1. A title given in Scripture to Christians (1 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 6:21, et al.).
2. The term, πιστοὶ , the faithful (FIDELES), was the general and favorite name in the early Church to denote baptized persons. By this name they were distinguished, on the one hand, from the ἄπιστοι, such as were not Christians; and, on the other, from the catechumens. -Bingham, Orig. Eccl. book 1, chapters 3, 4; Riddle, Christian Antiquities, book 2, chapter 5.