Syneisaktism is the practice of "spiritual marriage", which is where a man and a woman who have both taken vows of chastity live together in a chaste and non-legalized partnership.
[2] This practice emerged around the 2nd century CE, and survived into the Middle Ages, despite being condemned by numerous church leaders, writers, and councils.
[3] It may have also emerged as an alternative to martyrdom, so that the faithful could reach the Kingdom of Heaven and receive their rewards in the afterlife without giving their lives.
John 20:17 was one New Testament verse that was used as evidence that spiritual marriage was not endorsed by Christ, as Jesus pushes away Mary Magdelene with the command "touch me not".
Those who wrote about this subject include Athanasius of Alexandria, Jerome, Eusebius of Emesa, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom, among others.
Here, he condemns the practice of spiritual marriage and of the subintroductae, suggesting that it is a betrayal of the Bridegroom Christ to whom all virgins devote their lives when they take vows of chastity.
He mentions those virgins who "dare[d] even to live and mix with men, not considering such a great danger or how easy it is to fall in this life" [13] and goes on to call on women to abandon their practice of spiritual marriage, "lest you break your covenant with the heavenly bridegroom".