The true branch...

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Dugger and Dodd go on to say:

That the Cathari did retain and observe the ancient Sabbath, is certified by Romish adversaries. Dr. Allix quotes a Roman Catholic author of the twelfth century, concerning three sorts of heretics - the Cathari, the Passiginians, and the Arnoldistae. Allix says of this Romish writer that -

'He lays it down also as one of their opinions, 'that the law of Moses is to be kept according to the letter, and that the keeping of the Sabbath ... and other legal observances, ought to take place. They hold also that Christ, the Son of God, is not equal with the Father, and that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, these three ... are not one God and one substance; and as a surplus, to these errors, they judge and condemn all the doctors of the Church and universally the whole Roman Church ... (Eccl. Hist. of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont, pp. 168-169, cf. Dugger and Dodd, pp. 227-228).

 

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During the twelfth century, the Latin records of the Inquisition often mention the name of the Pasaginians. The name is spelled several ways in Latin: Pasagii, Pasagini, Passagerii, Passagii, Passageres, Passagieri. They are first mentioned in the records of the council of Verona (A.D. 1184). In general, the church historians derive their name from the wandering, unsettled life of these people--from passage, or in other words, they were passengers, travelers. Persecuted and hunted down like wild game by the Romish Church, their only half-way safe retreat was in the solitude of the majestic Alps. Jas, on the other hand, derives the word from the Greek Pas-agios, entirely holy. Some assert that this last-mentioned term led to another appellation, Circumcisis; while others try to explain this word to mean that they were circumcised. Dr. U. Hahn, who has written an extensive history of the so-called heretics of the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, claims

The name of Pasagini was used in a twofold sense, viz., a definite Jewish-Christina sect was thus named; then it was also the general application for all the heretics, who all moved back and forth more or less, but chiefly the Cathari and Waldensians. This they did partly to spread their doctrines, and partly to escape the snares of their enemies. Geschichte der Ketzer, 3,5

 

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Among the sects of Oriental origin belongs, perhaps besides those already mentioned, the Pasagii or Pasagini. The name of this sect reminds one of the word passagium (passage), which signifies a tour, and was very commonly employed to denote pilgrimages to the East. To the holy sepulcher, --crusades. May not this word, then, be regarded as an index, pointing to the origin of the sect as one that came from the East, intimating that it grew out of the intercourse with Palestine? May we not suppose that from very ancient times a party of Judaizing Christians had survived, of which this sect must be regarded as an offshoot? The way in which they expressed themselves concerning Christ as being the first-born of creation, would point also, more directly, at the connection of their doctrine with some older Jewish theology, than at that later purely Western origin. Church History, fifth period, 8, pp. 403,404

 

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What Neander supposes, we have demonstrated by a regular and connected chain of evidence. The mighty crusades brought the West into closer contact with the East there were Sabbath-keepers everywhere in the East; and it would be but natural that the crusaders would come in touch with the Sabbath-keepers of the East: in fact, we have presented definite evidence of that in the case of the Bulgarians. And these so-called Judaizing Christians; were none other than the Nazarenes mentioned by Cardinal Humbert during this very century-- the true Israel of God, who, amid all the persecutions through which they had passed, bore the reproach of Christ more than any other Christian party, wandering about everywhere as pilgrims and strangers, to preach the faith of Yeshua and the commandments of God.

 

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The papal bulss, especially those of Gregory I, and Gregory VII, and Nicolas I, are our chief source of information concerning the Pasagini. Aside from these, we have but two leading notices in Catholic histories of heretics. One is found in the writings of Bonacursus against the heretics, entitled Against the Heretics, Who are Called Pasagii. Its contents are as follows

Not a few, but many know what are the errors of those who are called Pasagini, and how nefarious their belief and doctrine are. But because there are some who do not know them, it does not annoy me to write what I think of them, partly from precaution and for their salvation, and partly for their shame and confusion, in order that their foolishness might become more widely known, and that they might be the more condemned and despised of all. As we ought to know the good in order to do it, so likewise should we know the evil that we might shun it.

Let those who are not yet acquainted with them, please note how perverse their belief and doctrine are. First, they teach that we should obey the law of Moses according to the letter-- the Sabbath, and circumcision, and the legal precepts still being in force. The also teach that Christ, the Son of god, is not equal with God, and that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit-- these three persons are not one God and on being. Furthermore, to increase their error, they condemn and reject all the church Fathers, and the whole Roman church. But because they seek to base their errors upon the witness of the New Testament and the prophets, let us slay them with their own sword by the aid of the grace of Christ, as David once slew Goliath. Achery, Spicilegium I, f. 211-214. Muratory, Antiq. Med. Aevi 5, f. 152. Hanh, 3, 209

 

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The following report is found in a work written by Gregorius, of Bergamo, about A,.D. 1250, against the Cathari and Pasaginians:--

After what has been said of the Cathari, there still remains the sect of the pasagini. They teach Christ to be the first and pure creature; that the Old Testament festivals are to be observed-- circumcision, distinction of foods, and in nearly all other matters, save the sacrifices, the Old Testament is to be observed as literally as the New-- circumcision is to be kept according to the letter. They say that no good person before the advent of Christ descended into the lower regions; and that there is no one in the lower regions and in paradise until now, nor will there be until sentence has been rendered on the day of Judgement. Collectio Rev. Occitan in the Royal Library of Paris, doc. 35, quoted in Dollinger's History of the Sects, vol. 2, p. 375

 

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The patriarch Cerularius, in connection with the Bulgarian metropolistan Leo of Achrida, in A.D. 1053 addressed a letter to John, bishop of Trani, in southern Italy (which was under Greek jurisdiction), and through him to the Pope, charging that the churches of the West followed the practise of the Jews, and went contrary to the usage of Christ, because in the eucharist they employed unleavened bread; they fasted on Saturday during Lent; that they ate blood, and things strangled, etc.

The following year, Nicetas, a learned monk, attacked the Roman Church for fasting on the Sabbath, for celibacy, etc. this was refuted by the Pope and by the Cardinal Humbert. Pope Leo IX sent to Constantinople, under the imperious Humbert, three legates with counter-charges; that Cerularius arrogated to himself the title ecumenical patriarch; that, like the Nicolaitans, they permitted their priests to live in wedlock; and finally-- Because you observe the Sabbath with the Jews and the Lord's day with us, you seem to imitate in such observance the sect of the Nazarenes, who in this manner accept Christianity in order that they be not obliged to leave Judaism. Migne, 145, 936; Photius, 3, 746

 

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The end of this controversy was that the Roman legates excommunicated the patriarch and his adherents (July 16, 1054) and the patriarch answered by a synodical counter-anathema against the papal legates, accusing them of fraud.

The patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem adhered tot the See of Constantinople, and thus the schism, between the East and the West was completed. The Sabbath observance played an important part indeed in this controversy, which ended in final division. And the words called forth by this controversy are a striking proof that as late as the eleventh century the true Israel was still existing under their old name, keeping the Sabbath of Jehovah; or the cardinal would not have mentioned them as a definite sect, differing from the Jews as well as from the Catholics.

 

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PASAGINIANS http://www.all-of-grace.net/references/bucks_dictionary/bd_p.htm#A018

A denomination which arose in the twelfth century, known also by the name of the Circumcised. their distinguishing tenets were these, 1. That the observation of the law of Moses in every thing except the offering of sacrifices was obligatory upon Christians. In consequence of which, they circumcised their followers, abstained from those meats the use of which was prohibited under the Mosaic economy, and celebrated the Jewish Sabbath.{which doesn't really belong to the Jews but to God alone}--2. That Christ was no more than the first and purest creature of God. This denomination had the utmost aversion to the doctrine and discipline of the church of Rome.

 

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The Passagii, or Passageni, a sect whose name is first mentioned in the acts of the synod of Verona, seem to have been unique in that they required the literal observance of the Mosaic law, including the Jewish Sabbath and circumcision. It is possible they are identical with the Circumcisi spoken of in the code of Frederick II. As late as 1267 and 1274 papal bulls call for the punishment of heretics who had gone back to Jewish rites, and the Passagii

See Döllinger, II. 327; Alphandéry, 168 sqq.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc5.ii.xii.v.html

 

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I didn't know this but the blood line of the Passagii may have been Levi.

http://www.britam.org/levi.html

 

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Ignatz Lichtenstein (1824 - October 16, 1909) was an Hungarian Orthodox Rabbi who wrote "pamphlets advocating conversion to Christianity while still officiating as a Rabbi. Mein Zeugnis [“My Testimony”], Heft II (Budapest: Hornyánszky, 1886).
Die Liebe und die Bekehrung [“Love and Conversion”], Heft III (Budapest, 1886).

HE was not yet 20 when he became a Rabbi, and after officiating for several years in different communities in northern Hungary, Isaac Lichtenstein finally settled as District Rabbi in Tapio Szele, where he remained for nearly 40 years, laboring ceaselessly and unselfishly for the good of his people.

As was inevitable, no sooner did official Jewry realize the significance of Rabbi Lichtenstein's position and writings than a storm of persecution broke loose upon him. From the Jewish pulpit and in the Press anathemas were hurled at his head, and he who but a few weeks before was classed among the noblest leaders and teachers was now described as a disgrace and reproach to his nation — all because he dared pronounce the hated name of Jesus.

From his official place as District Rabbi he continued to teach and to preach from the New Testament. This was a touching testimony to the strong attachment of his own community, which alone had the power to make request for his dismissal, Judaism being a state religion in Hungary.

The Papacy soon learned of the existence and significance of the man, and a special emissary from the Pope visited Tapio Szele with tempting offers if he would but enter the service of Rome. To all he had but one reply: "I will remain among my own nation, I love Messiah, I believe in the New Testament; but I am not drawn to join Christendom. Just as the prophet Jeremiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem, in spite of the generous offers of Nebuchadnezzar and the captain of his host, chose rather to remain and lament among the ruins of the holy city, and with the despised remnant of his brethren, so will I remain among my own brethren, as a watchman from within and to plead with them to behold in Jesus the true glory of Israel."
http://www.messianicassociation.org/bio-lichtenstein.htm

 

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http://www.messianicassociation.org/profiles.htm

1506 - Alfonso de Zamora - Rabbi
Alfonso de Zamora, a Rabbi, publicly declared his faith in Messiah Jesus in 1506. Working with Paul Nunez Coronel and Alfonso d'Alcala, two other Jewish believers, he uses his knowledge of Hebrew, Aramaic, Chaldean, and other languages to help develop a six-volume multilingual work known as the Polyglot Bible. He also writes a Hebrew grammar, a Hebrew dictionary, a dictionary of the Old Testament, and a treatise on Hebrew spelling.

 

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From Blunt's Dictionary of Sects and Heresies, we read:

"They observed the Law of Moses (except as to sacrifices) circumcision, the Sabbath, distinction of clean and unclean foods all forming part of their system and hence, they were also called, 'Circumcisi, circumcissi, or circumsisi. .....
http://www.giveshare.org/churchhisto...lecture13.html

 

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We learn from the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, by Brown, article Pasaginians," that:

"A denomination which arose in the twelfth century, called the circumcised. Mosheim says, 'the meaning of the term Pasaginian is unknown, but they seem to have been a remnant of the Nazarenes.' They seem to have been a remnant of the Nazarenes, and have distinguishing tenants: 1) that the observance of the Law of Moses in everything except the offering of sacrifices was obligatory upon Christians. 2) That Christ was no more than the first and purest creature of God which was the doctrine of the semi-Arians."

http://www.giveshare.org/churchhistory/churchhistorylectures/lecture13.html

 

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William Jones, in History of the Christian Church, says:

"Investigators made a report to Louis XII, King of France that they had visited all the parishes that they (Waldenses) dwelt and had inspected their place of worship and found no images nor signs of the ornaments belonging to the mass not any of the ceremonies of the Roman church.... On the contrary, they kept the Sabbath Day, observed the ordinance of baptism according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the commandments of God." p. 260

http://www.giveshare.org/churchhistory/churchhistorylectures/lecture15.html

 

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Persecutions and Atrocities on the Vaudois, says:

"They observed the seventh day of the week according to the commandments, immersed for the believers baptism, and kept the Passover or the Lord's Day, once a year in the first month." p. 348-349

http://www.giveshare.org/churchhistory/churchhistorylectures/lecture15.html

 

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The term Subbotniki means "Saturday People" and is used to describe Russian peasants who left the Russian Orthodox Church in the 16th Century and who started practicing Judaism.

One of the Russian rationalistic bodies known under the general name of "Judaizing sects" (see Judaizing Heresy). On the whole, the Subbotniki differ but little from the other Judaizing societies. They first appeared in the reign of Catherine II., toward the end of the eighteenth century. According to the official reports of the Russian government, most of the followers of this sect practise the rite of circumcision, believe in one God, do not believe in the Trinity, accept only the Old Testament portion of the Bible, and observe the Sabbath on Saturday instead of on Sunday. According to the same source, however, some of them, as, for instance, the Subbotniki of Moscow, do not practise circumcision; moreover, they believe in Jesus, but regard him as a saint and prophet and not as the son of God. Others await the coming of the Messiah as king of the earth. Some of them revere the New Testament; others place it on a lower level than the Old Testament.

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1146&letter=S

 

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That most hallowed name, desposyni, had been respected by all believers in the first century and a half of Christian history. The word literally meant, in Greek, "belonging to the Lord." It was reserved uniquely for Jesus' blood relatives. Every part of the ancient Jewish Christian church had always been governed by a desposynos, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus' family---Zachary, Joseph, John, James, Joses, Simeon, Matthias, and so on. http://www.dhushara.com/book/yeshua/desposyn.htm

 

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Archbishop Menezes of Goa, convened the Synod of Diamper in 1599, in Kerala. There he ordered all the texts of the syrian nasranis to be burnt. The purpose stated by Menezes was to erase all legacies of antiquity and Jewishness of Jesus teachings. They completely obliterated the records of early Nasrani life and Hebrew - Syriac tradition and imposed on the Nasranis that they were mostly local people who were converted and followers of the Nestorian sect from persia. They argued also that they were persecuted in persia because of the rise of Islam in the middle east. Their evidence is based on an old Knanaya church near Kottayam having an 8th century Persian cross with Pahalvi inscriptions suggesting Nestorian faith. So they thought that Christianity came to Kerala only after the rise of islam in the middle east. However, all nasranis believe that nasranis were descendants of early Jewish settlers who got converted to christianity by the Apostle Thomas in A.D. 52. This fact is mentioned in the Acts of Thomas (a copy of which still survives in a monastry on Mount Sinai), which states that the early Christian converts by the Apostle Thomas in Kerala were early Jewish people settled in the Malabar coast.

Christianity / history of christianity / syrian malabar nasrani