The Desposyni: The Bloodline of Jesus and the Nazoraean Church
There is therefore little doubt that the “Bishops” of Jerusalem were in fact a dynastic bloodline, a family succession claiming sacred legitimacy on the basis of their blood relationship to Jesus himself. This was a distinction that even an apostle like Peter could not claim. The Nazoraean tradition maintained that leadership of the Jerusalem church belonged by right to the family of the Lord, the Desposyni—a Greek term meaning “those who belong to the Master.”
From Pella, where the Jewish Christian remnant fled during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, these descendants of Jesus’ family are thought to have migrated northeastward, eventually making their way to the Tigris-Euphrates basin. In that relatively safe region, they preserved their ancient traditions for centuries. Both Eusebius of Caesarea and Epiphanius of Salamis testify that Jewish Christian communities survived after the fall of Jerusalem, and that numbers of Jews continued to join them.
The historian Julius Africanus (c.160–240 CE) further records that these heirs of Jesus’ family took pride in their Davidic descent and preserved the genealogical traditions that would later stand at the head of Matthew’s Gospel. The genealogy was not a mere literary device, but a claim of legitimacy rooted in the memory of the family itself.
According to both Matthew’s Gospel and the testimony of the Apostle Paul, Jesus was “the firstborn of many brothers” and also had at least two sisters. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesarea (c.340 CE) speaks of the grandchildren of Jesus’ brother Jude, who were still living in Galilee during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81–96 CE). Eusebius records:
“Of the family of the Lord there were still living the grandchildren of Jude, who was said to have been the Lord’s brother, according to the flesh. These lived in the same place [Galilee], and, because they belonged to the family of David, they were reported to the Emperor Domitian by the Evocatus.” (Ecclesiastical History, 3.20.1)
Eusebius also explains that the descendants of Jesus’ family, the Desposyni, became dynastic leaders of various Christian churches and continued to exercise influence until the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117 CE). These leaders, viewed as custodians of the true faith, ensured that the Jerusalem community remained rooted in its Jewish heritage.
Jewish Christian communities were still active in northern and eastern Palestine as late as the fifth century, according to both church historians and patristic writers. The name of Jesus was invoked by both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, though for different purposes: the Jewish Christians revered him as the anointed Messiah, while the Roman Christians increasingly magnified him into a symbolic and theological figure, representative of ecclesiastical concerns. In the eyes of the Nazoraeans, however, Jesus remained a naturally generated man, chosen and anointed by God’s Spirit.
The Nazoraean succession of bishops, preserved by Eusebius and Epiphanius, confirms the dynastic nature of the Jerusalem church. Eusebius lists thirteen successive Jewish bishops of Jerusalem, all related to Jesus’ family, leading up to the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE. These are:
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James the Just – Brother of Jesus, first bishop of Jerusalem, martyred c.A.D. 66.
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Simeon of Jerusalem – Also called Simon, another brother of Jesus, bishop from A.D. 66 to 107.
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Justus – Grandson or relative of Jesus’ family (relationship uncertain), bishop from 107 to 113.
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Zebedee – Presumably a relative; bishop from 113 to 115.
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Alexander – Bishop from 115 to 117.
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Sixtus – Bishop from 117 to 120.
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Tobias – Bishop from 120 to 123.
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Benjamin – Bishop from 123 to 126.
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John – Bishop from 126 to 129.
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Matthias – Bishop from 129 to 132.
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Philip – Bishop from 132 to 134.
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Ananias – Bishop briefly in 134.
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Jesus (or Judah) Kyriakos – Great-grandson of Jude, last Jewish bishop of Jerusalem, deposed following Hadrian’s destruction of the city in 135 CE.
Epiphanius of Salamis confirms that all of these early bishops were Jewish Christians, insisting that leadership passed through Jesus’ family:
“The first bishops of Jerusalem were all of the kin of the Lord, being relatives of the Desposyni, and continued in that line until the city was destroyed under Hadrian, when the leadership passed to Gentile bishops.” (Panarion, 29.4.5)
Centuries later, a striking episode underscores the continuing presence of the Desposyni. According to the Jesuit historian Malachi Martin, a meeting took place in Rome in 318 CE between Pope Sylvester I and eight leaders of the Desposyni—the blood relatives of Jesus, also known as Nazoraeans or Nazarenes. Martin describes the encounter in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1981, p. 43).
These eight Desposyni leaders made three specific demands:
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That the confirmation of the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, and Alexandria be revoked.
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That these bishoprics be conferred on members of the Desposyni.
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That Christian churches resume sending financial support to the Desposyni church in Jerusalem, which they insisted was to be regarded as the Mother Church.
Pope Sylvester evidently considered the delegation important, for he provided sea travel for them as far as the Roman port of Ostia. Yet the demands must have shocked him. A barefaced claim of superiority over the Roman Church, asserted on the basis of blood relation to Jesus, ran directly against Rome’s emerging vision of universal ecclesiastical authority.
What is significant is that Sylvester felt it necessary to meet with the Nazoraean heirs of Jesus at all. Everything suggests that it was he who initiated the meeting, likely expecting compliance. But his attempt at asserting pontifical authority backfired. The Nazoraeans bluntly refused to recognize the Roman Church as the central authority of Christendom. From their perspective, Constantine’s political favor gave Rome wealth and privilege, but it did not alter the fundamental fact: the Nazoraean Church of Jerusalem was the true Mother Church. As the Odes of Solomon declare:
“The foundation of everything is in Thee, O Lord, and upon Thy Rock it is firmly based; for Thou hast established it, and it shall not be shaken from its place forever.” (Ode 38:9–13)
The Roman Church, however, dismissed their claims. In 318, the representatives of the Nazoraean Church were curtly informed that the center of influence had long since shifted to Rome, that the bones of Peter rested not in Jerusalem but in Rome, and that the family of Jesus—though once powerful—was no longer considered apostolically relevant.
It was a humiliating rejection, a slap in the face to those who since the days of James the Righteous had faithfully proclaimed their brother Jesus as Messiah. Their Jesus was not the theological construct of Pope Sylvester, nor the Christ of the Nicene Council that would convene only seven years later. Their Jesus was not inherently divine by nature, but was divine by virtue of God’s Spirit anointing him as the Christ—a radically different proposition from that of the Roman Church.
Thus, the story of the Desposyni reveals not only the survival of Jesus’ family line well into the fourth century, but also a sharp contrast between two competing visions of Christianity: the dynastic, familial, and Jewish-rooted Nazoraean tradition, and the increasingly centralized, symbolic, and Hellenized Roman tradition.
From Pella the Jewish Christians remnant is thought to have moved north-eastward, eventually making their way to the Tigris-Euphrates basin. In this relatively safe area they preserved their traditions for centuries. Eusebius and Epiphanius bear witness to the fact that the Jewish Christians survived and that numbers of Jews joined them. And from the historian Julius Africanus (160-240 CE) we learn that the Jewish Christians heirs took pride in their Davidic descent and circulated the genealogy which now stands at the head of Matthew's gospel.
According to this gospel, and to the Apostle Paul, Jesus was the first born of many brothers, and had at least two sisters. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesaria (340 CE) speaks of grandchildren of Jesus' brother Jude who were living in Galilee during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE). (Eusebius, History, 1:7.)
According to Eusebius, the descendants of Jesus' family (termed Desposyni) became dynastic leaders of various Christian Churches, and continued so up until the time of the Emperor Trajan (98-117 CE).
Jewish Christians communities were apparently still active in north and east Palestine right up until the fifth century, the name of Jesus being used by both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the interest of policy.
Further and further magnified by the Roman Christians, however, Jesus became progressively more symbolic and representative of ecclesiastical concerns. In Nazoraean eyes Jesus continued to be a naturally generated man.
According to the Jesuit historian Malachi Martin, a meeting took place in Rome between Pope Sylvester 1 and what is termed in Greek desposyni - the blood relatives of Jesus - in 318 CE. (Martin, Malachi, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church, G P Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1981, p. 43). Eight in number, these Desposyni leaders (otherwise known as ‘Nazoraeans’ or 'Nazarenes') made the following demands: (1) that the confirmation of the Christian bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus and Alexandria be revoked; (2) that these bishoprics be conferred on members of the Desposyni; and (3) that Christian Churches resume sending money to the Desposyni Church in Jerusalem, which was to be regarded as the Mother Church. Having provided sea travel for these Nazoraean leaders as far as the Roman port of Ostia, Sylvester must surely have recognised them as important, but such a barefaced claim to superiority over the Roman Church by these relatives of Jesus must have come as something of a surprise.
What is important here is the fact that Sylvester felt it necessary to consult with these Nazoraean heirs of Jesus. Everything suggests that it was he who initiated the meeting, and that what he thought of as a straightforward exercise in pontifical authority sorely backfired. This suggests, in turn, a certain naivety on Sylvester's part, for from the nature of the demands made it can be deduced that his estimation of the Nazoraean Community was sadly inadequate. Facing up to Sylvester, these church leaders from the East bluntly refused to recognise the Roman Church as the central authority for the whole Christian world. Due to Constantine’s largesse, the Roman Church was certainly in a priviledged position, but as far as these Nazoraeans were concerned, that in no way changed the underlying fact that the Nazoraean Church was the Mother Church. (Ode 38:9-13)
The Apostolic Church of the Nazoraeans was virtually ignored by the early Greek-oriented Church at Rome. Dismissed in 318 with regal curtness, the representatives of this Church were informed that the centre of influence had long since shifted to Rome, that St Peter's bones were not in Jerusalem, but in Rome, and that the admittedly once powerful family dynasty of Jesus was no longer considered apostolically important.
Quite a slap in the face to those of Jesus' own family who, since the time of James the Righteous, had faithfully carried their message of Jesus as God's chosen Messiah to anyone who would listen. And this was the point, their Jesus was not Pope Sylvester's Jesus, or the Jesus of the Nicean Council which would meet with such dire consequences seven years later. Their Jesus was not divine in his own right, he was divine by way of being anointed by God’s Spirit to be the Christ, a quite different proposition from that developed by the Roman Christians.
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