Abbreviation AJC Founder James Foster Congregations 18 | Type Gnosticism Origin 2000 | |
Scripture Old and New Testament, Nag Hammadi Library, Corpus Hermeticum, Other Gnostic Writings | ||
The Johannite Church, properly known by its full name, l'Église Johannite des Chrétiens Primitifs (The Johannite Church of Primitive Primitive Christians), is a Gnostic Christian denomination founded by the French priest Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat in 1804. The Johannite Church received its full name in 1828 after Fabré-Palaprat's claimed discovery of the Levitikon gospels. It is "Johannite" because it claims a continuity with the primitive Johannine Christianity of the saints John the Baptist and John the Apostle, and the Christian scriptures attributed to John.
Apostolic Johannite Church
The Apostolic Johannite Church was founded in 2000 by James Foster, claiming to be part of the Johannite church founded by Fabré-Palaprat; it now reports multiple locations in the United States, Canada, Spain and Australia. Foster claimed that the Baphomet of the Knights Templar was in fact the severed head of John the Baptist.