The Nazarenes (or Nazoreans; Greek: Ναζωραῖοι, ''Nazōraioi'')
[.] were an early
Jewish Christian sect in first-century Judaism. The first use of the term is found in the
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
() of the
New Testament, where
Paul the Apostle
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
is accused of being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes ("") before the Roman
procurator Antonius Felix at
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national park ...
by
Tertullus. At that time, the term simply designated followers of
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, as the
Hebrew term ('), and the Arabic term نَصَارَى ('), still do.
As time passed, the term came to refer to a sect of Jewish Christians who continued to observe the
Torah along with
Noachide gentiles
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
who were grafted in to the
covenant, in contrast to gentile Christians who eschewed Torah observance. They are described by
Epiphanius of Salamis and are mentioned later by
Jerome and
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
. The writers made a distinction between the Nazarenes of their time and the "Nazarenes" mentioned in Acts 24:5.
Nazarene (title)
The English term ''Nazarene'' is commonly used to translate two related Greek words that appear in the New Testament: ''Nazōraios'' () ("Nazorean") and ''Nazarēnos'' ("Nazarene"). The term ''Nazōraios'' may have a religious significance instead of denoting a place of origin, while ''Nazarēnos'' () is an adjectival form of the phrase ''apo Nazaret'' "from Nazareth."
Because of this, the phrases traditionally rendered as "Jesus of Nazareth" can also be translated as "Jesus the Nazarene" or "Jesus the Nazorean." In the New Testament, the form ''Nazōraios'' or ''Nazaraios'' is more common than ''Nazarēnos'' (meaning "from Nazareth").
The Sect of the Nazarenes (1st century)
The Greek epithet ''Nazōraios'' is applied to Jesus 14 times in the New Testament, and is used once in
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
to refer to the sect of Christians of which Paul was a leader.
It is traditionally translated as "a man from
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
"; the plural ''Nazōraioi'' would mean "men from Nazareth". The title is first applied to the Christians by
Tertullus (), though
Herod Agrippa II () uses the term "Christians" which had first been used at
Antioch (). The name used by Tertullus survives into
Mishnaic and
modern Hebrew as ''notzrim'' () a standard Hebrew term for "Christian", the name also exist in the
Quran and modern
Arabic as ''naṣārā'' (plural of ''
naṣrānī'' "Christian").
Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220, ) records that the Jews called Christians "Nazarenes" from Jesus being a man of Nazareth, though he also makes the connection with
Nazarites in .
Jerome too records that, in the synagogues, the word "Nazarenes" was used to describe Christians.
Eusebius, around 311 CE, records that the name "Nazarenes" had formerly been used of Christians. The use relating to a specific "sect" of Christians does not occur until
Epiphanius. According to
Arnold Ehrhardt
Arnold Anton Traugott Ehrhardt (14 May 1903 in Königsberg to 18 February 1965 in Manchester) was a German jurist and British theologian.
Life
Arnold was the son of Oscar Ehrhardt, a professor of surgery, and Martha, née Rosenhain, a school tea ...
, just as
Antioch coined the term Christians, so
Jerusalem coined the term Nazarenes, from Jesus of Nazareth.
The terms "sect of the Nazarenes" and "Jesus of Nazareth" both employ the adjective ''nasraya'' (ܕܢܨܪܝܐ) in the Syrian Aramaic
Peshitta, from ''Nasrat'' (ܢܨܪܬ) for Nazareth.
The Nazarenes (4th century)
According to
Epiphanius in his ''
Panarion'', the 4th-century Nazarenes (Ναζωραῖοι) were originally Jewish converts of the
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
who fled
Jerusalem because of Jesus' prophecy of its
coming siege (during the
First Jewish–Roman War in 70 CE). They fled to
Pella,
Peraea (northeast of Jerusalem), and eventually spread outwards to
Beroea (Aleppo) and
Basanitis, where they permanently settled (Panarion 29.3.3).
The Nazarenes were similar to the
Ebionites, in that they considered themselves
Jews, maintained an adherence to the
Law of Moses
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
. They rejected all the
canonical gospels and used only the
Aramaic ''
Gospel of the Nazarenes''. Unlike the Ebionites, they accepted the
Virgin Birth.
They considered Jesus as a prophet.
As late as the eleventh century,
Cardinal Humbert of Mourmoutiers still referred to the Nazarene sect as a
Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
-keeping Christian body existing at that time. Modern scholars believe it is the Pasagini or
Pasagians who are referenced by Cardinal Humbert, suggesting the Nazarene sect existed well into the eleventh century and beyond (the
Catholic writings of Bonacursus entitled ''Against the Heretics''). It is believed that Gregorius of Bergamo, about 1250 CE, also wrote concerning the Nazarenes as the
Pasagians.
Gospel of the Nazarenes
The Gospel of the Nazarenes is the title given to fragments of one of the lost
Jewish-Christian Gospels of Matthew partially reconstructed from the writings of
Jerome.
Patristic references to "Nazarenes"
In the 4th century,
Jerome also refers to Nazarenes as those "who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law." In his ''Epistle'' 75, to Augustine, he said:
Jerome viewed a distinction between Nazarenes and Ebionites, a different Jewish sect, but does not comment on whether Nazarene Jews considered themselves to be "Christian" or not or how they viewed themselves as fitting into the descriptions he uses. He clearly equates them with
Filaster
Philastrius (also Philaster or Filaster) Bishop of Brescia, was one of the bishops present at a synod held in Aquileia in 381. Augustine of Hippo met him at Milan about 383, or perhaps a little later (St. Augustine, ''Ep.'' ccxxii). He composed a c ...
's Nazarei. His criticism of the Nazarenes is noticeably more direct and critical than that of Epiphanius.
The following creed is from a church at Constantinople at the same period, and condemns practices of the Nazarenes:
"Nazarenes" are referenced past the fourth century CE as well. Jacobus de Voragine (1230–98) described James as a "Nazarene" in The Golden Legend, vol 7. Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) quotes Augustine of Hippo, who was given an apocryphal book called Hieremias (
Jeremiah in Latin) by a "Hebrew of the Nazarene Sect", in
Catena
Catena (Latin for chain) or catenae (plural) may refer to:
Science
* ''Catena'' (fly), a genus in the family Tachinidae
*Catena (linguistics) is a unit of syntax and morphology, closely associated with dependency grammars
* Catena (computing), nu ...
Aurea — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27. So this terminology seems to have remained at least through the 13th century in European discussions.
Nazarene beliefs
The beliefs of the Nazarene sect or sects are described through various church fathers and heresiologists.
* in Jesus as Messiah:
* in the Virgin Birth:
* Adhering to circumcision and the Law of Moses:
* Use of Old Testament and New Testament:
* Use of Hebrew and Aramaic New Testament source texts:
Nasoraean Mandaeans
Those few who are initiated into the secrets of the
Mandaean religion are called ''Naṣuraiia'' or Nasoraeans/Nasaraeans meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.
According to the
Haran Gawaita, Nasoraean Mandaeans fled
Jerusalem before its
fall in 70 CE due to persecution by a faction of
Jews.
[Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen(2010). Turning the Tables on Jesus: The Mandaean View. In (pp94-11). Minneapolis: Fortress Press] The word ''Naṣuraiia'' may come from the root n-ṣ-r meaning "to keep", since although they reject the
Mosaic Law
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
, they consider themselves to be keepers of
Gnosis.
Epiphanius mentions a group called Nasaraeans (Νασαραίοι
Part 18of the Panarion), distinguished from the "Nazoraioi"
. According to
Joseph Lightfoot,
Epiphanius also makes a distinction between the Ossaeans and the Nasaraeans,
[ Epiphanius of Salamis (). '' Panarion''. 1:19.] the two main groups within the
Essenes:
The Nasaraeans may be the same as the
Mandaeans of today.
Epiphanius says (29:6) that they existed before Christ. That is questioned by some, but others accept the pre-Christian origin of this group.
[, p. xiv.]
In the ''
Ginza Rabba'', the term ''Nasoraean'' is used to refer to righteous Mandaeans, i.e.,
Mandaean priests (comparable to the concept of
''pneumatikoi'' in Gnosticism).
As Nasoraeans, Mandaeans believe that they constitute the true congregation of ''bnai nhura'' meaning 'Sons of Light'.
Modern "Nazarene" churches
A number of modern churches use the word "Nazarene" or variants in their name or beliefs:
* The
Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene), originating in the Swiss Nazarene Baptist movement;
* The
Church of the Nazarene, a
Protestant Christian denomination that was born out of the
Holiness Movement
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...
of the late 19th and early 20th centuries;
See also
*
Early Christianity
*
Essenes
*
Jewish Christians
*
Judaizers
*
Mandaeism
*
Messianic Judaism
*
St Thomas Christians
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Netzari Faith
Natzraya International - The Sect of the NazarenesNazarene JudaismEpiphanius of Salamis' PanarionJewish Encyclopedia: NazarenesNetzariPedia: The Term Nazarene Pt1The Golden Legend, Regarding St. James the Martyr being a Nazarene
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazarene (Sect)
Christianity and Judaism related controversies
Schisms in Christianity
1st-century Christianity
4th-century Christianity
Early Jewish Christian sects
Former Christian denominations
Heresy in ancient Christianity
Mandaeism
Mandaeans