-
Ad Quirinum Book Three and Cyprian's Catechumenate
- Journal of Early Christian Studies
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 17, Number 3, Fall 2009
- pp. 357-380
- 10.1353/earl.0.0264
- Article
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
Although widely viewed as an unorganized catechetical document, Cyprian's Ad Quirinum Book Three has not been systematically analyzed for what it might reveal about the third-century North African catechumenate. By mapping discernible patterns in the headings and accompanying Scriptures, I will demonstrate that large sections of Book Three have a logical order, which helped catechists and catechumens memorize and practice the Scriptures. The first twenty-three precepts trained catechumens to practice economic sharing and to nonviolently respond to expected mistreatment. Later sections focus on disciplina, biblical book studies, and eschatological and baptismal concerns.