Therapeutae

The therapists ( gr θεραπευτής Therapeutes " ( God ) worshipers ' ) were a group of Jewish mysticism facing hermit in Egypt from the beginning of the 1st century BC The source of what we know about the therapist, is Philo of Alexandria who lived BC in the first half of the 1st century. He describes the therapists in the De Vita contemplativa ( "On the Contemplative Life "). The therapists apply with the Essenes as a precursor of Christian monasticism, but also the ancient Gnostics and Gnosticism are attributed. Their religious ideas were considered within Judaism as a heresy.

Way of life

The therapist gave away all their possessions and retreated from their families in the gardens outside the cities back. Their settlements were mainly above the Mareotis lake at Alexandria. The hermit lived ascetic and celibate in individual huts, only supplied with the basic necessities of food and clothing. In their community men and women were equally admitted to the female members called therapist Riden.

The therapist tried to purify with wine and meat waiver itself and thereby come closer to God:

"Your table is purely from meat, they offer instead of bread as food ... The upright reason namely advises them to live in sobriety. Wine is in fact a poison that produces madness, delicious tidbits but irritate the insatiable creature to desire. "

Connection to Jesus of Nazareth

The therapists are as a Jewish ascetic sect in a historical context to the life of Jesus, the most radical, but also questionable theories, see Jesus as Egyptian magician who comes from this sect or have been in contact with her. But his close can not be that great, since the ministry of Jesus is strong with Weinallegorie connected while the therapists were strict anti - alcoholic and refused pleasure -giving luxury items in general.

In Matthew's Gospel (Mt 2:14-15 EU) is the only evidence of such a sojourn in Egypt, which would allow a connection to the Alexandrian therapists:

" There he stood [ Josef ], and took the young child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet, saying, ( Hosea 11:1), Out of Egypt have I called my son. "

Swell

• Philo of Alexandria: About the contemplative life. About ascetics, III. (English translation of " About ascetics ") (Excerpts from the work in English)