For instance, where on earth did you get hold of that idea about the initiation of Christ by the Essenes at Lake Moeris in Egypt?"
"The Orchard of Tears"
Sax Rohmer
Monasticism was not the creation of Christianity; the religions of the East had their devotees, like the Jewish Essenes, who abandoned the common pursuits of men for a life of solitude, idle introspection, and rapt contemplation.
"Women of Early Christianity Woman: In all ages and in all countries, Vol. 3 (of 10)"
Alfred Brittain Mitchell Carroll
Thus the term, "The Perfect," was used by the Essenes, who had three orders in their communities: the Neophytes, the Brethren, and the Perfect-the latter being Initiates; and it is employed generally in that sense in old writings.
"Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries"
Annie Besant