mystical sect of Christians who believed union with God was possible without a priestly intercessor

The Alumbrados (Illuminated) was a term used to loosely describe practitioners of a mystical form of Christianity in Spain during the 15th-16th centuries. In spite of their lack of organization and their peaceful forms of expression through the Catholic church in the late 15th century, they were severely repressed and became some of the early victims of the Spanish Inquisition.