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The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process developed by the Catholic Church for prospective converts to Catholicism who are above the age of infant baptism. Candidates are gradually introduced to aspects of Catholic beliefs and practices. The basic process applies to adults and older children, with younger children initiated through an adapted version sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Children (RCIC). ''Note that this article has been written primarily to describe the Rite as established in the United States''; it will not necessarily reflect the details of the Rite as developed by other Bishops' Conferences, for instance in England and Wales, in Australia or in Scotland. ==Introduction== According to William Harmless, S.J., ''(1953-2014),'' when in 1972 the Vatican promulgated the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) it showed unexpected radicalism.〔http://www.amazon.com/Augustine-Catechumenate-William-Harmless-SJ/dp/0814661327〕 The true goal of the document was a reversion of a thousand years of initiatory practice and attitude of the Western Church. Ralph Keifer described it as a liturgical revolution, "under the aegis of an ecumenical council, with the approval of the Roman see, and over the signature of the Roman pontiff, the primary rites of initiation . . . have been turned upside down and inside out, heralding a cry to begin a reform and renewal of the most radical sort.”〔Ralph Keifer (1976), Christian Initiation: the State of the Question, in: Aidan Kavanagh et al., ''Made, Not Born: New Perspectives on Christian Initiation and the Catechumenate'', p. 138.〕 William Harmless pointed out that the whole project can be easily tamed, watered down, or ignored as it introduces things radically different from many of the Church's inherited liturgical, pastoral, and catechetical habits. He notices also that the document gives only the barest outline and needs to be completed by a thorough research of the practice of the Fathers of the Church who were experts in the field of Christian initiation.〔Cf. William Harmless SJ, The RCIA: Its Catechetical Gaps and Silences, in: Idem, ''Augustine and the Catechumenate'', p. 1-2 and 28.〕 The ideal is for there to be a RCIA process available in every Roman Catholic parish. Those who want to join a RCIA group should aim to attend one in the parish where they live. For those who join a RCIA process it is a period of reflection, prayer, instruction, discernment, and formation. There is no set timetable and those who join the process are encouraged to go at their own pace, taking as much time as they need. Although the average process generally takes between eight to twelve months, it can take up-to two or more years for some individuals. Those who enter the process are expected to begin attending Holy Mass on a Sunday, attend a weekly RCIA session, and to become increasingly involved in the activities of their local parish. The RCIA process should be overseen throughout every period and step by the local parish pastor, clergy and/or religious. However, the week-to-week administration of the process, including its teaching element, is increasingly being undertaken by lay Catholic Catechists. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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