NEOPHYTE

Greek , meaning newly planted. In the primitive church. it signified one who had recently abandoned Judaism or Paganism and embraced Christianity; and in the Roman Church those recently admitted into its communion are still so called. Hence it has also been applied to the young disciple of any art or science. Thus Ben Jonson calls a young actor, at his first entrance "on the boards," a neophyte player. In Freemasonry the newly initiated and uninstructed candidate is sometimes so designated.