially the same as that of Tillemont. Other scholars think that the group's name was not based upon an individual's name, but as a compound descriptive word. Nico- means "victory" in Greek, and laos means "people" or, more specifically, "the laity". Hence they take

4356-624: Was used by 16th century Protestant apologists to argue against the practice of mandatory clerical celibacy by suggesting it originated within Nicolaism first before spreading into Christianity. Epiphanius relates some details of the life of Nicolas the deacon, and describes him as gradually sinking into the grossest impurity, and becoming the originator of the Nicolaitans and other libertine Gnostic sects: [Nicolas] had an attractive wife, and had refrained from intercourse as though in imitation of those whom he saw to be devoted to God. He endured this for

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