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FILIP DOROSZEWSKI
Even when the emperor was still unbaptized, Eusebius seems to say, he was not
like an ordinary man. Having been divinely chosen, he enjoyed a privileged
intimacy with God, just as Moses did.
It seems, therefore, that the term őpyia is used here, too, to indicate
a deeper understanding of the Christian faith, an understanding that brings
one closer to God. This is all the more likely since Eusebius, when describing
the deathbed baptism of Constantine in V.C. 4.62.4, does not use the word
öpyia, even though he employs other mystery terms.? Moreover, Eusebius
admits in the same passage that when finally baptized, the emperor Pwrög
EveniunAato Belov, “was filled with divine light,” which, in fact, not only
emphasizes that even Constantine, although outstanding in every respect,
needed the light of baptism, but also confirms the emperor’s uniqueness, as
before his proper illumination, he already had a deep understanding of God’s
mysteries.
CONCLUSION
Most of the 86 occurrences of the word dpyta found in the Christian writers
of the 4" and 5" centuries refer to religious practices regarded by these
authors as improper: 50 are applied to pagan worship, four to Jewish worship,
and three to the practices of heretics. In each of these cases, the term dpyta
appears in a negative and polemical context. In another 19 occurrences, öpyıa
is a metaphor for various kinds of knowledge, sometimes very exclusive, that
can only be gained by instruction or by some kind of initiation process. This
way of using the term can be traced back to at least the classical period.
The research on which this comparison is based revealed only ten instances
in which the word dpyta appears in a Christian context. A closer examination,
however, showed that in none of these instances did the term denote
a Christian celebration, although the sacrament of baptism was an underlying
theme in both of the disputable passages from Eusebius of Caesarea. Thus, it
must be concluded that, as far as the 4'* and the 5"* centuries are concerned,
the extant sources offer no support for the view according to which some
Greek Christian authors used the term dpyia for Church celebrations. The
reason for this seems obvious. In late antiquity, the metaphorical usage of
the word öpyıa for the arcana of the Christian faith stood firmly in a long
and honourable tradition of mystery metaphors rooted in the writings of
Plato and adapted by his followers, Philo and Clement. When employed in
a non-metaphorical way, by contrast, the term carried strongly negative
73 Eusebius says that the emperor Xptotod pwwotnpiois dvayevvwpevos EtedELovto, “was initiated
by rebirth in the mysteries of Christ”; trans. Cameron and Hall.
° 78 +
Daréczi-Sepsi-Vassanyi_Initiation_155x240.indb 78 6 2020. 06.15. 11:04:14