Emerobaptists

EMEROBATTISTI. – A Jewish sect so called because of the daily ablution practiced within II. Hegesippus, cited by Eusebius (Hist. eccl., IV, 22, 7), mentions the E. among the seven religious groups of Judaism.

Epiphanius (Haer., 17) states that in religious ideas they were no different from the scribes and Pharisees, though they believed it necessary to wash (“baptize”) every day, without specifying the time of their washing. In the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies (II, 23), St. John the Baptist is described as an E. The Apostolic Constitutions (VI, 6, 3) state that the E. washed every day beds, cups, chairs, etc. It is unknown whether the E. are related to the baptists mentioned under other names (e.g., Masbothei) among the Jewish sects, particularly those who, according to the Babylonian Talmud (Bērākhōth, 22 a), immerse themselves in the morning.