![]() ![]() There can be no objection to a general use of the term mysteries provided that its original meaning continues to resonate even as its application is extended. ![]() Discussion of the beginnings of Christianity was carried on for a long time under the sign of the mysteries, which were regarded as one of Christianity's roots this approach can still be found today. In the view of the history of religions school, the mysteries were an expression of popular piety that drew sustenance especially from the so-called Oriental mystery religions of the Roman imperial age in the long run, it was claimed, even the early church could not escape the influence of those religions. In particular it was much used by the history of religions school, most often by Richard Reitzenstein and Wilhelm Bousset, in their attempt to render comprehensible the multiplicity that marked the history of religions in the Hellenistic period and late antiquity, as well as to demonstrate the connections between that world and early Christianity. The term mysteries was familiar, of course, to classical philologists, who knew it from the ancient tradition, but it was not until the nineteenth century that it again became a technical term in the history of religions for secret cults or ceremonies of initiation (owing especially to James G. When taken over by philosophy (especially Neoplatonism and Neo-Pythagoreanism) and Christianity, the term increasingly loses its original concrete religious referent and acquires instead the sense of a revealed or mysterious divine wisdom ("mysteriosophy") that is only available to or attainable by adepts. But in Greek, must ēria is already applied to comparable rituals of initiation (see below) and thus acquires a general meaning. Originally, then, mysteries denotes a specific religious manifestation that is essentially different in character from other, official cultic functions the mysteries are not open to everyone but require a special initiation. Other terms used for the celebration are telet ē and orgia Latin writers either use the Greek word or translate it as initia. The Greek word must ēria refers initially only to the "mysteries" of Eleusis and signifies a secret celebration or secret worship that is accessible only to initiates ( mustai ), who have had themselves initiated ( muein or telein ) into it. Since the word had its own origin and history, its use needs to be analyzed carefully, especially in the context of comparative studies. Like many other terms that represent concepts in the history of religions, mysteries, or mystery religions, serves as an umbrella term covering a wide variety of referents. ![]()
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