Abecedarians, a sect which appeared among the Anabaptists of Germany in the 16th century, led by one Storck, previously a disciple of Luther. They held that without the aid of study the Holy Spirit would convey directly to the understanding a knowledge of the Scriptures, and that therefore it was better not to know how to read. Carlstadt, a Wittenberg divine, and at one period of his life a bitter antagonist of Luther, is said to have countenanced the Abecedarians by tearing off his doctor's gown and burning it.