Nazarene (sect) - The Nazarenes (4th Century)

The Nazarenes (4th Century)

According to Epiphanius in his Panarion the 4th Century Nazarenes were originally Jewish converts of the Apostles who fled Jerusalem because of Jesus' prophecy on its coming siege (during the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 AD). They fled to Pella, Peraea (northeast of Jerusalem), and eventually spread outwards to Beroea and Bashanitis, where they permanently settled.

The Nazarenes were an early Jewish Christian sect located in and about Jerusalem which proclaimed Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah and the Son of God. The Nazarenes were similar to the Ebionites, in that they considered themselves Jews, maintained an adherence to the Law of Moses, and used only the Aramaic Gospel of the Hebrews. However, unlike half of the Ebionites, they accepted the Virgin Birth.

As late as the eleventh century Cardinal Humbert of Mourmoutiers still referred to the Nazarene sect as a Sabbath-keeping Christian body existing at that time. Modern scholars believe it is the Pasagini or Pasagians who are referenced by Cardinal Humbert suggesting the Nazarene sect existed well into the eleventh century and beyond (the Catholic writings of Bonacursus entitled "Against the Heretics"). It is believed that Gregorius of Bergamo, about 1250 CE, also wrote concerning the Nazarenes as the "Pasagini".