Docetism

 
Pronunciation: /dəˈsiːtɪz(ə)m, ˈdəʊsɪˌtɪz(ə)m/

noun

[mass noun]
  • the doctrine, important in Gnosticism, that Christ’s body was not human but either a phantasm or of real but celestial substance, and that therefore his sufferings were only apparent.

Derivatives

Docetist

noun

Origin:

mid 19th century: from medieval Latin Docetae (the name, based on Greek dokein 'seem', given to a group of 2nd-century Christian heretics) + -ism