num_pages: 31
description: There were seven degrees of Mithraic initiation each one called a sacramentum ranging from the lowest or Raven (corax) grade to the highest grade that of the Father (pater). Between were the degrees known as Occult (cryphius) Soldier (miles) Lion (leo) Persian (Perses) and Courier of the Sun (heliodromus). Apparently in the process of initiation the celebrants donned sacred masks appropriate to the particular degree conferred; the Occult wore a veil the Persian a cap while the Soldier Raven and Lion each wore disguises that can easily be imagined. So virile and aggressive was this religion that sometimes it seemed cruel and heartless in the rigor of its discipline. In the largest terms life for the Mithraist was a prolonged struggle a part of the great cosmic warfare of good against evil right against wrong. In this war the initiate was assured of victory for he had the help of an invincible god...
language: English
title: Death and New Birth in Mithraism
publisher: Samhainsong.com