A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

CATECHIST. The person who catechizes. There were officers of this name in the ancient Church; but they did not form a distinct order. Sometimes the bishop catechized, sometimes the catechists were selected from the inferior orders, as readers, &c.—(See Bingham.)

CATECHUMENS. A name given, in the first ages of Christianity, to the Jews or Gentiles who were being prepared and instructed to receive baptism. It comes from the Greek word κατηχεῖν, which signifies to teach by word of mouth, or viva voce: and of that word this other, κατηχούμενος, is formed, which denotes him that is so taught: these had people on purpose to instruct them. Eusebius makes mention of Pantænus, Clemens, and Origen, who were catechists in the Church of Alexandria, and had a peculiar place in the church where they used to teach, and the same was called the place of the catechumens, as appears by the canons of the Council of Neocæsarea: they tell us the catechumens were not permitted to be present at the celebration of the holy eucharist; but, immediately after the Gospel was read, the deacons cried with a loud voice: “Withdraw in peace, you catechumens,” for so the book of the Apostolical Constitutions will have it. The service from the beginning to the Offertory was called Missa catechumenorum. The catechumens, not being baptized, were not to receive, nor so much as permitted to see, the consecrated elements of the eucharist. Some writers suppose that they received some of the consecrated bread, called eulogicæ; but Bingham shows that this idea is founded on a misconstruction of a passage in St. Augustine, and that the use of eulogicæ was not known in the Church, until long after the discipline of the catechumens had ceased. According to a canon of the Council of Orange, they were not permitted to pray with the faithful or those in full communion. There were several degrees of favour in the state of the catechumens: at first they were instructed privately, or by themselves, and afterwards admitted to hear sermons in the church; and these last were called audientes. There was a third sort of catechumens, called orantes or genuflectentes, because they were present and concerned in some part of the prayers: to which we may add a fourth degree of catechumens, which were the competentes; for so they were called when they desired to be baptized.

CATENA. From a Greek word signifying a chain. By a Catena Patrum is meant a string or series of passages from the writings of various fathers, and arranged for the elucidation of some portions of Scripture, as the Psalms or Gospels. They seem to have originated in the short scholia or glosses which it was customary in MSS. of the Scriptures to introduce in the margin. These by degrees were expanded, and passages from the homilies or sermons of the fathers were added to them. The most celebrated catena is the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas. It was translated at Oxford, under the superintendence of Mr. Newman, of Oriel College. The subsequent conduct of that gentleman has led those who were willing to attach some authority to the work to examine it carefully, and the result has been, the detection that Thomas Aquinas has sometimes falsified the quotations he has made from the fathers; and the whole, as a commentary, is inferior to the commentaries of modern theologians.

CATHARISTS. The last surviving sect of Manichæans, or Gnostics, who gave themselves that name, (from καθαρὸς, pure,) to indicate their superior purity. There were many different degrees of error among them, but the following tenets were common to all:—That matter was the source of all evil; that the Creator of the visible world was not the same as the Supreme Being; that Christ had not a real body, nor was properly speaking born, nor really died; that the bodies of men were the production of the evil principle, and were incapable of sanctification and a new life; and that the sacraments were but vain institutions, and without power. They rejected and despised the Old Testament, but received the New with reverence. The consequence of such doctrines was, of course, that they made it the chief object of their religion to emancipate themselves from whatever was material, and to macerate their bodies to the utmost; and their perfect disciples, in obedience to this principle, renounced animal food, wine, and marriage. The state of their souls, while united with the body, was in their estimation a wretched incarceration, and they only escaped from some portion of the horrors of such a dungeon, by denying themselves all natural enjoyments, and escaping from the solicitations of all the senses.

The Catharists in the twelfth century spread themselves from Bulgaria over most of the European provinces, but they met everywhere with extensive persecution, and are not heard of after that time.

CATHEDRAL. The chief church in every diocese is called the Cathedral, from the word cathedra, a chair, because in it the bishop has his seat or throne. The cathedral church is the parish church of the whole diocese (which diocese was therefore commonly called parochia in ancient times, till the application of this name to the lesser branches into which it was divided, caused it for distinction’ sake to be called only by the name of diocese): and it has been affirmed, with great probability, that if one resort to the cathedral church to hear Divine service, it is a resorting to the parish church within the natural sense and meaning of the statute.

By the 5th canon of the 5th Council of Carthage it is ordained, that every bishop shall have his residence at his principal or cathedral church, which he shall not leave, to betake himself to any other church in his diocese; nor continue upon his private concerns, to the neglect of his cure, and hinderance of his frequenting the cathedral church.—Bingham.

By the constitutions of Archbishop Langton, 1222, it is enjoined, bishops shall be at their cathedrals on some of the greater feasts, and at least in some part of Lent.

By the constitutions of Otho, 1237, bishops shall reside at their cathedral churches, and officiate there on the chief festivals, on the Lord’s days, and in Lent, and in Advent.

By the constitutions of Othobon, in 1268, bishops shall be personally resident to take care of their flock, and for the comfort of the churches espoused to them, especially on solemn days, in Lent and Advent, unless their absence is required by their superiors, or for other just cause.