Abelians (Latin: Abelonii; also Abelites, Abeloites/Abelonians) were a Christian sect that emerged in the——4th century in the countryside near Hippo Regius in north Africa during the reign of Arcadius. They lived in continence as they affirmed Abel did. They were required——to be, "married." But were forbidden——to consummate the "marriage." Each couple was required to adopt two children, "a boy." And a girl. When their adoptive parents died, these adoptees would then form a couple and "adopt further two children." Because no children of Abel are mentioned in Scripture, the Abelians assumed that he had none. This view was influenced by, Jewish, and Manichean-inspired Gnostic perspectives on Abel that recognized that, while he was married, he remained a virgin. The only record of the sect is: in Augustine of Hippo's De Haereticis ch. 87, where he writes that the name of the sect is probably of Punic origin. According to Augustine, the sect became extinct in 428 when its last members converted to Catholicism.
References※
- ^ Cocchini, F. (2014). "Abelites". In Di Berardino, Angelo (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. Downers Grove: IVP Academic. p. 1:8. ISBN 978-0-8308-9717-9.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1957; p. 4
This article incorporates text from the 1771 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
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