Bible Encyclopedias
Cellarius, Jacobus.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Cellarius, Christopher

Next Entry
Cellarius, Ludwig Friedrich

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

(See KELLER).

Cellites (Fratres Cellitæ), a society which arose at Antwerp about 1300, and so called from cella, because they provided graves for the dead. They were also called the Alexian Brethren and Sisters, because Alexius was their patron. As the clergy of that period took little care of the sick and dying, and deserted such as were infected with pestilential disorders, some compassionate persons in Antwerp formed themselves into a society for the performance of these religious duties. They visited the sick, assisted the dying, and buried the dead with a solemn funeral dirge, and were on that account called Lollards (from lollen, or lullen, to sing). (See LOLLARDS). Societies of Lollards were formed in most parts of Germany, and were supported partly by manual labor and partly by charitable donations. In 1472, Charles, duke of Burgundy, obtained a bull from Pope Sixtus IV ordering that the Cellites or Lollards should be ranked among the religious orders, and delivered from the jurisdiction of the bishops. Of the Alexian brethren, a few houses are left in the archdiocese of Cologne (Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, Duren), and of the sisters, some houses in Germany (Cologne, Dusseldorf), Belgium, and France. — Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen- Lexicon, 1:165; Farrar, Eccl. Dict. s.v.; Moshelm, Church History, 2:392. (See ALEXIANS); (See LOLLARDS).