We once had RCIA and now we have OCIA

[Xeno.of.athens]

When a person wants to be received into the Catholic Church they go through a process that takes about nine months to compete. Until recently it was referred to as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults which gave emphasis to the steps one went through in the liturgy over that period. Now that process is referred to as OCIA which stands for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults which gives emphasis to the life experience one goes through in the process. The life experience is made up of Catechesis, that is to say, learning the content of the faith, and mystagogy that is to say, seeing and experiencing in rehearsal the sacraments one will receive when one is a Catholic. So, to become a Catholic the Church, through its Catechists, goes out of its way to make sure that a candidate knows what they are doing, what they are getting into, walks into the faith with both eyes fully open, and also has convinced one's Catechists that one really does want to be a Catholic for good and worthy reasons, not simply to please someone else.

 

[AlexB23]

When a person wants to be received into the Catholic Church they go through a process that takes about nine months to compete. Until recently it was referred to as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults which gave emphasis to the steps one went through in the liturgy over that period. Now that process is referred to as OCIA which stands for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults which gives emphasis to the life experience one goes through in the process. The life experience is made up of Catechesis, that is to say, learning the content of the faith, and mystagogy that is to say, seeing and experiencing in rehearsal the sacraments one will receive when one is a Catholic. So, to become a Catholic the Church, through its Catechists, goes out of its way to make sure that a candidate knows what they are doing, what they are getting into, walks into the faith with both eyes fully open, and also has convinced one's Catechists that one really does want to be a Catholic for good and worthy reasons, not simply to please someone else.

Is OCIA better and different from RCIA? I took RCIA in 2021-2022 and became Catholic in April 2022. RCIA was kinda boring, as we as a class watched videos by Symbolon on Formed.

 

[RileyG]

Is OCIA better and different from RCIA? I took RCIA in 2021-2022 and became Catholic in April 2022. RCIA was kinda boring, as we as a class watched videos by Symbolon on Formed.

I'm not entirely sure.

good question, though

 

[AlexB23]

I'm not entirely sure.

good question, though

Apparently, both are roughly the same thing, as RCIA was introduced in the 1970s.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Is OCIA better and different from RCIA? I took RCIA in 2021-2022 and became Catholic in April 2022. RCIA was kinda boring, as we as a class watched videos by Symbolon on Formed.

I think it is the same, more of a rename than a renovation.

 

[AlexB23]

I think it is the same, more of a rename than a renovation.

Yeah. Like everything nowadays, rebranding is a thing. Similar to how companies rebrand or change logos.

 

[RileyG]

I think it is the same, more of a rename than a renovation.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

 

[The Liturgist]

There is an interesting exception to the above: the Code of Canon Laws of the Eastern Catholic Churches an Orthodox can be received directly into the equivalent sui juris Catholic Church, for instance, a Coptic Orthodox would become a Coptic Catholic, and a Ukrainian Orthodox would become a Ukrainian Greek Catholic, and an Assyrian would become a Chaldean Catholic.

While the reverse is not always the case, which can in some cases unfortunately create I think a perceptual impediment to Catholics who desire to convert to the Eastern and Oriental churches. In practice however, for those who engage with it, since, the Orthodox also lack a formal system like the OCIA, everyone is individually received according to their circumstances according to the loving pastoral care that is the careful and sensible discretion of the clergy, who also can decide whether reception is by profession of faith, chrismation (the most common for Catholics) or baptism (which one would mainly encounter among the Old Calendarist Orthodox churches regarded by the canonical Eastern Orthodox as schismatic).

Thus some Catholics are received simply by confession, like Orthodox headed in the other direction.

 

[jas3]

In practice however, for those who engage with it, since, the Orthodox also lack a formal system like the OCIA, everyone is individually received according to their circumstances according to the loving pastoral care that is the careful and sensible discretion of the clergy, who also can decide whether reception is by profession of faith, chrismation (the most common for Catholics) or baptism (which one would mainly encounter among the Old Calendarist Orthodox churches regarded by the canonical Eastern Orthodox as schismatic).

As far as I know, this is similar to how converts were traditionally received into Catholicism. When I talked with the priest of a local Latin Mass community some time ago, he said that prior to the existence of RCIA, catechism was done by the priest working with the catechumens directly and finishing their catechism when, at his discretion, they were ready. That's how he did catechism, and that's how catechism is done at my parish as well.

The main difference between the two might be how converts are received. Reception by baptism, especially for converts from Protestantism, seems to be much more common among the Orthodox than among Catholics. Not to contradict you, @The Liturgist, only saying that from what I've seen there would normally not even be a question of reception by baptism for a convert to Catholicism who had a heterodox baptism using the Trinitarian formula (at most he might receive a conditional baptism), while that doesn't seem to be the case within canonical Orthodoxy, even if there are jurisdictions within which reception of such converts by chrismation is nearly universal.

 

[The Liturgist]

As far as I know, this is similar to how converts were traditionally received into Catholicism. When I talked with the priest of a local Latin Mass community some time ago, he said that prior to the existence of RCIA, catechism was done by the priest working with the catechumens directly and finishing their catechism when, at his discretion, they were ready. That's how he did catechism, and that's how catechism is done at my parish as well.

The main difference between the two might be how converts are received. Reception by baptism, especially for converts from Protestantism, seems to be much more common among the Orthodox than among Catholics. Not to contradict you, @The Liturgist, only saying that from what I've seen there would normally not even be a question of reception by baptism for a convert to Catholicism who had a heterodox baptism using the Trinitarian formula (at most he might receive a conditional baptism), while that doesn't seem to be the case within canonical Orthodoxy, even if there are jurisdictions within which reception of such converts by chrismation is nearly universal.

No, you are quite correct. The people who would likely re-baptize Roman Catholics are the schismatic Old Calendarists, who will even re-baptize or re-chrismate canonical Eastern Orthodox and chrismate other Old Calendarists.

I knew a lady who had been chrismated at least four different times by the different Old Calendarist synods as she kept moving from one to another after having been received in the canonical church.

This is obviously not good, which is one of a few reasons why I advise converts to Orthodoxy to avoid the Old Calendarist churches.

 

[RileyG]

There is an interesting exception to the above: the Code of Canon Laws of the Eastern Catholic Churches an Orthodox can be received directly into the equivalent sui juris Catholic Church, for instance, a Coptic Orthodox would become a Coptic Catholic, and a Ukrainian Orthodox would become a Ukrainian Greek Catholic, and an Assyrian would become a Chaldean Catholic.

While the reverse is not always the case, which can in some cases unfortunately create I think a perceptual impediment to Catholics who desire to convert to the Eastern and Oriental churches. In practice however, for those who engage with it, since, the Orthodox also lack a formal system like the OCIA, everyone is individually received according to their circumstances according to the loving pastoral care that is the careful and sensible discretion of the clergy, who also can decide whether reception is by profession of faith, chrismation (the most common for Catholics) or baptism (which one would mainly encounter among the Old Calendarist Orthodox churches regarded by the canonical Eastern Orthodox as schismatic).

Thus some Catholics are received simply by confession, like Orthodox headed in the other direction.

I am a confirmed Catholic. In a completely hypothetical situation, would I have to receive the mystery of Chrismation in order to become Eastern or Oriental Orthodox?

Many blessings

 

[The Liturgist]

I am a confirmed Catholic. In a completely hypothetical situation, would I have to receive the mystery of Chrismation in order to become Eastern or Oriental Orthodox?

Many blessings

Not necessarily. I would think it likely, but it really depends on indvidual circumstances. There are also ways one could avoid it.

However, I would note that there is no compelling reason why one might want to avoid Orthodox Chrismation - unlike Confirmation in the Western Church, it does not entail being interrogated by a bishop as to one’s knowledge of the Catechism or being required to memorize certain texts. Rather, the priest simply puts chrism on you and the choir sings several beautiful hymns, just for your benefit, for instance, in Eastern Orthodox churches, you are likely to hear some version of ‘As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, alleiuia.” This hymn is a proper hymn sung on Theophany and during the period surrounding it and also during baptisms and chrismations, which I quite love. And there are several others that one will hear, and the hymns will be different in the Oriental Orthodox church.

 

[RileyG]

Not necessarily. I would think it likely, but it really depends on indvidual circumstances. There are also ways one could avoid it.

However, I would note that there is no compelling reason why one might want to avoid Orthodox Chrismation - unlike Confirmation in the Western Church, it does not entail being interrogated by a bishop as to one’s knowledge of the Catechism or being required to memorize certain texts. Rather, the priest simply puts chrism on you and the choir sings several beautiful hymns, just for your benefit, for instance, in Eastern Orthodox churches, you are likely to hear some version of ‘As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, alleiuia.” This hymn is a proper hymn sung on Theophany and during the period surrounding it and also during baptisms and chrismations, which I quite love. And there are several others that one will hear, and the hymns will be different in the Oriental Orthodox church.

I wasn’t interrogated by the bishop. I only remembering the renewal of baptismal promised, and of course the actual sacrament itself.

Thanks for the info.

 

[The Liturgist]

I wasn’t interrogated by the bishop. I

I’m thinking more of the confirmation services for teenagers, which generally require or required the youths to memorize the Creed and a few other things, and we don’t do that.

 

[RileyG]

I’m thinking more of the confirmation services for teenagers, which generally require or required the youths to memorize the Creed and a few other things, and we don’t do that.

We had religious education before I was confirmed. There was a workbook that had articles of faith in it etc. I remember learning about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the precepts of the Church.