ADELOPHAGI. — From the Greek ἀδήλωσ-φανέων, “eating in secret”: followers of a Christian sect of which only scant information remains. The A. [Adelophagi], interpreting certain biblical texts, had come to the conclusion that a Christian ought not to eat in the sight of others. It is uncertain whether they added to this peculiarity Trinitarian errors. The Praedestinatus (see ARNO-BIO the Younger) denies this; Filastrius asserts it (De haeres., LXXXVI: PL 12, 1198), stating: “They think rightly of the Father and the Son; but regarding the Spirit they do not, for they believe the Holy Spirit to be a created and made being, not God, contrary to what the Scriptures announce and the Catholic Church proclaims.”
BIBL.: V. HERMON, s. V. in DHG, I, cols. 530-31. Angelo Audino