What is "parabalani"

The Parabalani ( Late Latin parabalānī "persons who risk their lives as nurses", from ) or Parabolani (from or ,) were the members of a brotherhood who in early Christianity voluntarily undertook the care of the sick and the burial of the dead knowing they could die.

Generally drawn from the lower strata of society, they also functioned as attendants to local bishops and were sometimes used by them as bodyguards and in violent clashes with their opponents.