 | Catechumens (The Order of)
Terminology related to Christian initiation
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Catechumen
‘Catechumen’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘learner’. In the early Church, it was the name applied to one who had not yet been initiated into the sacred mysteries, but was undergoing a process of discernment and formation before Baptism.
Both the word ‘catechumen’ (learner) and ‘catechist’ (instructor) are used by St Paul.
“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” (Galatians 6:6)
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Catechumenate
Christian initiation (Terminology related to) ‘Catechumenate’ means both the community of Catechumens and the period of preparation before Baptism.
‘Christians are not born, they are made’, used to say our early brothers and sisters in faith. Becoming a Christian is not something one does alone or quickly. The catechumenate is something you do with a GROUP OF PEOPLE (teachers called catechists, godparents and sponsors, other catechumens, and their significant others). And the catechumenate takes TIME. Time to learn and time to become part of the worshipping community. When a person is baptized, she is baptized into a church community, a community where s/he will find support, encouragement, guidance, and challenge.
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The Order of Catechumens
“The word ‘ordo’(order) in Roman antiquity designated an established civil body, especially a governing body. Someone is ‘ordained’ into an order. In the Church there are established bodies which tradition, not without a basis in Sacred Scripture, has since ancient times called ‘orders’. And so the liturgy speaks of the order of Bishops, the order of priests, the order of deacons (bishops, priests and deacons receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders). Other groups also receive this name of order: the order of catechumens, virgins, spouses, widows,. . .”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1537)
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The catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps.
“The second Vatican Council restored for the Latin Church "the catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps.”The rites for these stages are to be found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The Council also gives permission that: "In mission countries, in addition to what is furnished by the Christian tradition, those elements of initiation rites may be admitted which are already in use among some peoples insofar as they can be adapted to the Christian ritual.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1232)
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Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum: (Latin title of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on January 6, 1972)
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Parents, Godparents, Community
“For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents' help is important. So too is the role of the godfather and godmother, who must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized - child or adult on the road of Christian life. Their task is a truly ecclesial function (officium). The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism”. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1255)
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Minor Rites:
Rites during the period of the catechumenate which include exorcisms, blessings, and anointings.
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Lent:
A six-week period extending from Ash Wednesday to sundown on Holy Thursday. It is a retreat time for the Church in preparation for the Easter Triduum (the three days of Holy Thursday, Holy Friday and Holy Saturday).
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Ninety Days:
A term used to mean the combination of the Period of Purification and Enlightenment and the Period of Mystagogy, which corresponds with Lent (40 days) and the Easter Season (50 days).
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Baptism:
“This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as ‘a new creature’." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1214)
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Baptism by immersion only?
The verb ‘to baptize’ (as we have seen) means ‘to immerse’, ‘to plunge’.
But it may mean also “to wash”, as for instance in Luke, 11:38, where it means to wash before meals. Within the Christian Community, the verb ‘to be baptized’ kept both the meaning of ‘to be immersed’ (by baptism we are immersed into Jesus’ death) and ‘pouring’ (to signify the pouring of the Holy Spirit).
Three times Acts 2 states that the Holy Spirit was poured out on them when Pentecost came (2:17, 18, 33,). Later Peter referred to the Spirit ‘falling’ upon them, and also on others after Pentecost, explicitly identifying these events with the promise of being ‘baptized with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 11:15–17).
These passages demonstrate that, within the early Christian community, the meaning of ‘to be baptized’ was broad enough to include both ‘to be immersed’ and ‘to be poured upon.’ These two symbols are recorded by a very early document of Christian history, the Didache.
The Didache was written around A.D. 70 and, though it was not included in the canon of Biblical writings, it is a strong witness to the sacramental practice of Christians in the apostolic age.
In its seventh chapter, the Didache reads, ‘Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water (that is, in running water, as in a river). If there is no living water, baptize in other water; and, if you are not able to use cold water, use warm. If you have neither, pour water three times upon the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’ These instructions were composed either while some of the apostles and disciples were still alive or during the next generation of Christians, and they represent an already established custom.
Then there is the artistic evidence. Many ancient Christian Mosaics show Baptism by Pouring.
If the recipient of the sacrament is in a river, he is shown standing in the river while water is poured over his head from a cup or shell. Tile mosaics in ancient churches and paintings in the catacombs too depict baptism by pouring.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this tradition with the following words:
“Baptism is performed in the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal water. However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate's head.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1239)
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Effects of Baptism
“The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1262)
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Neophyte:
One who has been initiated at the Easter Vigil. The term comes from the Greek word meaning new plant, as in a new sprout on a limb/branch.
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Mystagogy:
‘Mystagogy’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘learning about the mysteries’. During this stage, the newly baptized person continues to learn about living out the Catholic Christian faith. The stage formally lasts from Easter until Pentecost (50 days after Easter), but all Catholic Christians are always learning and growing in faith. In a way, the rest of our lives is a period of mystagogy.
Some Bishops’ Conferences envision an extended mystagogy for one year.
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Baptistery (or Baptistry):
A building separate from but usually close to the main building of the Church. It is built in different shapes (round, octagonal, square…). Its main internal feature was the baptismal font and pool, where the catechumens were baptized either by immersion into the water or by being poured water on their heads while standing in the water.
It was only when adult baptism was no longer needed in Europe (because the majority of Europeans were baptized at birth) that infant baptism became the norm and the ‘baptistery’ became an ornate container of water (usually placed at the entrance of the Church), where babies were baptized.
The 2nd Vatican Council, being aware that outside Europe the majority of baptisms today are adult baptisms, has reintroduced the adult catechumenate and the rite of adult baptism. The baptismal font (which includes both a container of water and the baptismal pool) is becoming more and more a fixed architectural feature of Catholic Churches. It symbolizes both the vitality of Evangelization, the growth of the Church and the respect for adult catechumens, who are in this way allowed to choose the rite (out of the three traditionally allowed in the Catholic Church: immersion, pouring, sprinkling), which best expresses their spiritual needs.
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