Home›Initiatory Rituals›All Initiatory RitualsBrowse ByAll Initiatory RitualsThe rites that admit a person into a tradition, an order or a stage of religious life, from baptism to formal initiation into an esoteric order, grouped by the shared function of marking entry regardless of how different the traditions performing them otherwise are.FactsLearn MoreAll Initiatory RitualsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedInitiation is treated as a species of rite of passage on van Gennep's 1909 three-stage scheme - separation, liminality, incorporation - as elaborated by Victor Turner in 1969. The scheme is a comparative frame devised by its authors, not an account any tradition gives of its own rite. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRites that admit a person to a status, community or degree of knowledge not previously held. The atlas records that such rites exist, who confers them and what they are held to accomplish. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRituals 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2Learn MoreThe Initiatory Rituals This group holds initiatory rituals, the ceremonies by which a person is admitted into a religion, order or degree, or consecrated to a sacred role. Initiation typically enacts a symbolic death and rebirth, marking the passage into a new spiritual state. The browser will find initiatory rituals from various traditions. The entries describe each rite's form and meaning, noting the tradition and the admission or elevation it enacts.All Initiatory RitualsFilter Results26 entriesOrigin Period Start YearAll-3100 (1)-2285 (1)-400 (1)-100 (1)30 (2)200 (1)600 (1)628 (1)700 (1)1066 (1)1200 (1)1699 (1)1700 (1)1910 (1)Attested InAllThe Brahmanas (1)FrequencyAllAs the occasion requires (7)Once, or at a turning point in a life (19)Closed Practice StatusAllClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced (2)Held within an initiatory society (1)Life Stage MarkedAllComing of age (2)Entry into the community or the order (15)Ordination, profession or vows (5)ObligationAllObligatory (3)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (3)Optional and voluntary (4)Recommended and meritorious, not required (2)Undertaken only with authorisation or transmission (1)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (24)Used, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed (2)Social FormAllPerformed alone or together (2)Performed by a gathered group (5)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (8)Practice StatusAllAccess restricted by its custodians or by law (1)Ended (1)Living tradition, practised today (12)PractitionerAllAll adherents of the tradition (2)Clergy or ordained officiants (7)Initiates only (3)Lay people (1)Monastics: monks and nuns (2)The candidate undergoing the rite (9)Trained or authorised specialists (1)Native To RegionAllAncient Israel (1)Ancient Rome (1)Arabia (2)Egypt (1)England (1)India (2)Indian Subcontinent (2)Judea (2)Persia (1)Punjab (1)Rome (2)Saint-Domingue (1)United States (1)TraditionAllAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church (3)African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (3)Aladura (1)Amish (1)Anabaptism (1)Anglican Communion (3)Anglicanism (3)Armenian Apostolic Church (4)Assyrian Church of the East (1)Baptist (2)Breslov Hasidism (2)Calvinism (Reformed) (2)Chabad-Lubavitch (2)Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (3)Church of Cyprus (4)Church of England (4)Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) (1)Church of Greece (4)Church of Ireland (3)Church of Scotland (2)Church of Sweden (3)Church of the Nazarene (3)Churches of Christ (1)Conservative Judaism (2)Coptic Orthodoxy (4)Disciples of Christ (1)Dutch Reformed Church (2)Eastern Orthodoxy (5)Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (4)Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (4)Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (4)Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (3)Free Methodist Church (3)Georgian Orthodox Church (4)Global Methodist Church (3)Greek Orthodox Church (4)Haredi Judaism (2)Hasidic Judaism (2)Humanistic Judaism (1)Kimbanguist Church (1)Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) (1)Lutheranism (3)Mahayana (1)Maronite Church (3)Mennonites (1)Methodism (3)Modern Orthodox Judaism (2)Moravian Church (2)National Baptist Convention of America (2)Old Believers (1)Oriental Orthodoxy (4)Orthodox Judaism (2)Presbyterianism (2)Progressive National Baptist Convention (2)Reconstructionist Judaism (1)Reform Judaism (2)Roman Catholicism (4)Romanian Orthodox Church (4)Russian Orthodox Church (4)Saint Thomas Christians (1)Serbian Orthodox Church (4)Seventh-day Adventism (1)Sufism (1)The Episcopal Church (3)The United Methodist Church (3)Theravada (2)Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (3)Ukrainian Orthodox Church (4)Wesleyan Church (3)Zion Christian Church (1)Originated InAllAncient Israel (1)Ancient Rome (1)Arabia (2)Egypt (1)England (1)India (2)Indian Subcontinent (2)Judea (2)Persia (1)Punjab (1)Rome (2)Saint-Domingue (1)United States (1)Originates In LanguageAllAvestan (1)Hebrew (1)Koine Greek (1)Pali (1)Sanskrit (2)Kind of ritualAllChristian Initiation and Ordination Rites (5)Indic, Buddhist and Zoroastrian Initiation and Ordination Rites (5)Jewish and Islamic Coming-of-Age and Conversion Rites (2)Royal Coronation and Consecration Rites (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 26Amrit SancharInitiatory RitualsAnointing of MonarchsInitiatory RitualsAnuvrata (Jain Lay Vows)Initiatory RitualsBaptismInitiatory RitualsBar / Bat MitzvahInitiatory RitualsBayahInitiatory RitualsBodhisattva VowInitiatory RitualsBoraInitiatory RitualsByzantine Imperial CoronationInitiatory RitualsConfirmationInitiatory RitualsCoronation of the British MonarchInitiatory RitualsEntu Priestess Installation RiteInitiatory RitualsFirst CommunionInitiatory RitualsGiyurInitiatory RitualsHoly OrdersInitiatory RitualsKanzoInitiatory RitualsMonastic TonsureInitiatory RitualsNavjoteInitiatory RitualsPoy Sang LongInitiatory RitualsRajasuyaInitiatory RitualsSed FestivalInitiatory RitualsShahada (Act of Conversion)Initiatory RitualsShinbyuInitiatory RitualsTemple EndowmentInitiatory RitualsThe Consecration of a Vestal VirginInitiatory RitualsUpasampada (higher ordination)Initiatory RitualsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensionstier 1Catherine Bell, Oxford University Press, 1997Basic Genres of Ritual ActionView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.