The Pasagians, also spelled Passagians or Pasagini, were a religious sect which appeared in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
in the late 12th or early 13th century and possibly appearing much earlier in the East.
The ''Summa contra haereticos'', ascribed to
Praepositinus of Cremona, describes the Pasagians as retaining the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
rules on
circumcision
Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
,
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
foods, and the
Jewish holy days
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, Grammatical number, or singular , in Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Hebrew language, Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Juda ...
; in other words, they observed the 613 Mitzvot, Law of Moses except in respect to sacrifices, and thus also were given the name Circumcisi.
[
They considered ]Christ
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 of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
the highest created being and a demiurge
In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge''. Al ...
(δημιουργός Greek for Creator) by whom all other creatures were brought into being, citing both the Old
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
s in support of their doctrine. They were accused of preaching a form of subordinationism
Subordinationalism is a Trinitarian doctrine, where the Son (and sometimes the Holy Spirit included) are subordinate to the Father. Not only in submission and role, but with actual ontological subordination to varying degrees. Subordinationism is ...
, teaching that Christ was a created being and less than the Father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
.[
As late as the eleventh century Cardinal ]Humbert of Silva Candida
Humbert of Silva Candida, O.S.B., also known as Humbert of Moyenmoutier (between 1000 and 1015 – 5 May 1061), was a French Benedictine abbot and later a cardinal. It was his act of excommunicating the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerul ...
referred to a sect of Nazarenes, 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.['' J.N. Andrews The History of the Sabbath and the First Day of the Week 4th edition part II Ch XXI Section 2''] Modern scholars believe Humbert was referring here to the Pasagini, which suggests that the Nazarene sect existed well into the eleventh century and before. The writings of Bonacursus Bonacursus was a 12th-century Italian Cathar who converted to Catholicism and released a confessional report to the people of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most ...
entitled "Against the Heretics" is the chief authority of their history.[
The following report is found in a work written by Gregory of Bergamo, about 1250, against the ]Cathars
Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...
and Pasaginians:
“After what has been said of the Cathari, there still remains the sect of the Pasagini . They teach Christ to be the first and pure creature; that the Old Testament festivals are to be observed, circumcision, distinction of foods. Moreover, in nearly all other matters, save the sacrifices, the Old Testament is to be observed as literally as the New. Circumcision is to be kept according to the letter. They say that no good person before the advent of Christ descended into the lower regions; and that there is no one in the lower regions and in paradise until now, nor will there be until sentence has been rendered on the day of Judgement.”
As to the origin of the Pasagians, most Church historians suppose them to have come from the East. Neander expresses himself as follows:
“Among the sects of Oriental origin belongs, perhaps besides those already mentioned, the Pasagii or Pasagini.” “The name of this sect reminds one of the word passagium The term ''passagium'' (plural ''passagia'') was a general medieval Latin term for a crusade. By the late 13th century, ''passagia'' were being qualified as either ''generale'' or ''particulare'' depending on their scale and objective.
The term '' ...
(passage), which signifies a tour, and was very commonly employed to denote pilgrimages to the East. To the holy sepulcher, — crusades. May not this word, then, be regarded as an indication, pointing to the origin of the sect as one that came from the East, intimating that it grew out of dealings with Palestine? May we not suppose that from very ancient times a party of Judaizing Christians had survived, of which this sect must be regarded as an offshoot? The way in which they expressed themselves concerning Christ as being the first-born of creation, would point also, more directly, at the connection of their doctrine with some older Jewish theology, than at that later purely Western origin.”[ '' Church History, fifth period, 8, pp. 403,404 ]
See also
* Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
* Circumcision controversy in early Christianity
According to the Hebrew Bible, circumcision was enjoined upon the biblical patriarch Abraham, his descendants and their slaves as "a token of the covenant" concluded with him by God for all generations, as an "everlasting covenant".
The Council ...
* Ebionism
Ebionites ( grc-gre, Ἐβιωναῖοι, ''Ebionaioi'', derived from Hebrew (or ) ''ebyonim'', ''ebionim'', meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed durin ...
* Monarchianism
Monarchianism is a Christian theology that emphasizes God as one indivisible being,
at Catholic Encyclopedia, newadvent.org
References
{{reflist
Religion in the Middle Ages
History of Lombardy
12th-century Christianity
13th-century Christianity
History of Christianity in Italy
Former Christian denominations