A History of the Catechumenate
In Egypt and Palestine ca. 230-240 Part 2

Admission to the Catechumenate
Entrance to the catechumenate was not granted immediately. First, there had to be a certain time of formation and probation, what we might call a postulancy. The postulant would only be "admitted to the number of the catechumens" after he or she had accepted the kerygma, that is, after having made an act of faith and manifested conversion by beginning to change his or her life. Catechesis was not open to just anybody:

... philosophers who converse in public do not select their hearers, but anyone interested stops to listen. But as far as they can, Christians previously examine the souls of those who want to hear them, and test them individually beforehand; when before entering the community the hearers seem to have devoted themselves sufficiently to the desire to live a good life, then they introduce them. ⁶¹

Here again is the examination of admission to the catechumenate that was mentioned by Hippolytus. In addition to affirming the practice, Origen also gives us information on the preliminary evangelization of which the Apostolic Tradition does not speak. The first instructions, according to Origen, concerned mainly the awakening of faith, and it was done in homes and workshops and not in a formal way. What we would today call, very inexactly, the "precatechumenate" was then living contact with Christians. It was evangelical witness, with the Christians playing more the role of sponsors than of teachers. What was involved was the radiation of a Christian community inserted in the larger human community, not intellectual instruction by an institutional staff.

Hippolytus speaks only of the examination of admission to the catechumenate and does not describe the accompanying liturgical rite that changed a postulant into a catechumen. In a passage in his "Exhortation to Martyrdom," Origen possibly alludes to this rite. When writing to Christians who were frightened at the prospect of the supreme sacrifice, he reminded them of the commitment they had made on the specific occasion of beginning catechesis. If this commitment had not been made, the catechist would have had nothing more to do with them, as Origen shows in this fictitious dialogue:

At the beginning when you were to be instructed in the Christian faith it would have been reasonable to say to you: "if you do not wish to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers on the far side of the river or the gods of the Amorites, among whom you inhabit the land." And the catechist might have said to you: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, for he is holy." But now it is not possible to say this to you. For at that time you said: "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord and serve other gods. The Lord our God, he is God, who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt and kept us in all the way in which we journeyed." Moreover, in the agreements concerning religion you long ago made this reply to your instructors: "We will serve the Lord, for he is our God." ⁶²

Such a text-and this one seems to be unknown to many historians of the catechumenate-gives a good idea of what could have been the decision of faith demanded of the postulant before admission to catechesis. Note that these are the same words as those used in the dialogue of Joshua with the Hebrews at the sealing of the covenant at Shechem (Jos. 24:14-24). These are decisive covenant formulas, and those who enter the covenant are themselves witnesses of their commitment (Jos. 22:22,27). Thus the commencement of catechesis presupposes an event analogous to the sealing of the covenant at Shechem. This is why it is appropriate to apply this text to catechumens, and the way in which Origen teaches them to read their experience in the very word of God is admirable.

Although Origen clearly states that a commitment was made at the start of catechesis, we do not know its form. Was there a liturgical rite, a specific meeting? Probably. But Origen's text does not warrant such an affirmation since it is clear that the words are placed by Origen in the mouths of the catechist and the catechumens and were not spoken as such. Rather, their purpose is to convey the value and the validity of the commitment.

The Catechumenal Period
The catechumenate was a period of formation in the Christian faith and morals. Origen states that there were two groups of catechumens:

They privately appoint one class consisting of recent beginners who are receiving elementary instruction and have not yet received the sign that they have been purified, and another class of those who, as far as they are able, make it their set purpose to desire nothing other than those things of which Christians approve.⁶³

The first group consisted of the catechumens in the strict sense of the word; the second were the "chosen ones," who had virtually finished their formation. They were chosen by the Church as being suitable for baptism because it saw that they could live as Christians, not simply because they want to. It is of them that Origen writes further on:

But when some of those who have been thus encouraged make progress and show that they have been purified by the Logos, and do all in their power to live better lives, then we call them to our mysteries. ⁶⁴

As in Rome, the two examinations, for admission to the catechumenate and to baptism were thus applied very seriously and both involved a transformation of life. Moreover, it was not the candidate himself who judged his own aptitude but the members of the Church who were designated for this function and whose judgment was based on the testimony of the Christians who evangelized him. This is very clear for the admission to the stages of the catechumenate:

Among the latter class some are appointed to inquire into the lives and conduct of those who want to join the community in order that they may prevent those who indulge in secret sins from coming to their common gathering; those who do not do this they whole-heartedly receive, and make them better every day. ⁶⁵

Footnotes, Part 2

In Syria and Palestine ca. 250, the next chapter of A History of the Catechumenate, will be posted next Thursday. For information about ordering this book, please see Sadlier's Religion Catalog.