ACTISTÈTI

ACTISTETI. – This was the name given to the adherents of a sect of minor importance in Julianism or late-Docetism (v. AFFARTODOCETI). The Actisteti (Axtiast-7-7), or rather Axtiast-7-7), are known only through the four or five lines devoted to them by the priest Timothy of Constantinople in his pamphlet De receptione haereticorum: PG 136, 4. The Orthodox gave them this name, which is in fact a nickname, because they held that the flesh of Christ was not only incorruptible but also uncreated (ἀκτίστως). They arrived at this conclusion because, anxious not to divide Christ, they refused to acknowledge the two natures in Him after their union, still less their properties, and considered everything in terms of the person of the Word, Who is indeed uncreated. The Actisteti left no trace in history, and none of them has come down to posterity (v. also MONOPHYSITES).