Abrahamites
Abrahamites
1. a sect of heretics, named from their founder Abraham (or Ibrahim), of Antioch, A.D. 805. They were charged with the Paulician errors, and some of them with idolatry and licentiousness; but for these charges we have only the word of their persecutors. SEE PAULICIANS.
2. a sect of Deists in Bohemia, who existed as late as 1782, and professed the religion of Abraham before his circumcision, admitting no scriptures but the decalogue and the Lord's prayer. They believed in one God, but rejected the Trinity, and other doctrines of revelation. They rejected the doctrines of original sin, the immortality of the soul, and future rewards and punishments. They were required by Joseph II to incorporate themselves with one of the religions tolerated in the empire; and, in case of non-compliance, threatened with banishment. As the result of obstinate refusal to comply with the imperial command, they were transported to Transylvania. Many persons are still found in Bohemia, between whom and the Abrahamites some connection may be traced. They are frequently called Nihilists and Deists. (See an anonymous Gesch. der Bohmischen Deisten (1785); Gregoire, Hist. des Sectes relig. 5, 419 Sq.)
