REBIRTH BY WATER AND THE SPIRIT (30)

Introduction

In the previous article, I examined the catechumenal process in the early church from the second to fifth centuries, especially from the time of the Christian’s first contact with the candidate to the rite of election. In the present article, I will describe the preparatory process leading to the baptismal rite.

Period of enlightenment and purification

After the rite of election, those seeking initiation into the Church, now called the ‘elect’ (or competents), would enter the next stage of their preparation. This period, which coincided with the season of Lent, was time of intense spiritual preparation for them. It was often accompanied by prayer, catechetical homilies, especially on the Eucharist, and strict Lenten observance. In the weeks leading to Easter, and especially during Holy Week, the preparation intensified and special ceremonies and rites were celebrated. Among these are the final scrutiny (scrutatio, examen), the renunciation of the devil (renunciatio) and the presentation of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father).  

In his writings, Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, urged the elect to take the preparations seriously. They were to eat and drink sparingly, to be chaste in body and to avoid any form of entertainment. He compared the elect to an athlete in training for a race. Therefore, exorcism was a frequent part of the elect’s experience. According to Ambrose, exorcisms helped “to sought out whether impurities clung to anyone’s body. Through exorcism not only of the body but also of the soul, sanctification was searched for and grasped. If the exorcisms revealed that some of the elect were not “purified”, their baptism was delayed.

The presentation of the Creed, also called “the handing-on of the rule of faith” or “The Canon of Truth”, had become a common liturgical practice in the Church by the fourth century onwards. Usually done on the fifth Sunday of Lent, it consisted an instruction on the articles of the Creed by the bishop to the elect. The Creed was always presented orally and never in writing. After hearing it, the elect were expected to memorise the entire Creed. A week later, the candidates had to recite it publicly before the bishop and the community.

In her diary, in which she kept a record of her travels in the Holy Land (c. 381 – c. 384), the Spanish nun, Egeria, describes how the elect, accompanied by his or her godparent, recited the Creed to the bishop:

“When the seven weeks of Lent has passed, and only the Passover Week remained which is called the Great Week, the bishop comes in the morning at the larger church to the Martyrium. Back on the apse behind the altar a chair is placed for the bishop. Each man goes with his father and each woman with her mother and one by one they return the creed to the bishop”.

Later, usually on the sixth Sunday of Lent, the presentation of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ took place. Here again, the bishop confided the prayer to the elect orally and they were expected to recite it publicly on the morning of Holy Saturday.     

Reception of the Sacraments of Initiation

The celebration of the baptismal rite at the Easter Vigil differed according to regions and churches. Usually, the baptismal rite began outside the baptistry with the rite of the ephphetha. The bishop touched the eyes and nose of the one to be baptised, drawing comparison to Mark 7: 34, where Jesus healed the blind man with a speech impediment. The bishop touched the nose because the newly baptised would inhale the sweet odor of salvation.

The baptismal ceremony itself was carried out in an elaborate but solemn manner with the participation of the entire Christian community. Here, we use the words of T. M. Finn, an expert in the history of the catechumenate, to describe an initiation ceremony as it took place in North Africa in the fourth century.

“At cockcrow the process of conversion reached its climax in the rites of baptism proper: firstly, baptismal water was consecrated; secondly, the competents processed to the font while chanting Ps. 41 (42); thirdly, they removed their garments (coarse leather penitential tunic); fourthly, they responded to a final inquiry into their faith and firm will as they stood waist-deep in the font; and fifthly, they were immersed three times in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy spirit.”

When they emerged, the bishop imposed his hands on them, anointed their heads with chrism, and traced the sign of the cross on their foreheads, probably with charism. The newly baptised then dressed in white, including a linen head cover. They then received a baptismal candle and the embrace of the congregation.

Finally, they celebrated their first Eucharist and a homily on the resurrection. It was a widespread Eucharistic custom at that time to give the newly baptised (in addition to the bread and wine) a cup of baptismal water and a cup of milk and honey. The water symbolised the penetration of baptism into their inmost being. The milk mixed with honey signified their entry into the Promised Land of gifts and grace and their return to paradise.

The newly baptised, now known as ‘neophytes’ were fully initiated members of the Christian community. To them, there was a complete break with the past and the beginning of new life. They would return later on Easter morning for a second Eucharist (and perhaps in the afternoon for a third), hearing a homily devoted to the meaning of the Eucharist.” The whole incorporation of the new candidates lasted an entire week and engaged the rest of the Christian community with considerable intensity.  

Conclusion

The catechumenal process in the early centuries was essential in initiating men and women into the Church, especially from the second to the fifth centuries. The preparation for baptism was intense and was taken very seriously by the Church. In the next article, I will examine the post baptismal period during which the neophytes are incorporated more deeply into the community.