Athinganoi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Athinganoi (Ancient Greek: Ἀθίγγανοι, singular Athinganos, Ἀθίγγανος), were a 9th-century sect of Monarchians located in Phrygia and Lycaonia[1] founded by Theodotus the Banker.[2] The etymology of the word is not certain, but a common determination is a derivation in Greek for "(the) untouchables" Indian Chandala, dalit, derived from a privative alpha prefix and the verb thingano (θιγγάνειν, "thinganein", "to touch"). It is uncertain whether the sect survived beyond the 9th century. Some Sources said they derived from the Simonians.

Name[]

The name athinganoi, later variant form of which is atsinganoi, came to be associated with the Romani people who first appeared in the Byzantine Empire at the time and is the root word for "cigano", "çingene", "cigány", "zigeuner", "tzigan", "țigan", and "zingaro", words used to describe members of the Romani people. 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 Atzinganoi (the Roma), and the Athinganoi.[3] The popular Greek name for the Romani people was original and has nothing to do with the Athinganoi. The association of the two groups in Byzantine writings was due to ignorance.[4]

God and Saints[]

Their god was named Devla, and their springfest is and was until today Kakava during which they celebrate when Baba Fingo (a saviour figure) came out from the river and rescued them. Their religion was based on Indo-Greek religions-Ancient Egyptian religion, and Christian Gnosticism.

An earlier, and probably quite distinct, sect with the same name is refuted by Marcus Eremita, who seems to have been a disciple of St. John Chrysostom. His book Eis ton Melchisedek, or according to Photius "Against the Melchisedekites",[5][2] speaks of these new teachers as making Melchisedech an incarnation of the Logos (divine Word).[2]


They believed that Jesus was the biological son of Saint Joseph and Mary. After he was baptized by John the Baptist, he was adopted by God as His son and named Messiah. The Athinganoi believed also that Jesus was married with Mary Magdalene, and their son was Elymas Bar Jesus, who was blinded by the order of Paul. They also believed that Jesus lived on after the resurrection.

They were anathematized by the bishops, but would not cease to preach. They seem to have been otherwise orthodox. St. Jerome (Ep. 73) refutes an anonymous work which identified Melchisedech with the Holy Ghost. About AD 600, Timotheus, Presbyter of Constantinople, in his book De receptione Haereticorum[6][2] adds at the end of his list of heretics who need rebaptism the Mandopolini, "now called Athingani. They live in Phrygia, and are neither Hebrews nor Gentiles. They keep the Sabbath, 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."[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Athinganoi". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Melchisedechians". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ^ White, Karin (1999). "Metal-workers, agriculturists, acrobats, military-people and fortune-tellers: Roma (Gypsies) in and around the Byzantine empire". Golden Horn. 7 (2). Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  4. ^ Horvath, Julia; Wexler, Paul (1997). Relexification in Creole and Non-Creole Languages: With Special Attention to Haitian Creole, Modern Hebrew, Romani, and Rumanian. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 126. ISBN 978-3-447-03954-3.
  5. ^ P.G., lxv, 1117.
  6. ^ Cotelier, "Monumenta eccles. Graeca", III, 392; P.G., LXXXVI, 34.

Literature[]

  • 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.
Retrieved from ""