Docetism

[ doh-see-tiz-uh m, doh-si-tiz- ]

/ doʊˈsi tɪz əm, ˈdoʊ sɪˌtɪz- /

an early Christian doctrine that the sufferings of Christ were apparent and not real and that after the crucifixion he appeared in a spiritual body.

Roman Catholic Church. an ancient heresy asserting that Jesus lacked full humanity.

Origin of Docetism

First recorded in 1840–50; Docet(ae) + -ism

Do·ce·tic, adjective Do·ce·tist, noun, adjective

A curious and far-off echo of early Docetism which also in its own way reduced Christ's suffering to a simple seeming to suffer.

Modern Religious Cults and Movements |Gaius Glenn Atkins
Nevertheless, the author carefully avoids the extremes of Docetism or ditheism.

The Unseen World and Other Essays |John Fiske
As compared with this, Docetism in Origen's case appears throughout in a weakened form; see Bigg, p. 191.

History of Dogma, Volume 2 (of 7) |Adolph Harnack

Docetism

/ (ˈdəʊsɪˌtɪzəm) /

(in the early Christian Church) a heresy that the humanity of Christ, his sufferings, and his death were apparent rather than real

C19: from Medieval Latin Docētae, from Greek Dokētai, from dokein to seem