Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V. CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE FIRST THREE CENTURIES. The Catechnmenate--Training of catechumens--Possible revival of the system--Baptism--Agape--Christian worship in the second century--More elaborate worship of the third century--Fasts and festivals--Sunday--Christian morals--The family--Luxury--The Church and the world--The army--Theatre, circus, and amphitheatre--The clergy--Slavery--The catacombs. 1. The Catechnmenate.--In apostolic times admission to the Christian brotherhood was given in the freest possible manner, and without any delay, to all applicants who were believed to make a genuine confession of faith in Christ. Every convert was required to pass through the one straight gate; but none were made to linger on the threshold, or to wait in a vestibule of novitiates, before enjoying full membership. Baptism followed immediately upon an acceptance of the gospel, even in the case of a person who heard it for the first time; and directly be was baptized, every new Christian was welcomed at the Lord's table and permitted to share in all the privileges of the Church. There was no inner circle of the initiated like that associated with the Greek mysteries. Every believer in Christ was free to penetrate as far into the divine mysteries of the kingdom of heaven as his own spiritual powers would carry him. But in course of time a great change came over the method of admission into the Church. The city of God, which had stood, like the New Jerusalem of the Apocalypse, with its gates open day and night, ready to give a hospitable reception to every stray wayfarer who might seek its shelter, hecame a citadel jealously guarded against the intrusion of spies and treacherous enemies. Baptism was separated by a long interval from the first...
