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From Nicolaitans, an early Christian group or sect. They are mentioned in Rev 2:6, 14-15, "the Nicolaitans ... eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication ..." (NRSV translation). Because of the reference to fornication, "Nicolaitanism" in the middle ages meant married clergy or clerical concubinage. See nicholaism. Bihlmeyer remarks: "From the fourth or fifth century on, great difficulty had been experienced in enforcing the law of celibacy which obliged all clerics to abstain from marriage after receiving subdeaconship. In Spain the Visigoth King Witiza (700-710) formally abolished the law. Elsewhere it was enforced, but also frequently transgressed, not only by the lower clergy, but also by many bishops. As the Synod of Pavia in 1022 makes clear, the majority of the secular clergy of Italy were married." ("Secular clergy" means those serving in dioceses, as opposed to "religious clergy" who belong to religious orders.) (Bihlmeyer, Karl. Church History. 3 vols. Rev. Hermann Tí¼chle. Trans. Victor E. Mills and Francis J. Muller. Westminster: Newman, 1958-66. 2: 139.)

Etymology: See definition below.

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