Editing Mystagogue

{{short description|Religious or occult function}}
[[File:Artistic mystagogue.jpeg|thumb|Artistic rendition of a classical "mystagogue"]]
A '''mystagogue''' (from {{langx|el|μυσταγωγός|mystagōgós|person who initiates into mysteries}}) is a person who initiates others into [[mysticism|mystic]] beliefs, and an educator or person who has knowledge of the [[sacred mysteries]] of a belief system. Another word for mystagogue is [[hierophant]].

==Origins==
In ancient [[mystery religion]]s, a mystagogue would be responsible for leading an initiate into the secret teachings and rituals of a [[Cult (religious practice)|cultus]]. The initiate would often be blindfolded, and the mystagogue would literally "guide" him into the sacred space.

In the [[early church|early Christian church]], this same concept was used to describe role of the [[bishop]], who was responsible for seeing to it that the [[catechumens]] were properly prepared for [[baptism]]. Mystagogical homilies, or [[homily|homilies]] that dealt with the Church's [[sacraments]], were given to those in the last stages of preparation for full Church membership. Sometimes these mystagogical instructions were not given until after the catechumen had been baptized. The most famous of these mystagogical works are the "Mystagogical Homilies" of St. [[Cyril of Jerusalem]], and the work, "On the Mysteries" by St. [[Ambrose of Milan]].

==Typologies==
In various organizations, it is the role of the mystagogue to "mystify" pledges. The term is sometimes used to refer to a person who guides people through religious sites, such as churches, and explains the various artifacts. This branch of theology is at times called mystagogy.

In the [[United States]] versions of mystagogical legends predate [[European colonization of the Americas|European contact]]. Early [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes around the [[Great Lakes region]], taught that the mystagogue was a spiritual leader, and upon death would transform into a beast with many heads. The mystagogue would reappear in his beastly form and feed on those who strayed from the tribe if it was not in keeping with their religious customs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Simmel|first=Georg|author-link=Georg Simmel|date=January 1906|title=The Sociology of Secrecy and Secret Societies|journal=[[American Journal of Sociology]]|volume=11|issue=4|pages=441–498|doi=10.1086/211418|url=https://zenodo.org/record/2422431}}</ref>

The historical tradition of the mystagogue has carried on today in one way through the [[fraternity]] system in American [[university|universities]], that have historically held a position for a mystagogue at either the chapter or the national level.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth|last=Eliade|first=Mircea|publisher=Spring Publications|year=1993|isbn=9780882143583|location=Putnam, CT|page=204}}</ref> The mystagogue is a person of great respect, and his knowledge concerning both the physical and spiritual matters of the organization is not questioned. In a way similar to that of some Native American traditions, the mystagogue in the fraternity system has the power to shut down parts of the fraternity which are not in keeping with [[Custom (law)|customs]] or [[tradition]].

[[Max Weber]], considered to be one of the founders of the modern study of [[sociology]], described the mystagogue as part magician and part prophet, and as one who dispensed "magical actions that contain the boons of salvation."<ref>{{cite book|title=Twentieth-Century World Religious Movements in Neo-Weberian Perspective|last=Kirkpatrick|first=R. George|last2=Tumminia|first2=Diana|publisher=Edward Mellyn|year=1992|isbn=0-7734-9550-9|editor-last=Swatos|editor-first=William H. Jr.|location=Lewiston, NY|pages=299–311|chapter=California Space Goddess: The Mystagogue in a Flying Saucer Cult}}</ref>

According to Roy Wallis: "The primary criterion that Weber had in mind in distinguishing the ''prophet'' from the ''mystagogue'' was that the latter offers a largely magical means of salvation rather than proclaiming a radical religious ethic or an example to be followed."<ref>{{cite book|title=Sectarianism: Analyses of Religious and Non-Religious Sects|last=Wallis|first=Roy|publisher=Peter Owen|year=1975|isbn=0-7206-0403-6|editor-last=Wallis|editor-first=Roy|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sectarianismanal0000unse_b8y4/page/17 17–34]|chapter=The Aetherius Society: A Case Study in the Formation of a Mystagogic Congregation|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/sectarianismanal0000unse_b8y4/page/17}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Hierophant]]
* [[Sacred mysteries]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}{{Greek religion}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mysticism]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Religious occupations]]

[[es:Mistagogo]]