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Nicolaism (also called Nicholaism, Nicolaitism, Nicolationism or Nicolaitanism) was an early Christian sect mentioned twice in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. The adherents were called Nicolaitans, Nicolaitanes, or Nicolaites. They were considered heretical by the mainstream early Christian Church. According to Revelation 2:6 and 15,[1] they were known in the cities of Ephesus and Pergamum. In this chapter, the church at Ephesus is endorsed for "[hating] the works of the Nicolaites, which I also hate"; and the church in Pergamos is rebuked: "So thou hast also some [worshiping in their midst] who hold the teaching of the Nicolaites". In the original Greek, they are called, in genitive, Νικολαϊτῶν (Nikolaïtōn).[2][3]
Several of the early Church Fathers mentioned this group, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus,[4] Epiphanius, and Theodoret, stating that Nicolas the Deacon, one of the Seven Deacons, was the author of the heresy and the sect.
- ^ Revelation 2.
- ^ "Revelation 2:6 - To the Church in Ephesus". Bible Hub.
- ^ "Revelation 2:15 - To the Church in Pergamum". Bible Hub.
- ^ Philosophumena, vii. 26.