View source for Adamites

[[File:Trumsdorf Kirche Bilder Empore-20210502-RM-165845.jpg|thumb|The Adamite Christians believed that the mandate of clothing was the first law ever established and that to signify the fulfilment of the law, they no longer required clothes]]
The '''Adamites''' were an [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] sect in the 2nd century who were notable for holding all their services nude. This was because the sect claimed that this was the practice of [[Adam and Eve]] until [[sin]] entered the world. Now that [[Jesus Christ]] had [[Crucifixion of Jesus|died on the cross]], fulfilling the [[Law of Moses]] and taking away the [[sin]] of the world, they were no longer required to wear clothing.

According to [[Epiphanius of Salamis]], the Adamites called their church "[[Paradise]]" and claimed that Jesus had returned it's members to Adam and Eve's state of original innocence.<ref>Panarion of Epiphanius, book 2</ref> Claims that they practiced [[free love]] and held libertine sex orgies during worship were later attached to them, but there is no evidence for this and it is more likely that they held a [[Christian sexual ethic|conservative sexual ethic]] and held to [[nudism]] as a form of [[asceticism]].<ref>The Nudist Conservatives of Early Christianity: Rituals and Beliefs - Eleanor M Harrison</ref>

Ideas about where the Adamites may have originated are varied. Some believe they are one of the [[Antinomianism|antinomian]] sects denounced by [[Clement of Alexandria]], and may have originated with the [[Carpocratians|Carpocratian]] [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]], while others take the opposite view and believe they split off from the [[Mysticism|mystical]] [[Montanists]] or [[Christian conservatism|conservative]] [[Novatianists]].

They existed in [[Egypt]] and the [[Balkans]] for almost 300 years, before fading into obscurity by the 4th century. Later groups in 13th century [[Netherlands|Holland]], 15th century [[Czechia|Bohemia]] and 17th century [[United Kingdom|Britain]] were labelled [[Neo-Adamites]] for similarly practicing Christian nudism, though no evidence of a direct connection exists between the original Adamites and the Neo-Adamites.

==References==