Each religion, understood as a system of beliefs at the service of faith and the basis that regulates man's conduct, supposes a set of practices or rites, which, executed by those who profess it, serve to consolidate it. Next, the rites of Christianity are presented.
About Christianity
When reviewing the history of humanity, a tendency to conflict is observed in it, many specialist historiographers argue that conflict, war is inherent in human beings. The causes of the clashes can be diverse: economic, territorial, cultural, social; A thousand reasons may appear to generate a conflict between peoples, however, the religious element stands out as the genesis of the clashes between peoples, cultures, or civilizations.
Trying to impose on another, your way of conceiving God or a way of visualizing the world, seen from the teaching promoted by a God, has been the cause of terrible confrontations. In the name of these deities, great conflicts have arisen, where peoples and even entire cultures were devastated, sheltering or justifying the violent act in the supposed idea of God.
The famous wars of the crusades, between 1096 and 1202 AD. C., they were generated, that is, their war cause, was the recovery of the sacred lands where the messiah Jesus was born, these regions had been taken by the Turkish armies; but digging deeper into the crusading war, we have to recognize that there were other causes, which the descriptive history does not mention.
These would be the disproportionate increase in population for the time, and the respective economic implications that this generated, and the recovery of the Middle East, as a market and resource extraction area. But, for official history, what motivated the four waves of wars called the Crusades, between the Christian Western world and the Muslim Arab world, was to impose a conception of life, seen through faith in a God.
It is then the religious cult, a basic element to characterize the historical evolution of human civilization, being Christianity, if not the most important of the religious manifestations of the world, undoubtedly it is among the first most relevant beliefs. We recommend you read the following article: Name of the 12 Apostles
This, not only because of the number of believers it brings together (it is estimated that today there are 2400 billion people in the world who embrace Christianity as their religion), but also because of the historical significance it has in the evolution of the culture and humanity. For better or for worse, there is no specialist who rules out its relevance in the historical evolution of the world.
Christianity was generated as a result of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, a population of Judea, today Israel, and as a consequence, of his pilgrimage around the world of the time, spreading his religious ideas. The presence of Jesus is of such magnitude that he divided history into two periods, before his birth and after his death, the date of his birth is considered the year zero.
He had in his disciples great collaborators in the dissemination of his message, these characters traveled expanding Christianity throughout the world of the time, in many cases obtaining death, like the apostles Peter and Paul.
The Christians were persecuted by the Roman imperial authorities at different times, during the permanence of Rome as a supremacist state, however, the conviction of faith of the Christians kept them firm and made them stoically resist the attacks for a long time; until the same political power was de-escalating the repression.
First it was the Emperor Gallienus, who decreed his tolerance (260 AD); then Constantine declared secularism in the empire (313 AD), promoting the social acceptance of Christianity, to later accept it as the official religion of the empire.
Christianity is considered an Abrahamic religion, that is, together with Islam and Judaism, they share aspects such as: the fulfillment of the prophecies with the advent of the son of God, in addition to considering other prophets, such as Moses and Abraham; they also believe in the death of the crucified son of God, as a factor of purification of the sinful energies of man.
The name of Christ comes from the Greek Chistianos, which means the teacher, the messiah, consequently, this word suggests, the one touched by the Holy Spirit or anointed by the Holy One. The history of the Western world cannot be conceived without considering its connection with the evolution of Christian thought; Over time, Christianity evolved and experienced its internal crises as an organization.
From these conjunctures, slopes of Christianity arise, such as: Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. Among them there are differences of conception but they maintain affinities, such as certain rituals, for example the baptism ceremony, the maintenance of the cross as a symbol of divinity, and the analysis and interpretation of the Bible as a source of truth.
Rites of Catholic Christianity
The rites of Catholic Christianity, refer to the set of practices associated with the cultivation of faith in God the Father, and other figures that make up the set of divinities, within the scope of the Catholic Church. These practices have served to generate good habits, cultivate faith and regulate all individual and collective activities and events of the Church.
One way to maintain the vocation of believers to some deity is constituted by religious ceremonies or rites. Through these practices, the different cultural movements, including religious ones, promote ceremonial activities in their parishioners that stimulate the sense of belonging to the group. Such is the case of the rites of Christianity that will serve this purpose.
But the fundamental thing about this is that through the rituals, the necessary faith in the person is consolidated, to achieve the due spirituality, or simply to appreciate to what extent, is the personal commitment with the cult that he practices.
Jesus Christ, in his pilgrimage through the earthly world, not only left a testimony of his word, he also bequeathed a series of ritual practices that are considered fundamental within the Christian religious essence; These rituals of Christianity in the early days were done clandestinely, for fear of being attacked.
But later, when Christianity became institutionalized, they became widely spread ceremonies; in the first place and with the basically evangelizing purpose, ceremonies were performed to praise the Lord, his eternal glory, his presence among us, his death and his subsequent resurrection; also establishing measures considered as canons and conditions to perform the rituals.
The rites of Christianity, were evolving and adapting to liturgical circumstances with a specific objective; then, rituals for example of commemoration or celebration, funerary and consecration, among others, appear. Next, we will see which are the most important Catholic rites of Christianity.
El Bautismo
One of the most popular rites of Christianity is the sacrament of baptism, where the child goes from being a creature of God, to become his son; through this ceremony the person is initiated into Catholic Christian religiosity; It is recommended to carry out this ritual during the first months of the child's life. However, at any stage of life if desired, this sacrament can be accessed.
The confirmation
This constitutes within the rites of Christianity, the second step of incorporation into the Catholic Christian vocation, it is the moment where the young person between 12 and 16 years old, reaffirms his intention to embrace Catholicism as his faith; it is said that here in this ritual the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, becomes important. This ceremony consolidates the faith of the initiate.
the penance
Penance, also called confession, is the practice through which parishioners express repentance for having sinned, either by omission, thought or deed; confession stirs divine grace in the believer and this becomes a shield against all evil, keeping him away from sins.
the eucharist
This ritual procedure, through which the devotee takes the body and blood of Christ, is achieved by ingesting the host and the consecrated wine. The ceremony is also known as Holy Communion or the consecration to God, where the individual acquires the grace of the Lord against the sins that beset him, whether they are venial or capital.
Marriage
In this ceremony, man and woman unite under the protective mantle of God's grace, in order to have children, educate them, help each other and help each other. Marriage represents a test of fidelity and loyalty between the couple, emulating the same feeling that God the Father had for humanity.
Sacrament of Order
This procedure within the rites of Christianity, allows incorporating people who want to be servants of God, full time, that is, they become ministers of worship, they become tools, instruments or the channel that serves as communication between God Father and the rest of humanity. The Sacrament of Holy Orders is fulfilled through three levels: (a) for the Episcopate; (b) for the Presbyterate and (c) for the Diaconate.
For the Episcopate: at this level the aim is to train the major evangelist (Bishop), who must have extensive knowledge of Christian religious liturgy, since this role emulates the role fulfilled by the Holy Apostles. For the Presbyterate: at this level the priests are involved, as collaborators of the bishops, since they must dose the sacraments of the church, and teach to sanctify.
These church officials regularly like to be together with the poorest, most needy people of the parish, if this is the case, they are also called parish priests. For the Diaconate level, it seeks to instruct people so that they can perform different pastoral services, in this sense, they are collaborators in the work of Bishops and Priests, for example: in the implementation of marriages, baptisms and funerals, among others.
Anointing of the Sick
Through this ceremony, the church protects its patients, giving them the spiritual peace they need to be able to overcome their health situation, no matter how complex and difficult it may be. The key is to surrender to God and through him, seek forgiveness for the sins committed; Ultimately, what is sought is to strengthen the soul. This is one of the rites of Christianity, which provides more comfort to people who see their future uncertain.
Characteristics of the Rites of Christianity
Experts in social behavior and in the cultural manifestations of man, sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, state that rituals in human beings, their realization and structuring, will depend on the characteristics of the group, its interest, and the objective to be obtained; however, no matter the group of beings that performs the ritual, there are universal values that cross all ritualists.
For example, generally if you want to join a community, you may have to go through an initiation ceremony. In this regard, it has been possible to specify that all the actions that fit into ritualism have specific characteristics; the rites of Christianity do not escape this condition. Below are the most salient features.
Complexes: Religious rites or not, are structured under a set of signs and symbols that must be seen in their context, according to the group and the time where the ceremony is performed. They are usually loaded with inaccuracies, subjectivism, apparent inconsistencies and emotionally charged manifestations. Hence its complex nature.
Repetitive: The rites serve to standardize the behavior of human beings, establish guidelines or forms of behavior, therefore their practice or exercise must be carried out with certain frequency, since what is sought is to convert an action, a repetitive fact into a custom, a habit, that is always present in the person's mind.
Intersubjectivity: This characteristic refers to the fact that the rites are fundamentally based on the gregarious condition of man; Their social integration should be sought, especially if they have interests and values that they share, and if this is not the case, that is, if there is no affinity, the goal would be to find points in common that can be developed for the good of all.
Religious: When the groups interconnect, they begin to produce or carry out actions, that is, to generate culture; When the ceremonies appear, the group presses for everyone to comply with them and through them to achieve the desired identification in values, cultural traits and beliefs.
Social: Like any group, there is always the aspiration to achieve a good integration, it is through the recognition of values and customs shared by all, that the group can obtain a good cohesion, and in this way achieve a full identity.
funeral rites
It is common to observe in the funerary rites of different cultures, or in different groups, the treatment of death as a complex emotional moment, since it suggests the occasion in which a soul detaches itself from its corporeity and goes to another plane; this supposes a time of mourning, of sadness for the group and for the family of the deceased.
The funeral ritual that accompanies the mourners, relatives and friends of the deceased, will depend, in its assembly, elements and execution, on many factors: cultural, sociological, socio-economic and of course, religious. One way to identify which religion the deceased belonged to is to observe the rite practiced at his funeral.
In the Christian funeral ritual, its staging has the objective that not only its most direct mourners (husbands, mother, children) show pain, but it is also planned so that the community participates and gets involved as much as possible. in the activity. The entire ritual will depend on the religious belief professed by the deceased and the one that the family considers viable according to his religious convictions. We recommend you read the following article: Buddhism rites
Origin
Throughout the history of humanity, it is known that death has meant a peak moment, given the final character of an existence. There are records that in remote times, the man performed some ceremony with the idea of saying goodbye to the deceased person. These ceremonies vary depending on the time, region and culture, all of these nuanced by the beliefs that the groups that performed them had regarding death.
There are multiple examples regarding the characteristics of these funeral rituals, all of them with the same intention. For example, for the peoples of northern Europe, placing the corpse on a raft, throwing it into the sea and setting it on fire with arrows, was their way of showing respect to the deceased, before their ascent to the other plane of life.
In any case, regardless of the rite, for most religious beliefs, there is the thesis of the infinite character of life, with earthly death being a step towards another status of existence, of greater fullness, full of peace, calm, and well-being. eternal. This idea of life after death has marked many religious beliefs, one of them the Catholic Christian to conceive the departure of this plane, as the opportunity of reunion with God.
Objective
Within the Catholic Christian world, it is understood that when a person dies, he transcends another earthly plane; the idea that is handled is that he leaves to meet God the Father, in this sense, the funeral act helps the family hurt by the loss of their loved one, feel comforted and their pain or suffering decreases.
In the Catholic world, within its religiosity, two rites are performed before the funeral act, one is the so-called Anointing of the Sick, which, as it is known, tries to give comfort to the sick in their suffering; and the Recommendation of the Souls, where the already deceased person is prayed with the idea of preparing him so that his soul reaches God.
Another aspect that must be delimited in the concretion of the funeral act, refers to the beliefs that the Catholic Church preaches, taking the word of Jesus; the church believes in life after death, in the separation of the soul from the body, in eternal life and in the resurrection of the dead. These premises qualify the funeral act.
As for the formal aspects that make up the ritual itself, there is a lot of flexibility, the deceased should not dress in a specific way, it is recommended to place a simple crucifix on the chest, nor is formal clothing required for those who attend the wake, the coffin must be placed in a visible place, to be honored by family, friends and acquaintances; the idea is that there is a final farewell. After the wake, a mass is held.
All funeral ritual acts have an intention that is none other than the conscious acceptance that the person died and this situation must be considered as irremediable, as an unchangeable reality. The belief that the deceased passes to a better life helps to comfort his relatives.
The ceremonial of the deceased within Catholicism, accepts the possibility of burying the deceased or cremating him, as long as the Catholic Christian liturgy is fulfilled, in addition, it also accepts the donation of organs in order to help other people who are going through a painful disease that puts his life at risk.
Rites for the initiation of adults
In this case, the church admits the possibility of welcoming in its bosom all those adults who wish to receive the Christian faith; remember that the celebration of baptism is preferably performed in children. In adults, starting in 1962 and as part of the legacy left by Pope John XXIII, a series of modifications were implemented to the protocol that marks the initiation of an adult into the Catholic religion.
This proposed ritual was approved in 1972, when the Supreme Pontiff Pope Paul IV was in the major regency of the Catholic Church. Here, the catechumens inform about basic religious knowledge to live within the Christian faith. The following steps have been implemented in this acceptance process.
voluntary acceptance
This step consists of the absolutely voluntary acceptance of the catechumen, to enter the Catholic religious movement and become a Christian, assuming in this way and without any pressure, all the precepts that the Catholic Church demands of him.
The catechumen already in faith
Given the success of the first step of initiation, the catechumen begins to enter the depths of the Christian faith, acquiring knowledge that allows him to perfectly manage the Christian religious liturgy; Once said information is obtained, it then proceeds to carry out the rite known as the Ritual of Election, where the devotee proceeds to receive the sacred sacraments.
Reception of the Sacraments
In this final step, after verifying the appropriate handling of the information of the Christian religious liturgy, their initial process of basic spiritual training is considered completed. From here he is ready to receive the most holy sacraments and thus begin his life as a Catholic Christian.
Already then, once the initiation phase has been completed, the person considered suitable must satisfy a series of fundamental steps or stages, if in reality he wishes to embrace the Christian faith definitively and for life, in a systematic and rigorous manner.
First stage: It is known as pre catechumenate, here, the evangelization process continues, it is about motivating in the religious precepts of God; it is the moment in which the initiates are officially presented to the church, to God the Father; they must express their willingness to assume the teachings of Jesus in a vocational way.
Second stage: This is the most intense stage in the training to acquire faith in Christ. It is time to deeply address the catechization, at the end of this period, a rite of admission to the catechumen is carried out, in addition to a formal presentation of the candidates, where they express their willingness to serve the church and receive the sacraments: Baptism , Confirmation, and Eucharist.
Third stage: This phase is the most significant, the one that represents the greatest intensity, since it is the moment to carry out the desired total spiritual conversion, Lent is the recommended period to comply with this stage, the duration is short or the shortest, but the that requires further reflection seeking to strengthen the spiritual convictions of the catechumen. By receiving the respective sacraments, all your sins are forgiven, becoming a child of God.
Fourth stage: This moment is also known as Mystagogy, is the phase of internalization of the sacraments, the catechumens participate, as active members of their Christian community, and can carry out works of charity, it is named in the same way as Easter time; this phase ends in a commemorative ceremony of the death and resurrection of Our Lord.
Celebrations
All religions have a large number of ceremonies in their data file, these ritual acts have different nuances, they can be of joy, jubilation for some circumstance, but they can also be to express mourning or regret for some reason. Christianity does not escape this consideration, it is said that annually its authorities must adjust their calendars of activities, anticipating different commemorative dates.
As was said at the beginning, some dates are of great joy and happiness, others require more solemnity, but the truth is that the Christian liturgy covers the entire year, and even, weekly there is a holiday for them, on Sunday, date where the parishioners receive the Eucharist. We will then try to detail which are the most emblematic rites of Christianity.
advent season
This celebration tries or tries to prepare the spiritual environment, for the date when the Child Jesus is born, paves the way towards the desired spirituality at Christmas time; begins on the last Sunday of November and ends on the last Sunday before Christmas, there are between 22 to 28 days of festivities, which not only begin the celebration of the Nativity, but also begin the liturgical year corresponding to the rites of Christianity .
Pentecost
This celebration has two meanings, for the Jews and for the Christians; for the former, the delivery of the wooden board with the commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai is commemorated; for the second, of the Christian world, it means the introduction of the Holy Spirit in the person, of the holy apostles. The celebration of Pentecost ends Easter and continues for 50 more days.
Christmas time
It marks the most esteemed popular celebration, to commemorate the birth of Jesus on December 25, and continues until January 6, the date on which Jesus is baptized; It is considered the Christian festival with the greatest popular roots and the one that generates the most cultural manifestations: prayers, songs, Christmas carols, gifts, meals, dresses, all this caused by the birth of the baby Jesus. These dates are used by people to fulfill Christian rites associated with Christmas (marriage, baptism, confirmation).
epiphany party
This party has as its objective, to highlight the moments in which Jesus, the son of God, makes himself known; includes three important moments in the life of the son of God; the first is celebrated on January 6 when Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
The second is the one that represents the greatest popular revelry, marked by the presence of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem, to pay tribute to the recently arrived Child Jesus; and the third, is when Jesus before his apostles, shows off his Holy power by performing his first miracle, by turning water into wine.
Lenten Season
It is used to commemorate Easter, that is, the time in which Jesus spends in the desert and is later crucified. It is a time where the believer is invited to deep reflection and introspection. It lasts approximately between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday.
Easter
Perhaps this is the most important celebration within the rites of Christianity; there are eight days to remember the last moments of Jesus, each day presents an emblematic episode in the life of the son of God, subject to celebration. Below is a summary of the most significant aspects of the Holy Week.
Palm Sunday: It illustrates the moment when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem and his arrival was celebrated by the people with the waving of palms; nowadays the parishioners go to the temples on the first Sunday of the Holy Week, to be blessed by samples of palms, similar to those used in the time of Jesus.
Holy Monday: Very important date because it was when Jesus expelled the merchants who had occupied the temple of the Lord; this fact marked the persecution of the son of God, considering the Jewish religious authorities of the time, that the son of God represented a danger to them and the church they represented.
Holy Tuesday: It is the moment in which the cycle of persecution of Jesus begins, which would culminate in his death; It is this day when the son of God tells his disciples about the betrayal of one of them, and how one of his most beloved followers will deny him three times, given the fear that being attacked would represent. .
Holy Wednesday: This is the date when the Christian Lent ends and the Easter period begins, it is the day where the highest Jewish religious authorities buy, and alienate the spiritual will of the apostle Judas. Fact that led to the capture and subsequent death of the son of God.
Holy Thursday: On this day several rites of Catholic Christianity are performed, such as: the washing of the feet, the last supper and the Eucharist. These rituals were carried out in the midst of a great feeling of spirituality, since the son of God foresaw and thus had made him understand, the ordeal that was coming upon him.
Holy Friday: On this day the placement on the cross and death of Jesus is remembered, it is customary for parishioners to fast as a sign of recollection that day and in churches the Eucharist is replaced by a ceremony where the Passion of Our Lord is highlighted.
Holy Saturday: This is a day of mourning for Christian ritualism, since the death of the son of God on the cross is remembered; this day is known as Saturday of Glory. Also celebrated on this occasion with great religious spirit, one of the basic beliefs of Christianity: the resurrection of Christ.
Easter Sunday: This is definitely a day of joy for the Christian world, since the consummation of the resurrection of Our Lord is celebrated; this day is also known as Glory Sunday, the events that occurred that Sunday have a great impact on popular beliefs in many parts of the world; with the Sunday of Resurrection culminates the Greater Week.
El Bautismo
This ritual, characteristic among the rites of Christianity, constitutes a sacrament of initiation, not only for the Catholic religious liturgy; In this regard, we find that baptism is performed in any Christian religious movement. This ceremony is conditional so that they can acquire other sacraments. According to Christian doctrine, an individual who is baptized, goes from being a mere mortal, to being a son and daughter of God, in addition to eliminating sins, purifying the person who receives baptism.
This ceremony takes place in a Christian temple, where a priest bathes or wets the head of the person being baptized with holy water; In this ritual, the Holy Trinity is invoked as the spiritual element that guarantees the effectiveness of baptism.
Also in this liturgical act, a godparent must be present, who must have been baptized as a condition; the godfather acquires the commitment to collaborate with his godchild, in the maintenance and education, in case the parents are absent; in addition to providing him with the spiritual advice that he corresponds to as a good Christian.
In the Christian rite of baptism, it is also very important to mark the inclusion of the person in the ranks of the Christian population, thus emulating the sacrament received by Jesus from John the Baptist in the Jordan River. In this way, everyone who considers himself a devotee of God and a militant of the Christian faith must have been blessed through this rite.
Evangelical rites and beliefs
The rites of the Evangelical Church closely resemble the rites of Christianity of the Catholic Church, and this is quite reasonable since both have a common origin; however, as time passes, with the evolution of history, the Evangelical Church has undergone transformations, changes, divisions, or simply new ways or modalities of understanding the religious fact have emerged.
Currently there is a fairly wide range of churches that can be grouped into what is known as evangelical; we can point to: Adventists, Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostal Lutherans, and Methodists, among others. Each one of them marks ritualistic differences between the different currents, and obviously with respect to the Catholic conception. However, we will try to raise those points where the different evangelical religious trends have affinity.
His belief system is based on the interpretation of the Bible as the central text, and Christ as his main axis and center of all his spiritual development. All his doctrine is based on the analysis and preaching of the Bible, considered the source of all truth. It is not allowed to get out of what she or in her says.
Every year the evangelical community meets in an assembly called the Annual Conference. In this meeting, they discuss issues concerning the Christian faith from their perspectives, sharing experiences between pastors and preachers from different churches, about the scope of their work in different communities; This balance is of capital importance since the work is observed both in its positive aspects and in the things that should be improved.
They all believe in the resurrection; In their funeral rites of Christianity, despite feeling emotional pain, they maintain hope of the continuity of their existence, since they know and have internalized what it means to transcend to another plane. They only believe in two sacraments, baptism and Holy Communion.
They do not allow the use before burial, of flowers, candles, chants, crucifixes or readings from the Bible; they do not believe in any deity other than Christ; among the evangelical community all are brothers, the figure of the pastor stands out, but he is not more important than any other faithful; there is no mediation between God and man, there is only Jesus as the son of God, he is the mediator. Their pastors are not required to be celibate, since they are men and must procreate.
Regarding the conditions to be a pastor or evangelical guide, it is necessary to have a great experience and spiritual preparation, this is achieved by completing a number of theological training courses. However, it is striking that in the Evangelical Church, there is no mention of a vocation as a requirement to be a pastor.
This sector of religious life, or of the religious world, prefers to express that what is essential to be a spiritual guide is to feel God above all things; whoever can evidence this fact, will hold the spiritual significance, and the necessary potential to be the shepherd of the flocks of God Our Lord.
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