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Samaritan Christians or Christian Samaritans (Aramaic: ࠔࠌࠓࠉ ࠀࠅࠓࠇࠀ ''Shamrey Urkha'' or ࠍࠈࠓࠉ ࠀࠅࠓࠇࠀ ''Naṭrey Urkha'' “Keepers/Samaritans of the Way”) were followers of Jesus of Nazareth who lived in Samaria and were of Samaritan origin. They were descendants of the northern tribes of Israel, mainly Ephraim and Manasseh, and had formerly practiced Samaritanism, one of two major expressions of the ancient religion of Israel, i.e., the worship of YHWH. The Samaritan Christian community is the second oldest community, or church, of practitioners of what would eventually became known as Christianity. This particular community was established subsequent to the Jewish Christian community in Galilee and Judea but prior to the Gentile Christian community at Antioch. It is often overlooked by Church historians because of its perceived lack of prestige or historical import, but in fact it is the only Christian community, other than that of the Jews, that Jesus himself started when he spent two days in Sychar. According to the New Testament book of Acts, Philip the Evangelist conducted a mission in Samaria and significantly increased the number of Christian believers there. This was followed by the apostolic visitation of Peter and John, who were sent by the elders in Jerusalem to lay hands upon the baptized Samaritans so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. The fate of the original Samaritan Christian community is not documented, but it is known that some Samaritans left Christianity early on, and followed the teachings of either Simon Magus or his contemporary Dositheos, both of whom were Samaritans. A few Samaritan Christians may have joined the early Jewish Christian community, but it is more probable that the majority of them, facing internal and external pressure, either returned to traditional Samaritanism or joined one of the Gentile Christian communities in Samaria or abroad. Justin Martyr, recognized as the first Christian philosopher, is thought by some to descend from Hellenized Samaritans, and at one point he even called himself a Samaritan. By the end of the second century CE, the original Samaritan Christian community had disbanded and was lost to history. A few scholars, like Dr. Ze’ev Goldmann, believe that Samaritan Christianity continued on for some time thereafter, and argue that “Samaritan Neo-Christians” had moved to Capernaum and had adopted the use of the pelta (shield) symbol as a representative sign, having a function similar to the Jewish star of David, which can be seen at several archaeological sites associated with them. == Role of Samaritans in Christianity == From the story of the Samaritan woman at the well to the parable of the Good Samaritan, Samaritans were very much a part of Early Christianity. The Jews of that time despised Samaritans, and went so far as to call Jesus a demon-possessed Samaritan as an insult. Jesus, however, championed the underdog. While he instructed his disciples not to go to the Samaritans, he dealt with the Samaritans directly, and referenced them in his teachings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Samaritan Christians」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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