Abelians

Abelians (Latin: Abelonii; also Abelites,^[1] Abeloites or 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.^[2]^[1] 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.^[2] When their adoptive parents died, these adoptees would then form a couple and adopt further two children.^[1] Because no children of Abel are mentioned in Scripture, the Abelians assumed that he had none.^[2] This view was influenced by Jewish, and Manichean-inspired Gnostic perspectives on Abel that recognized that, while he was married, he remained a virgin.^[1] The only record of the sect is in Augustine of Hippo's De Haereticis ch. 87,^[2] where he writes that the name of the sect is probably of Punic origin.^[1] According to Augustine, the sect became extinct in 428 when its last members converted to Catholicism.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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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[Cocchini2014-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.

[OxfordDictionary-2] Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1957; p. 4

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