Magister Disciplinae (master of discipline) was the title of a certain ecclesiastical officer in the ancient Church. It was a custom in Spain, in the time of the Gothic kings, about the end of the 5th century, for parents to dedicate t heir young children to the service of the Church. They were taken for this purpose into a bishop's family, and educated, under his supervision, by a discreet and grave person, who was generally a presbyter, and was called magister disciplinae. The second and fourth councils of Toledo prescribed the duties of this master, the chief of which were, that he should vigilantly watch over the moral character and behavior of the young, and instruct them in the rules and discipline of the Church.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More