Christian rituals of initiation

Introduction

To become a new member of an organisation or community is a significant event for both the individual and the group. For the individual, it is a beginning that offers new possibilities for life. For the group, it provides the prospect of growth and preservation. It is usual for there to be conditions of entry and procedures of admission. These both ritualise admittance and protect the integrity and purpose of the group. The Church similarly has its rites of initiation.

Initiation: rituals, ceremonies, traditions

In most societies birth rites are distinguished from initiation rites. Birth rites include such practices as naming the child, purifying the mother, making thanksgiving offerings for safe delivery of the child and acknowledgement of paternity. The blessing of mother and child is a Christian example.

Rites of initiation most commonly accompany coming-of-age. They mark the passage to maturity or full membership. Three features are common. Importance is attached to instruction in the proper behaviour of an adult. In some societies this includes details of how to dress and of acceptable moral standards. It frequently involves instruction in the beliefs and customs of the group, which have been kept secret from the uninitiated. Testing of the initiate is also usual. This may take the form of ordeals or performance of ritual tasks or examination of one's understanding of laws and beliefs. And finally, there is the admission ritual, which publicly celebrates the candidate's acceptance into the group. This often uses rich symbols of clothing and marking the individual, for example with tattoos.

Since Vatican II, the Church has re-established the Adult Catechumenate (or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) as the norm for its receiving of new members. The RCIA involves each of the three elements above. There is lengthy instruction in the Christian faith by catechists. As time draws near for initiation, the candidates are publicly tested in ceremonies known as the Scrutinies. And finally, they are admitted to full membership of the Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. They are sealed with chrism and clothed in the white robe of a purified neophyte.

Baptism as welcoming

Each sacrament is an action of the Church which is the Body of Christ. It is therefore a ritual through which God is present, touching the life of both the recipient and the faith community in some particular way. Baptism is a rich reality in which one is immersed (baptise in Greek) into the life of the Risen Christ. This involves a death to sin and a rising to a new life as son or daughter of God.

The ceremony of Baptism expresses other aspects of the sacrament. It begins at the church door where the community gathers to welcome the candidate. After being named and marked with the sign of the cross, the candidate is led in a joyful procession of welcome into the church. There the community prays for its new member through intercessions, anoints against the power of evil and shares in a profession of their common faith. Sponsors are appointed from the community to assist the neophyte in taking up the responsibilities of membership.

Confirmation as sealing

Jesus is known as the Christ – the anointed one (from the Greek kristos). He began his public ministry (in Luke's gospel) by reading from the text of Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me…’ (Lk 4:14-30) At his baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit came upon Jesus and his mission was sealed by the Father's word: ‘You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ (Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22) After his resurrection Jesus communicated this same Spirit to his followers. As the Body of Christ, the Church is the Spirit-filled messianic people.

Confirmation (or Chrismation in the Eastern Church) is the sacrament through which the baptised are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The symbol of anointing with oil (chrism) is used. This points to one's consecration as a Christian: sharing more completely in the mission of Jesus and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit with which he is filled. A seal is a sign of authority, of personal ownership. So, slaves and soldiers bore the seal of their master. Confirmation imparts a spiritual seal or character, which marks the Christian as belonging wholly to Christ. It calls one to share in Christ's priestly, prophetic and kingly mission.

Sacraments of Initiation

Baptism, Confirmation and the first reception of Eucharist combine to form the sacraments of Christian Initiation. Through them one enters fully into the life of the Church. They are celebrated together for adults as the completion of the catechumenate – the lengthy process of preparation for Church membership. In the Eastern Church, they are also celebrated together in the case of infants. In the Western Church, it is customary to baptise infants, but Confirmation and Eucharist are delayed until later. It is becoming more common for the traditional order of the sacraments to be restored, with Confirmation preceding first Eucharist. Today it is also more common to test the intentions of those seeking Baptism for their children and to offer instruction to them by way of preparation. Thus, children vicariously through their parents experience those other elements of initiation that are incorporated into the adult initiation process.