JOACHIMITES, in church-history, the disciples of Joachim a cistercian monk, who was an abbot of Flora in Calabria, and a great pretender to inspiration.
The Joachimites were particularly fond of certain ternaries: the Father, they said, operated from the beginning till the coming of the Son; the Son, from that time to theirs, which was the year 1260; and from that time the Holy Spirit was to operate in his turn. They also divided every thing relating to men, to doctrine, and the manner of living, into three classes, according to the three persons in the Trinity.