The Catechumenate is the specific period of formation during which a person, called a Catechumen, becomes an Adult Communicant Member of Basileia. The Catechumenate begins with a Rite of Entrance and ends with a Rite of Incorporation. It may be thought of as a time when Basileia’s Catechism becomes embodied by a member in an ecclesially accountable way. While all Basileians in general are called to embody Basileia’s charism as a lifestyle, the goal of the Catechumenate is for the Catechumen to make this Basileian lifestyle officially, publically accountable to the Church. The significance of this is comparable to an elected civil candidate becoming officially and publically accountable to the civil constitution of the land in the oath of office taken at his or her inauguration (a civil rite of incorporation). Until that oath of office is taken and the candidate is sworn in, he or she is not officially able to exercise the office to which they have been elected. Thus the Rite of Incorporation that brings the Catechumenate to a close is comparable to a swearing-in ceremony of a civil official. Or it may also be compared to a man and a woman becoming officially and publically accountable to the marriage covenant in the exchange of their marriage vows (a familial rite of incorporation). These types of rites of incorporation, done in the name of Christ, are vital to forming an official, public kingdomculture that is able to replace the Fallen World System with the Kingdom of God. Adult Communicant Members are not more “spiritual,” “better,” or “more important” than Basileians or even guests and participants who have not taken this step; they simply have different functions in making the Kingdom visible through the official, public accountability of their lifestyle to the Church.
Also see Adult Communicant Member, Catechism, and Catechumen.