From an Aramaic word meaning “praying folk.” Also known as Euchites and by other names, they were a heretical sect originating in Mesopotamia about 360, spreading to Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt. The so-called Christian Messalians were vagrant Quietists, ignored the sacraments, and wandered about sleeping in the streets. They feigned orthodox practice to avoid persecution; prayer was their only occupation, and they claimed to see the Trinity as well as evil spirits. They emphasized the indwelling of the [[Holy Spirit]], saying that every man including Christ was possessed of demons. Although they survived until the seventh century, attempts to suppress them were many-by Flavian of Antioch, the Synod of Side (388-90), Nestorians in Syria, decrees in Armenia (mid-fifth century), and the councils of Constantinople (426) and Ephesus (431) where their Asceticus was called a filthy book of heresy. They were accused of immorality and their monasteries were burned. They were scarcely known in