Discipline of the secret

The rites and secrets of many religious, particularly pagan mystery religious, are commonly shared only by the initiated; this practice of secrecy become common in the early Church (3rd to 5th centuries). The principle is that the mysteries of the faith do not pertain to this world and are only divulged gradually as the individual is spiritually capable of understanding. Vestiges of this practice occur in the liturgy. The most commonly accepted secular use of such discipline is in the order of Free Masons but other organizations exact similar promises.