RCIA – A TREASURE “RE-DISCOVERED” (28)

Introduction

In the previous article, I mentioned that the main agent of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the Christian community. It means that all the baptised are responsible for initiating new members into the Church. Before I discuss how members of the community can become involved in the RCIA, I think it would be useful for us to understand the origin and present structure of the RCIA. This will be my focus in the present and the next few articles.

Origins of RCIA

The RCIA, we have it today, has its roots in the early church. Known then as the “catechumenate”, its history is a fascinating one. It began in the first century, reached its most authentic form in the third and fourth, but declined in the fifth and sixth centuries. It was an initiation process that developed in different cities and regions, such as Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage, Jerusalem, Milan, Rome, and in parts of North Africa and Asia. It evolved in diverse cultural, political, social and religious contexts, as Christians attempted to respond to the mandate of Jesus to initiate men and women into the Church.

The emergence of the catechumenate

The first three centuries were challenging times for the Church. Christians lived in a largely pagan world that often conflicted with Christian beliefs and values. Also, Christians were sporadically persecuted by the Romans. However, it was precisely in the midst of these and other difficult circumstances that the catechumenate emerged. During the first two centuries, there came into being a basic structure of initiating non-believers into the Church. Basically, the adult converts had to profess their faith in Christ and demonstrate that they were to transform their lives as believers of Christ. For its part, the Christian community used certain methods to verify the seriousness and sincerity of conversion in the candidates before accepting them for baptism.  

Towards a more structured process

By the end of the second century, the leaders of the Christian communities, namely the bishops, decided that as more structured initiation process be put in place. This was to prevent cases of apostasy or lapses among new Christians, especially in the face of persecution by the Romans.  The bishops wanted to admit only those who were able to give guarantees of a sufficient preparation and proof of courageous perseverance in the face of difficult circumstances. As such, the candidates were required to live up to the strict moral demands.

For example, candidates for baptism were expected to abandon their profession if it was contrary to Christian morals. These included those working as sculptors or painters of idols, gladiators, prostitutes, soldiers and other professions that contradicted the life of the Christian.  Furthermore, they were expected to keep away from spectacles such as the theatre, the racetrack and the gladiator flights, which were common forms of entertainment during that period.

As the number of people seeking baptism increased, the bishops wanted to test more seriously their sincerity and preparedness. Candidates had to find someone from the Christian community who would ‘sponsor’ them or speak on their behalf. The role of the sponsor was to ascertain whether the candidate was serious about transforming his or her way of life. Only after this was determined was the candidate introduced to the community. Gradually, from the end of the second century, a more organised catechumenate, containing a series of stages, developed. By the third century there was a greater institutional definition to the process of initiation. By the mid-third and fourth centuries, it had become an essential part of the Church.

Enriched by contributions from diverse personalities

The development of the catechumenate was also due to the efforts of a number of individuals. Usually known as the Fathers of the Church, they include Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Hippolytus, Ambrose, Augustine and John Chrysostom, and others. Through their writings, homilies and teaching, each of them played a role in the theological and liturgical development of the catechumenate.

Shrouded in secrecy and mystery

One of the most interesting aspects of the catechumenate is that it was filled with a sense of secrecy. It consisted mysterious rites and ceremonies, and signs and symbols that had meaning only to Christians. There were several reasons for this.  Firstly, by creating a sense of mystery, Christians hoped to attract people who were ‘curious’ about the faith. Secondly, the Church had to rival, for converts, with the existing pagan religions which had their own mysterious and secret initiation rites. Thirdly, faced with sporadic persecution by the Romans, a sense of secrecy had to maintained by the Church for her self-preservation.

Goal is to lead to conversion

The atmosphere of mystery was especially maintained to invoke a sense of religious awe among the candidates. It was intended to inspire in them a profound and life-long conversion. The sense of mystery was intensified as the initiation process reached its climax, that is, when the catechumen received baptism at Easter Vigil. In his book, “The Awe-inspiring Rites of Initiation”, Edward Yarnold, a scholar on the catechumenate, states, “the ceremonies took place at night, some of them in the dark, after weeks of intense preparation; they were wrapped in secrecy, and the candidate knew little about them until just before, or even after, he had received them. Everything was calculated to inspire religious awe, to make these rites the occasion of a profound and life-long conversion.”

The importance of rituals, symbols and signs

Accompanying the initiation process was a series of rites and ceremonies rich in rituals, symbols and signs. These too were developed so as to lead the candidates towards sincere conversion and to provide them a sense of belonging to the community. According to T.M. Finn, an expert in the history of the catechumenate, in his book “From Death to Rebirth - Ritual and Conversion in Antiquity”: “The rites distinctive of the journey to Christianity developed quickly into a rich, extended, and dramatic liturgical journey. Perhaps more than any other possession of the Church, they account for the early Christian Church’s survival and spread…”. In other words, it is the liturgical rites and ceremonies that ensured the survival and spread of the Church in its “challenging” early years of its existence.

Conclusion

That the present RCIA is founded on the ancient catechumenate should to make us realise that it is not a modern or new development. Instead, it is the re-discovery of a ‘treasure’ that had laid ‘hidden’ in the Church for hundreds of years. In future articles, I wish to explore further the ancient catechumenate with the hope that it will lead us to a greater appreciation of the current RCIA process.