93097Catholic Encyclopedia — AdelophagiJohn Joseph A'Becket



Adelophagi (ἀδήλως = secretly, and φάγω = I eat), a sect mentioned by the anonymous author known as Prædestinatus (P.L., LIII, 612). They pretended that a Christian ought to conceal himself from other men to take his nourishment, imagining that thus he imitated the Prophets, and basing their view on certain passages of Scripture. The author of Prædestinatus said this was their only error, but Philastrius intimates that they also rejected the divinity of the Holy Ghost. They seem to have flourished in the latter part of the fourth century.