DISCIPLINA, Arcani. The name given by John DalLwus to the secret discipline of the early Christian Church. The early Church had nothing to conceal. It began after the times of the Apostles, probably in the 2d century and was finally matured in the 4th century. It is sup posed to have ceased about the 7th century, when the catechumenate was discontinued. Neander thinks that it had its source in Alex andria and spread east and west from there. At any rate the theology of Clement and Origen contain it to a considerable extent. The Church seems to have become a secret society. Many things concerning worship, be lief and even the sacraments were revealed only to the initiated and were never referred to publicly. Worship was conducted with an air of profound mystery. As Th. Harnack says, "The mystical became mysterious and the liturgical became Some Roman Catholic writers have made much of the prevalence of secret worship in the early Church, and have gone so far as to claim that there has been a secret tradition com ing from the time of the Apostles and distinct from New Testament teachings.
The first part of the discipline dealt with the enemies of the Christian religion, the doom of Rome and the coming millenium and the end of the world. The Apostolical Constitu tions" refer to certain kinds of secret discipline. The Catechumens or Novitiates were not al lowed to attend common prayers, nor were they allowed to have a sight of the celebration of the Lord's Supper, nor to attend the "feasts of love.° Baptism ended the novitiate. An other part of the discipline consisted in the preservation of many maxims and opinions in circulation only among the Christians. The secret discipline included as unmentionable : (1) The manner of administering baptism ; (2) The manner of administering unction or confirmation ; (3) Ordination; (4) The public prayers of the Church; (5) The manner of celebrating the Lord's Supper; (6) The Creed; (7) The Lord's Prayer; (8) The mystery of the Trinity. There are several conjectures as
to its origin. Bingham thinks that it originated because of the plainness and simplicity of the Christian rites and the possibility of their giv ing offense. Others have thought that these mysteries arose largely through the influence of many pagans who crowded into the Church for political reasons in the reign of Constan tine. Many had been devotees of the Eleusin ian mysteries, and introduced some of their features into the Church.
Another theory is that it was adopted to withstand the Gnostic encroachments in doctrine and practice.
Still another theory is that it was developed as a means of the aggrandizement of the clergy. The rites could be performed only by holy consecrated hands, and common minds were unable to be instructors of the sacred doctrines and ordinances. The rites of the (lurch had no validity without the bishops.
The chief result of the secret discipline was the corruption of the simplicity and purity of church worship. It is thought by some that the doctrine of the baptismal regeneration from sin, and the doctrine of the actual presence of Christ in the bread and the wine are remains of the secret discipline.
fairly complete bibliog raphy may be found in Hastings, J., paedia of Religion and Ethics.) Among the best modern discussions are Hatch, E., 'In fluences of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church' (1880) ; Coleman, Lyman, 'Ancient Christianity Exemplified' (1875) ; Horn, Edward T., article in of Religion and Ethics) (1908).