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Bernardo Gallegos
Page 05 - Part E
The early
churches were bound together by no formal bond of union, and felt little
need for such. It was the belief of many that Christ would soon return and
the world would end, hence there was little necessity for organization.
There was also almost no system of belief. An acknowledgment of God as the
Father, a repentance for past sins, a godly life, and a desire to be saved
were about all that was expected of any one. [15] The chief concern was
the moral regeneration of society through the moral regeneration of
converts. To accomplish this, in face of the practices of Roman society, a
process of instruction and a period of probation for those wishing to join
the faith soon became necessary. Jews, pagans, and the children of
believers were thereafter alike subjected to this before full acceptance
into the Church. At stated times during the week the probationers met for
instruction in morality and in the psalmody of the Church (R. 39). These
two subjects constituted almost the entire instruction, the period of
probation covering two or three years. The teachers were merely the older
and abler members of the congregation.
This personal instruction became common everywhere in the early Church,
and the training was known as _catechumenal_, that is, rudimentary,
instruction. Two sets of catechumenal lectures have survived, which give
an idea as to the nature of the instruction. They cover the essentials of
church practice and the religious life (RS. 39, 40). It was dropped
entirely in the conversion of the barbarian tribes. This instruction, and
the preaching of the elders (presbyters, who later evolved into priests),
constituted the formal schooling of the early converts to Christianity in
Italy and the East. Such instruction was never known in England, and but
little in Gaul.
Source: THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION, by ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY
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[ Part D ]
[ Part E ]
[ Part F ]
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