Disciplina arcani

Disciplina arcani (Latin for "discipline of the secret") was a custom that prevailed in the 4th and 5th centuries of Christianity, whereby knowledge of certain doctrines and rites of the Christian religion was kept from non-Christians and even from those who were undergoing instruction in the faith so that they may progressively learn the teachings of the faith and not fall to heresy due to simplistic misunderstandings (hence, doctrines were kept from catechumens, Christian converts who had not yet been baptized). The term disciplina arcani is not ancient. It was coined by the Calvinist writer Jean Daillé in the 17th century. The concept, however, was first proposed by another Calvinist, Isaac Casaubon, in 1614 as a way of explaining the absence of certain doctrines in early Christian writings. On his view, the Church Fathers were imitating the Roman mystery religions. Daillé held that the purpose of the disciplina was to increase the reverence for the sacraments. The Catholic theologian Emmanuel Schelstrate, however, rejected Casaubon's view that it owed anything to the mystery religions. He believed it had been taught by Jesus and practiced by the Apostles. He explained the absence of references to Catholic dogma like the Mass, transubstantiation and the cult of saints by recourse to the disciplina arcani. In the second century, Christians freely communicated rites such as baptism and the Eucharist with pagan groups. Justin Martyr, for example, freely spoke with a pagan audience regarding the rite of the Eucharist. The disciplina arcani began to emerge in the 3rd century. Some have suggested Tertullian as the earliest witness to the practice, although recent scholars have noted Tertullian's belief that Christian teachings were public and should be taught in public. Later, in the middle of the 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria addressed the polemics against Christianity by the pagan Celsus in his Contra Celsum.