Collyridians
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The Collyridians were an obscure minor early Christian heretical group. According to our main source, the Panarion or "Medicine-chest against Heresies" of Epiphanius of Salamis (written ca. 375 AD), certain women in then largely pagan Arabia worshipped Mary mother of Jesus as a goddess and offered little cakes or bread-rolls (Greek κολλυρις — a word occurring in the Septuagint) to her. Little else is known.
The Collyridians have become of interest in some recent Muslim-Christian religious discussions, because the Qur'an is understood by many to assert that the Christian Trinity consists of God, Jesus, and Mary (based mainly on verses 5:73, 5:75, and 5:116) — something which has never been a mainstream or widespread doctrine among Christian or quasi-Christian groups at any period of history. It is speculated by some that Muhammad may have mistakenly confused heretical Collyridian beliefs with orthodox Christianity. Others point out that there is no evidence that Collyridianism still existed in the 6th or 7th centuries A.D. (the time of Muhammad), and/or they reject the interpretation according to which the Qur'an is said to assert that Mary is part of the Trinity (since the relevant statements can be seen as emphasizing the purely human nature of Mary, simply in order to reinforce the Islamic post-Arian assertions of the purely human nature of Jesus).
Some women interested in feminist spirituality claim the Collyridians as precursors.
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