not sit at the same table as the faithful but that they remain present,447 just as they pray separately from the faithful at 18.1. Support for this interpretation may be gathered from the practice of Marcionite communities, which probably preserve older practices, in which catechumens are present for the sacramental celebrations.448 In this respect the catechumens are in a situation analogous to that of freedmen at a meal given by their master—who, whilst they might be present, might receive inferior
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