[ də'si:tɪz(ə)m , 'dəʊsɪˌtɪz(ə)m ]
■ noun the doctrine that Christ's body was not human (being either a phantasm or of real but celestial substance) and that therefore his sufferings were only apparent.
Derivatives
Docetist noun
Origin
C19: from med. L. Docetae (the name, based on Gk dokein 'seem', given to a group of 2nd-cent. Christian heretics) + -ism .