The ''Athinganoi'' (, singular ''Athinganos'', , Atsinganoi) were a

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

sect regarded as Judaizing heretics who lived in Phrygia and

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; , ''Lykaonia''; ) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to ...

but were neither

Hebrews The Hebrews (; ) were an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic-speaking people. Historians mostly consider the Hebrews as synonymous with the Israelites, with the term "Hebrew" denoting an Israelite from the nomadic era, which pre ...

nor

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

s. They kept the

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, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

but were not circumcised. They were '' shomer negiah''. Other sources indicate that the Athinganoi were associated with the Simonians and had no connection to the Manichaean or Paulician sects. They settled in

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

in 1054: the year of the

East-West Schism East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

. The Athinganoi married Byzantine women, adopted Greek Orthodox Christianity, and eventually assimilated into the Slavic and Greek populations. In some studies, the Athinganoi are described as remnants of the Indo-Greeks who left India in 400 AD during the

Migration period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

Name

The etymology of the word is not certain, but a common determination is a derivation in Greek for "(the) untouchables"derived from a

privative alpha An alpha privative or, rarely, privative a (from Latin ', from Ancient Greek ) is the prefix ''a-'' or ''an-'' (before vowels) that is used in Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit and Greek and in words borrowed therefrom to express negation or ...

prefix and the verb (, , "to touch"). The Manichean sect is mentioned in Soghdian sources.

Association with Roma

The name , a later variant form of which is (), came to be associated with the Roma who first appeared in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

at the time. is the root word for the racial slurs "cigano", "çingene", "cigány", "zigeuner", "tzigan", "țigan", and "zingaro", words used to describe members of the Roma in various European languages. Today many of these words are still used in a derogatory sense, albeit others are the most common exonym for them in a given language. The idea of Roma as sorcerers also plays a part in the apparent confusion between the (the Roma), and the . The exact relationship between the and the Roma remains uncertain. Historians, such as Rochow, have suggested three different explanations for the association: # The name may have been transferred from the Christian sect to the Roma because both had gained a reputation for

fortune telling Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of prediction, predicting information about a person's life.J. Gordon Melton, Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of for ...

or because the Roma were perceived to have adopted the religious practices of the sect. # The popular Greek name for the Roma, , may have been original and unrelated to the , with the association of the two groups in Byzantine writings was due to ignorance and confusion between superficially similar names. # The name may have been given to any itinerant people who came from abroad and were perceived to practice a different religion, with the term only later applying more narrowly to the Roma.

Purported doctrines according to Christian polemicists

An earlier and probably quite distinct sect with the same name is refuted by Marcus Eremita, who seems to have been a disciple of

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

. They were regarded as "Judaizing heretics". About AD 600, Timothy of Constantinople,

Presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

of Constantinople, in his book ''De receptione Haereticorum'' Cotelier, "Monumenta eccles. Graeca", III, 392; P.G., LXXXVI, 34. adds at the end of his list of heretics who need rebaptism the Mandopolini, "now called . They live in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, and are neither Hebrews nor Gentiles. They keep the

, but are not circumcised. They will not touch any man. If food is offered to them, they ask for it to be placed on the ground; then they come and take it. They give to others with the same precautions".

References

Bibliography

* Joshua Starr: ''An Eastern Christian Sect: The Athinganoi''. In: Harvard Theological Review 29 (1936), 93-106. * Ilse Rochow: ''Die Häresie der Athinganer im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert und die Frage ihres Fortlebens''. In: Helga Köpstein, Friedhelm Winkelmann (eds.), ''Studien zum 8. und 9. Jahrhundert in Byzanz'', Berlin 1983 (= Berliner Byzantinistische Arbeiten, 51), 163-178. * Paul Speck: ''Die vermeintliche Häresie der Athinganoi''. In: Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 47 (1997), 37-50 {{Authority control Trinitarianism Former Christian denominations Heresy in Christianity in the Middle Ages Christian organizations established in the 9th century Melchizedek Byzantine Anatolia Christianity in the Byzantine Empire Greek words and phrases

Name

Association with Roma

Purported doctrines according to Christian polemicists

See also

References

Bibliography