a Jewish-Gnostic sect who branched off from the Essenes about the time of Trajan. They seem to have derived their name from Elecassai their founder. In their creed they confounded Judaism, Paganism, and Christianity. They rejected the Pentateuch and the Pauline Epistles. They believed their founder had the power of forgiving sin, and observed the Old Testament ceremonial. In the second century they were blended with the Ebionites.