||Il*lu`mi*na"ti (?), n. pl. [L.
illuminatus. See Illuminate, v. t.,
and cf. Illuminee.] Literally, those who are
enlightened; -- variously applied as follows: --
1. (Eccl.) Persons in the early church
who had received baptism; in which ceremony a lighted taper was given
them, as a symbol of the spiritual illumination they has received by
that sacrament.
2. (Eccl. Hist.) Members of a sect
which sprung up in Spain about the year 1575. Their principal
doctrine was, that, by means of prayer, they had attained to so
perfect a state as to have no need of ordinances, sacraments, good
works, etc.; -- called also Alumbrados,
Perfectibilists, etc.
3. (Mod. Hist.) Members of certain
associations in Modern Europe, who combined to promote social
reforms, by which they expected to raise men and society to
perfection, esp. of one originated in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt,
professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, which spread rapidly for a
time, but ceased after a few years.
4. Also applied to: (a) An
obscure sect of French Familists; (b) The
Hesychasts, Mystics, and Quietists; (c)
The Rosicrucians.
5. Any persons who profess special spiritual
or intellectual enlightenment.