This article is about the ancient Christian sects. For the legendary men without heads, see Headless men.
In church history, the term acephali (from Ancient Greek: ἀκέφαλοιakephaloi, "headless", singular ἀκέφαλοςakephalos from ἀ-a-, "without", and κεφαλήkephalé, "head") has been applied to several sects that supposedly had no leader. E. Cobham Brewer wrote, in Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, that acephalites, "properly means men without a head."[1] Jean Cooper wrote, in Dictionary of Christianity, that it characterizes "various schismatical Christian bodies".[2] Among them were Nestorians who rejected the Council of Ephesus’ condemnation of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople,[2] which deposed Nestorius and declared him a heretic.
^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Brewer, E. Cobham (1900). "Acephalites". Dictionary of phrase and fable : giving the derivation, source, or origin of common phrases, allusions, and words that have a tale to tell (New ed.). London: Cassell. p. 9. OCLC586047493. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
^ abCooper, Jean C., ed. (2013) [1996]. "Acephalites". Dictionary of Christianity (eBook ed.). New York [u.a.]: Routledge. p. 2. ISBN978-1-315-07404-7. Retrieved 2014-10-22. This is "based on the Christian references taken from Brewer's Dictionary of phrase and fable".