The Cainites were a Gnostic and Antinomian sect who were known to worship Cain as the first victim of the Demiurge Jehovah, the Old Testament God, who was identified by many groups of gnostics as evil. The sect following was relatively small. They were mentioned by Tertullian and Irenaeus as existing in the eastern Roman Empire during the 2nd century.

Source texts on the Cainites

• Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.31.1-2
• Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 38
• Hippolytus, Against Heresies 8
• Pseudo-Tertullian, Against All Heresies 7
• Tertullian, On Baptism 1.

Other meanings

• Cainites is a term used by some adherents of Christian Identity groups to disparage Jews.
• Cainites is the name given to vampires (usually by themselves), in White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games (see also Caine, Cainite Heresy).

Cainites in art and literature

• Referenced in Neil Gaiman's Season of Mists, part of the The Sandman series. Kainici