Docetism

Docetism
Docetic, adj.Docetist, n., adj.
/doh see"tiz euhm, doh"si tiz'-/, n.
1. an early Christian doctrine that the sufferings of Christ were apparent and not real and that after the crucifixion he appeared in a spiritual body.
2. Rom. Cath. Ch. an ancient heresy asserting that Jesus lacked full humanity.
[1840-50; DOCET(AE) + -ISM]

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      (from Greek dokein, “to seem”), Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines, affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one. Though its incipient forms are alluded to in the New Testament, such as in the Letters of John (e.g., 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 7), Docetism became more fully developed as an important doctrinal position of Gnosticism, a religious dualist system of belief arising in the 2nd century AD which held that matter was evil and the spirit good and claimed that salvation was attained only through esoteric knowledge, or gnosis. The heresy developed from speculations about the imperfection or essential impurity of matter. More thoroughgoing Docetists asserted that Christ was born without any participation of matter and that all the acts and sufferings of his life, including the Crucifixion, were mere appearances. They consequently denied Christ's Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. Milder Docetists attributed to Christ an ethereal and heavenly body but disagreed on the degree to which it shared the real actions and sufferings of Christ. Docetism was attacked by all opponents of Gnosticism, especially by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch in the 2nd century.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • docetism — DOCETÍSM s.n. Erezie de la începuturile bisericii creştine, care susţinea că Iisus Cristos nu ar fi fost om decât în aparenţă. [< fr. docétisme, cf. gr. dokein – a părea]. Trimis de LauraGellner, 25.02.2005. Sursa: DN  DOCETÍSM s. n. erezie… …   Dicționar Român

  • Docetism — Doc e*tism, n. (Eccl. Hist.) The doctrine of the Docet[ae]. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Docetism — 1846, heresy of the Docetae, who held that the body of Jesus was a phantom, from Gk. Doketai, name of the sect, lit. believers, from dokein to seem, have the appearance of, think, related to doxa (see DECENT (Cf. decent)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Docetism — [dō sēt′iz΄əm] n. [< Gr(Ec) Dokētai, name of the sect < dokein, to seem, believe (see DOGMA) + ISM] a belief among some early Christians that Christ merely seemed to have a human body: it came to be considered heretical docetic [dōsēt′ik]… …   English World dictionary

  • Docetism — In Christianity, docetism (from the Greek δοκέω dokeō, to seem ) is the belief that Jesus physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was… …   Wikipedia

  • Docetism — noun Date: 1846 a belief opposed as heresy in early Christianity that Christ only seemed to have a human body and to suffer and die on the cross • Docetist noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • docetism — noun /dəʊˈsiːtɪzəm/ The belief that Jesus only appeared to have a physical body and was ultimately of celestial substance …   Wiktionary

  • docetism — The view that Jesus was a divine being who only appeared to be human, explicitly branded as a heresy by Ignatius (d. 107 CE), though it may have existed earlier. It derives from Hellenistic [[➝ Hellenists]] dualism: the idea that what is created… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • DOCETISM —    a CHRISTIAN HERESY which maintained that CHRIST did not actually suffer and die on the Cross but only seemed to do so because Christ was a SPIRIT whose incarnate FORM was unreal. This view seems to have influenced MUHAMMAD and is found in the… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • Docetism — n. early unorthodox religious belief that claimed that Jesus Christ was a spirit and not a real person …   English contemporary dictionary

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