In Christianity, baptism (from the Greek noun ''baptisma''; itself derived from ''baptismos'', ritual washing) is for the majority the rite of admission (or adoption), almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ.
In some traditions, baptism is also called christening, but for others the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants.
The New Testament reports that Jesus himself was baptized.
The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the candidate to be immersed totally (submersion) or partially (standing or kneeling in water while water was poured on him or her). While John the Baptist's use of a deep river for his baptism suggests immersion, pictorial and archaeological evidence of Christian baptism from the 3rd century onward indicates that a normal form was to have the candidate stand in water while water was poured over the upper body. Other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead.
Martyrdom was identified early in Church history as "baptism by blood", enabling martyrs who had not been baptized by water to be saved. Later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved. As evidenced also in the common Christian practice of infant baptism, baptism was universally seen by Christians as in some sense necessary for salvation, until Huldrych Zwingli in the 16th century denied its necessity.
Today, some Christians, particularly Quakers and the Salvation Army, do not see baptism as necessary, and do not practice the rite. Among those that do, differences can be found in the manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (following the Great Commission), but some baptize in Jesus' name only. Most Christians baptize infants; many others hold that only believer’s baptism is true baptism. Some insist on submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by water, as long as the water flows on the head, is sufficient.
"Baptism" has also been used to refer to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is initiated, purified, or given a name—see Other initiation ceremonies.
Etymology
The
English word "baptism" is derived indirectly through
Latin from the neuter
Greek concept noun ''baptisma'' (Greek βάπτισμα, "washing-ism"), which is a
neologism in the
New Testament derived from the masculine Greek noun ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) which is a term for ritual washing in Greek language texts of
Hellenistic Judaism during the
Second Temple period, such as the
Septuagint. Both of these nouns are nouns derived from ''baptizein'' (βαπτίζω, "I wash"
transitive verb) which is used in Jewish texts for ritual washing, and in the
New Testament both for ritual washing and also for the apparently new rite of ''baptisma''. The Greek verb root ''bpt'' in turn is hypothetically traced to a reconstructed
Indo-European root *''gwabh-'' or *''gwebh-'' in the suffixed zero-grade form *''gwəbh-yo-'' The Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings.
New Testament meaning of the related Greek nouns and verbs
The New Testament contains four related words; two verbs and two nouns:
''baptein''—to wash something
''baptizein''—to wash, often a person in a ritual context
''baptismos''—Jewish ritual washing
''baptisma''—the new Christian rite
As Christians of different traditions dispute whether total immersion (submersion) is necessary for baptism, the precise meaning of the Greek noun ''baptisma'' in the New Testament has become important for discussion.
Meaning of the Greek verb ''baptizein''
The
Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott gives the primary meaning of the verb ''baptizein'' (1st Person ''βαπτίζω'' ''baptizô''), from which the English verb "baptize" is derived, as "dip, plunge", and indicates that the dipping or plunging need not be complete, as when a sword is plunged into a throat or into a foetus or when wine is drawn by dipping a cup in the bowl; for New Testament usage it gives two meanings: "baptize", with which it associates the
Septuagint mention of
Naaman dipping himself in the
Jordan River, and "perform ablutions", as in .
Although the Greek verb ''baptizein'' does not exclusively mean dip, plunge or immerse (it is used with literal and figurative meanings such as "sink", "disable", "overwhelm", "go under", "overborne", "draw from a bowl"), lexical sources typically cite this as a meaning of the word in both the Septuagint and the New Testament.
Other meanings of the verb ''baptizein''
Two passages in the
New Testament indicate that the
verb ''baptizein'' when applied to washing in a context unrelated to Christian baptism, did not always indicate submersion. The first is Luke 11:38 which tells how a Pharisee, at whose house Jesus ate, "was astonished to see that he did not first wash (''ἐβαπτίσθη'', aorist passive of ''βαπτίζω''—literally, "be baptized") before dinner." This is the passage that Liddell and Scott cites as an instance of the use of '''' to mean ''perform ablutions''.
Jesus' omission of this action is similar to that of his disciples: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash ('''') not their hands when they eat bread." The other
New Testament passage pointed to is: "The Pharisees…do not eat unless they wash ('''', the ordinary word for washing) their hands thoroughly, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash themselves (literally, "baptize themselves"—''βαπτίσωνται'', passive or middle voice of ''βαπτίζω'')".
Scholars of various denominations claim that these two passages show that invited guests, or people returning from market, would not be expected to immerse themselves ("baptize themselves") totally in water but only to practise the partial immersion of dipping their hands in water or to pour water over them, as is the only form admitted by present Jewish custom. However, in the first of the two passages, it is actually the hands that are specifically identified as "washed" (Mark 7:3), not the entire person, who is simply described as having washed (Mark 7:4–5). Accordingly, standard lexicography identifies the meaning of βαπτίζω here as 'immerse'. The Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon (1996) cites the other passage (Luke 11:38) as an instance of the use of the verb ''baptizein'' to mean "perform ablutions", not "baptize". References to the cleaning of vessels which use βαπτίζω also refer to immersion.
The lexicographical works of Zodhiates and Balz & Schneider likewise say that in the second of these two cases, , the verb ''baptizein'' means that, after coming from the market, the Pharisees only immersed their hands in collected water. They understand the meaning of βαπτίζω to be the same as βάπτω, to dip or immerse, a verb used of the partial dipping of a morsel held in the hand into wine or of a finger into spilled blood.
A possible additional use of the verb ''baptizein'' to relate to ritual washing is suggested by Peter Leithart (2007) who suggests that Paul's phrase "Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead?" relates to Jewish ritual washing. In Jewish Greek the verb ''baptizein'' "baptized" has a wider reference than just "baptism" and in Jewish context primarily applies to the masculine noun ''baptismos'' "ritual washing" The verb ''baptizein'' occurs four times in the Septuagint in the context of ritual washing, ''baptismos''; Judith cleansing herself from menstrual impurity, Naaman washing seven times to be cleansed from leprosy, etc. Additionally, in the New Testament only, the verb ''baptizein'' can also relate to the neuter noun ''baptisma'' "baptism" which is a neologism unknown in the Septuagint and other pre-Christian Jewish texts. This broadness in the meaning of ''baptizein'' is reflected in English Bibles rendering "wash," where Jewish ritual washing is meant, for example Mark 7:4 states that the Pharisees "except they wash (Greek "baptize"), they do not eat", and "baptize" where ''baptisma'', the new Christian rite, is intended.
Derived nouns
Two nouns derived from the verb ''baptizo'' (βαπτίζω) appear in the New Testament: the masculine noun ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) and the neuter noun ''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα):
''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) refers in to a water-rite for the purpose of purification, washing, cleansing, of dishes; in the same verse and in to Levitical cleansings of vessels or of the body; and in perhaps also to baptism, though there it may possibly refer to washing an inanimate object. According to Spiros Zodhiates when referring merely to the cleansing of utensils ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) is equated with ''rhantismos'' (ῥαντισμός, "sprinkling"), found only in and , a noun used to indicate the symbolic cleansing by the Old Testament priest.
''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα), which is a neologism appearing to originate in the New Testament, and probably should not be confused with the earlier Jewish concept of ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός), Later this is found only in writings by Christians. In the New Testament, it appears at least 21 times:
:*13 times with regard to the rite practised by John the Baptist;
:*3 times with reference to the specific Christian rite (4 times if account is taken of its use in some manuscripts of , where, however, it is most likely to have been changed from the original ''baptismos'' than vice versa);
:*5 times in a metaphorical sense.
Manuscript variation: In , some manuscripts have neuter noun ''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα), but some have masculine noun ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός), and this is the reading given in modern critical editions of the New Testament. If this reading is correct, then this the only New Testament instance in which ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) is clearly used of Christian baptism, rather than of a generic washing, unless the opinion of some is correct that may also refer to Christian baptism.
The feminine noun ''baptisis'', along with the masculine noun ''baptismos'' both occur in Josephus' Antiquities (J. AJ 18.5.2) relating to the murder of John the Baptist by Herod. This feminine form is not used elsewhere by Josephus, nor in the New Testament.
History
Background in Jewish ritual
Although the term "baptism" is not used to describe the Jewish rituals, the purification rites in Jewish laws and tradition, called "Tvilah", have some similarity to baptism, and the two have been linked. The "Tvilah" is the act of immersion in natural sourced water, called a "Mikvah" In the Jewish Bible and other Jewish texts, immersion in water for ritual purification was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. For example, Jews who (according to the Law of Moses) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion is required for converts to Judaism as part of their conversion. Immersion in the mikvah represents a change in status in regards to purification, restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community, ensuring that the cleansed person will not impose uncleanness on property or its owners ( and Babylonian Talmud, Tractate''Chagigah'', p. 12). This change of status by the mikvah could be obtained repeatedly, while Christian baptism, like circumcision, is, in the general view of Christians, unique and not repeatable.
During the Second Temple period the Greek noun ''baptismos'' was used to refer to ritual washing in Hellenistic Judaism.
John the Baptist
John the Baptist adopted baptismal immersion as the central sacrament in his messianic movement, seen as a forerunner of Christianity.
Early Christianity
Baptism has been part of Christianity from the start, as shown by the many mentions in the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. How explicit Jesus' intentions were and whether he envisioned a continuing, organized Church is a matter of dispute among scholars.
Early Middle Ages
Infant baptism became common, alongside the developing theology of
original sin, displacing the earlier common practice of delaying baptism until the deathbed. Against Pelagius, Augustine insisted that baptism was necessary for salvation even for virtuous people and for children.
Middle Ages
In 895, the
provincial Council of Tribur commented on the traditional teaching that that the triple immersion in baptism was an
imitation of Christ for the three days he spent in the tomb, and the rising from the water an imitation of the
resurrection of Jesus. The linking of the baptismal immersion in and rising from the water with the burial and resurrection of Jesus arguably goes back to Saint Paul, and the linking of the triple immersion with the three days in the tomb is found in
Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313-386) and
Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-after 394).
The 12th century saw the meaning of the word "sacrament" narrowed down and restricted to seven rites, among them that of baptism, while other symbolic rites came to be called "sacramentals".
In the period between the 12th and the 14th centuries, affusion became the usual manner of administering baptism in Western Europe, though immersion continued to be found in some places even as late as the 16th century. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was therefore considerable variation in the kind of facility required for baptism, from the baptismal pool large enough to immerse several adults simultaneously of the 13th century Baptistery at Pisa, to the half-metre deep basin in the 6th century baptistery of the old Cologne Cathedral.
Both East and West considered washing with water and the Trinitarian baptismal formula necessary for administering the rite. Scholasticism referred to these two elements as the matter and the form of the sacrament, employing terms taken from the then prevailing Aristotelian philosophy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, while teaching the necessity of both elements, nowhere uses these philosophical terms when speaking of any of the sacraments.
Reformation
In the 16th century, Martin Luther considered baptism to be a sacrament. For the Lutherans, baptism is a "means of grace" through which God creates and strengthens "saving faith" as the "washing of regeneration" in which infants and adults are reborn. Since the creation of faith is exclusively God's work, it does not depend on the actions of the one baptized, whether infant or adult. Even though baptized infants cannot articulate that faith, Lutherans believe that it is present all the same. Because it is faith alone that receives these divine gifts, Lutherans confess that baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare." In the special section on infant baptism in his Large Catechism, Luther argues that infant baptism is God-pleasing because persons so baptized were reborn and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Swiss Reformer Huldrych Zwingli differed with the Lutherans by denying sacramental status of baptism. Zwingli identified baptism and the Lord's supper as sacraments, but in the sense of an initiatory ceremony. His understanding of these sacraments as symbolic differentiated him from Luther.
Anabaptists (a word that means "rebaptizers") rejected so thoroughly the tradition maintained by Lutherans as well as Catholics that they denied the validity of baptism outside their group. They "rebaptized" converts on the grounds that one cannot be baptized without wishing it, and an infant, who does not understand what happens in a baptism ceremony and who has no knowledge of the concepts of Christianity, is not really baptized. They saw as non-biblical the baptism of infants, who cannot confess their faith and who, not having yet committed any sins, are not in the same need of salvation. Anabaptists and other Baptist groups do not consider that they ''re''baptize those who have been baptized as infants, since, in their view, infant baptism is without effect. The Amish, Restoration churches (Churches of Christ/ Christian Church), Hutterites, Baptists, Mennonites and other groups descend from this tradition. Pentecostal, charismatic and most non-denominational churches share this view as well.
Mode and manner
A Christian baptism is administered in one of the following forms, performing the action either once or thrice:
Aspersion
Aspersion is the sprinkling of water on the head.
Affusion
Affusion is the pouring of water over the head.
Immersion
The word "immersion" is derived from
late Latin ''immersionem'', a noun derived from the verb ''immergere'' (''in'' – "into" + ''mergere'' "dip"). In relation to baptism, some use it to refer to any form of dipping, whether the body is put completely under water or is only partly dipped in water; they thus speak of immersion as being either total or partial. Others, of the Anabaptist tradition, use "immersion" to mean exclusively plunging someone entirely under the surface of the water (submersion). The term "immersion" is also used of a form of baptism in which water is poured over someone standing in water, without submersion of the person. On these three meanings of the word "immersion", see
Immersion baptism.
When "immersion" is used in opposition to "submersion", it indicates the form of baptism in which the candidate stands or kneels in water and water is poured over the upper part of the body. Immersion in this sense has been employed in West and East since at least the 2nd century and is the form in which baptism is generally depicted in early Christian art. In the West, this method of baptism began to be replaced by affusion baptism from around the 8th century, but it continues in use in Eastern Christianity.
Submersion
The word Submersion comes from the late Latin (''sub-'' "under, below" + ''mergere'' "plunge, dip") and is also sometimes called "complete immersion". It is the form of baptism in which the water completely covers the candidate's body. Submersion is practiced in the Orthodox and several other Eastern Churches, as well as in the Ambrosian Rite. It is one of the methods provided in the Roman Rite of the baptism of infants.
Apparel
Until the
Middle Ages, most baptisms were performed with the candidates naked—as is evidenced by most of the early portrayals of baptism (some of which are shown in this article), and the early Church Fathers and other Christian writers. Typical of these is Cyril of Jerusalem who wrote "On the Mysteries of Baptism" in the 4th century (c. 350 AD):
The symbolism is threefold:
1. Baptism is considered to be a form of rebirth—"by water and the Spirit"—the nakedness of baptism (the second birth) paralleled the condition of one's original birth. For example, St. John Chrysostom calls the baptism "λοχείαν", i.e., giving birth, and "new way of creation…from water and Spirit" ("to John" speech 25,2), and later elaborates:
:
2. The removal of clothing represented the "image of putting off the old man with his deeds" (as per Cyril, above), so the stripping of the body before for baptism represented taking off the trappings of sinful self, so that the "new man," which is given by Jesus, can be put on.
3. As St. Cyril again asserts above, as Adam and Eve in scripture and tradition were naked, innocent and unashamed in the Garden of Eden, nakedness during baptism was seen as a renewal of that innocence and state of original sinlessness. Other parallels can also be drawn, such as between the exposed condition of Christ during His crucifixion, and the crucifixion of the "old man" of the repentant sinner in preparation for baptism.
Changing customs and concerns regarding modesty probably contributed to the practice of permitting or requiring the baptismal candidate to either retain their undergarments (as in many Renaissance paintings of baptism such as those by da Vinci, Tintoretto, Van Scorel, Masaccio, de Wit and others) and/or to wear, as is almost universally the practice today, baptismal robes. These robes are most often white, symbolizing purity. Some groups today allow any suitable clothes to be worn, such as trousers and a t-shirt—practical considerations include how easily the clothes will dry (denim is discouraged), and whether they will become see-through when wet.
Meaning and effects
There are differences in views about the effect of baptism for a Christian. Some Christian groups assert baptism is a requirement for salvation and a
sacrament, and speak of "
baptismal regeneration". Its importance may be understood by an informed knowledge of their interpretation of the most fundamental and basic meaning of the "Mystical Body of Christ" as found in the New Testament. This view is shared by the
Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox traditions, and by Churches formed early during the
Protestant Reformation such as
Lutheran and
Anglican. For example,
Martin Luther said:
The Churches of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also espouse baptism as necessary for salvation.
For Roman Catholics, baptism by water is a sacrament of initiation into the life of the children of God (''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 1212–13). It configures the person to Christ (CCC 1272), and obliges the Christian to share in the Church's apostolic and missionary activity (CCC 1270). The Catholic Tradition holds that there are three types of baptism by which one can be saved: sacramental baptism (with water), baptism of desire (explicit or implicit desire to be part of the Church founded by Jesus Christ), and baptism of blood (martyrdom). Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical ''The Mystical Body of Christ'', June 29, 1943, includes ''all baptized Christians'' as members of Christ, members of the one true Church, which is the body of Jesus Christ himself, as God the Holy Spirit has taught through the Apostle Paul. (''Mystici Corporis Christi''–full text) (''the bold emphasis provided here is not in the encyclical'')
By contrast, most Reformed (Calvinist), evangelical, and fundamentalist Protestant groups recognize baptism as an act of obedience to and identification with Jesus as the Christ. They say that baptism has no sacramental (saving) power, and only testifies outwardly to the invisible and internal operation of God's power, which is completely separate from the rite itself.
Churches of Christ consistently teach that in baptism a believer surrenders his life in faith and obedience to God, and that God "by the merits of Christ's blood, cleanses one from sin and truly changes the state of the person from an alien to a citizen of God's kingdom. Baptism is not a human work; it is the place where God does the work that only God can do."
Christian traditions
The liturgy of baptism in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions makes clear reference to baptism as not only a symbolic burial and resurrection, but an actual supernatural transformation, one that draws parallels to the experience of Noah and the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea divided by Moses. Thus, baptism is literally and symbolically not only cleansing, but also dying and rising again with Christ. Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for the cleansing of the taint of original sin, and for that reason infant baptism is a common practice. The Eastern Churches (Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy) also baptize infants on the basis of texts, such as , which are interpreted as supporting full Church membership for children. In these traditions, baptism is immediately followed by Chrismation and Communion at the next Divine Liturgy, regardless of age. Orthodox likewise believe that baptism removes what they call the ancestral sin of Adam. Anglicans believe that Baptism is also the entry into the Church and therefore allows them access to all rights and responsibilities as full members, including the privilege to receive Holy Communion. Most Methodists and Anglicans agree that it also cleanses the taint of what in the West is called original sin, in the East ancestral sin.
Eastern Orthodox Christians usually insist on complete threefold immersion as both a symbol of death and rebirth into Christ, and as a washing away of sin. Latin Rite Catholics generally baptize by affusion (pouring); Eastern Catholics usually by submersion, or at least partial immersion. However, submersion is gaining in popularity within the Latin Catholic Church. In newer church sanctuaries, the baptismal font may be designed to expressly allow for baptism by immersion. Anglicans baptize by submersion, immersion, affusion or sprinkling.
According to a tradition, evidence of which can be traced back to at latest about the year 200, sponsors or godparents are present at baptism and vow to uphold the Christian education and life of the baptized.
Baptists argue that the Greek word originally meant "to immerse". They interpret some Biblical passages concerning baptism as requiring submersion of the body in water. They also state that only submersion reflects the symbolic significance of being "buried" and "raised" with Christ. Baptist Churches baptize in the name of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, they do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation; but rather that it is an act of Christian obedience.
Some "full gospel" charismatic churches such as Oneness Pentecostals baptize only in the name of Jesus Christ, citing Peter's preaching baptism in the name of Jesus as their authority. They also point to several historical sources that maintain that the early church always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus until development of the Trinity Doctrine in the 2nd century.
Ecumenical statements
In 1982 the
World Council of Churches published the
ecumenical paper ''
Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry''. The preface of the document states:
}}
A 1997 document, ''Becoming a Christian: The Ecumenical Implications of Our Common Baptism'', gave the views of a commission of experts brought together under the aegis of the World Council of Churches. It states:
, baptisms follow from Peter's preaching baptism in the name of Jesus and lead those baptized to the receiving of Christ's Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and life in the community: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" as well as to the distribution of goods to those in need.}}
Those who heard, who were baptized and entered the community's life, were already made witnesses of and partakers in the promises of God for the last days: the forgiveness of sins through baptism in the name of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on all flesh. Similarly, in what may well be a baptismal pattern, 1 Peter testifies that proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and teaching about new life lead to purification and new birth. This, in turn, is followed by eating and drinking God's food, by participation in the life of the community—the royal priesthood, the new temple, the people of God—and by further moral formation. At the beginning of 1 Peter the writer sets this baptism in the context of obedience to Christ and sanctification by the Spirit. So baptism into Christ is seen as baptism into the Spirit. In the fourth gospel Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus indicates that birth by water and Spirit becomes the gracious means of entry into the place where God rules.
Validity considerations by some churches
Since the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist and Lutheran Churches teach that baptism is a sacrament that has actual spiritual and salvific effects, certain key criteria must be complied with for it to be valid, i.e., to actually have those effects. If these key criteria are met, violation of some rules regarding baptism, such as varying the authorized rite for the ceremony, renders the baptism illicit (contrary to the Church's laws) but still valid.
One of the criteria for validity is use of the correct form of words. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the use of the verb "baptize" is essential. Catholics of Latin Rite, Anglicans and Methodists use the form "I baptize you…." Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholics use the form "This servant of Christ is baptized…" or "This person is baptized by my hands…." These Churches generally recognize each other's form of baptism as valid.
Use of the Trinitarian formula "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" is also considered essential; thus these churches do not accept as valid baptisms of non-Trinitarian churches such as Oneness Pentecostals.
Another essential condition is use of water. A baptism in which some other liquid was used would not be considered valid.
Another requirement is that the celebrant intends to perform baptism. This requirement entails merely the intention "to do what the Church does", not necessarily to have Christian faith, since it is not the person baptizing, but the Holy Spirit working through the sacrament, who produces the effects of the sacrament. Doubt about the faith of the baptizer is thus no ground for doubt about the validity of the baptism.
Some conditions expressly do not affect validity—for example, whether submersion, immersion, affusion or aspersion is used. However, if water is sprinkled, there is a danger that the water may not touch the skin of the unbaptized. If the water does not flow on the skin, there is no ablution and so no baptism.
If for a medical or other legitimate reason the water cannot be poured on the head, it may be poured over another principal part of the body, such as the chest. In such case validity is uncertain and the person should later be conditionally baptized in the prescribed manner.
For many communions, validity is not affected if a single submersion or pouring is performed rather than a triple, but in Orthodoxy this is controversial.
According to the Catholic Church, baptism imparts an indelible "seal" upon the soul of the baptized and therefore a person who has already been baptized cannot be validly baptized again. This teaching was affirmed against the Donatists who practiced rebaptism. The grace received in baptism is believed to operate ''ex opere operato'' and is therefore considered valid even if administered in heretical or schismatic groups.
Recognition by other denominations
The
Catholic,
Lutheran,
Anglican,
Presbyterian and
Methodist Churches accept baptism performed by other denominations within this group as valid, subject to certain conditions, including the use of the Trinitarian formula. It is only possible to be baptized once, thus people with valid baptisms from other denominations may not be baptized again upon conversion or transfer. Such people are accepted upon making a profession of faith and, if they have not yet validly received the sacrament of confirmation or chrismation, by being confirmed. In some cases it can be difficult to decide if the original baptism was in fact valid; if there is doubt,
conditional baptism is administered, with a formula on the lines of "If you are not yet baptized, I baptize you…."
In the still recent past, it was common practice in the Roman Catholic Church to baptize conditionally almost every convert from Protestantism because of a perceived difficulty in judging about the validity in any concrete case. In the case of the major Protestant Churches, agreements involving assurances about the manner in which they administer baptism has ended this practice, which sometimes continues for other groups of Protestant tradition. The Catholic Church has always recognized the validity of baptism in the Churches of Eastern Christianity, but it has explicitly denied the validity of the baptism conferred in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Practice in the Eastern Orthodox Church for converts from other communions is not uniform. However, generally baptisms performed in the name of the Holy Trinity are accepted by the Orthodox Christian Church. If a convert has not received the sacrament (mysterion) of baptism, he or she must be baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity before they may enter into communion with the Orthodox Church. If he has been baptized in another Christian confession (other than Orthodox Christianity)his previous baptism is considered retroactively filled with grace by chrismation or, in rare circumstances, confession of faith alone as long as the baptism was done in the name of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The exact procedure is dependent on local canons and is the subject of some controversy.
Oriental Orthodox Churches recognise the validity of baptisms performed within the Eastern Orthodox Communion. Some also recognise baptisms performed by Catholic Churches. Any supposed baptism not performed using the Trinitarian formula is considered invalid.
In the eyes of the Catholic Church, all Orthodox Churches, Anglican and Lutheran Churches, the baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is invalid. An article published together with the official declaration to that effect gave reasons for that judgment, summed up in the following words: "The Baptism of the Catholic Church and that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ essentially, both for what concerns faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in whose name Baptism is conferred, and for what concerns the relationship to Christ who instituted it."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stresses that baptism must be administered by one having proper authority; consequently, the Church does not recognize the baptism of any other church as valid.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognise any other baptism occurring after 1914 as valid, as they believe that they are now the one true church of Christ, and that the rest of "Christendom" is false religion.
Officiator
There is debate among Christian churches as to who can administer baptism. The examples given in the New Testament only show apostles and deacons administering baptism. Ancient Christian churches interpret this as indicating that baptism should be performed by the clergy except ''in extremis'', i.e., when the one being baptized is in immediate danger of death. Then anyone may baptize, provided, in the view of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the person who does the baptizing is a member of that Church, or, in the view of the Catholic Church, that the person, even if not baptized, intends to do what the Church does in administering the rite. Many Protestant churches see no specific prohibition in the biblical examples and permit any believer to baptize another.
In the Roman Catholic Church, canon law for the Latin Rite lays down that the ordinary minister of baptism is a bishop, priest or deacon, but its administration is one of the functions "especially entrusted to the parish priest". If the person to be baptized is at least fourteen years old, that person's baptism is to be referred to the bishop, so that he can decide whether to confer the baptism himself. If no ordinary minister is available, a catechist or some other person whom the local ordinary has appointed for this purpose may licitly do the baptism; indeed in a case of necessity ''any'' person (irrespective of that person's religion) who has the requisite intention may confer the baptism By "a case of necessity" is meant imminent danger of death because of either illness or an external threat. "The requisite intention" is, at the minimum level, the intention "to do what the Church does" through the rite of baptism.
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, a deacon is not considered an ordinary minister. Administration of the sacrament is reserved to the Parish Priest or to another priest to whom he or the local hierarch grants permission, a permission that can be presumed if in accordance with canon law. However, "in case of necessity, baptism can be administered by a deacon or, in his absence or if he is impeded, by another cleric, a member of an institute of consecrated life, or by any other Christian faithful; even by the mother or father, if another person is not available who knows how to baptize."
The discipline of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East is similar to that of the Eastern Catholic Churches. They require the baptizer, even in cases of necessity, to be of their own faith, on the grounds that a person cannot convey what he himself does not possess, in this case membership in the Church. The Latin Rite Catholic Church does not insist on this condition, considering that the effect of the sacrament, such as membership of the Church, is not produced by the person who baptizes, but by the Holy Spirit. For the Orthodox, while Baptism ''in extremis'' may be administered by a deacon or any lay-person, if the newly baptized person survives, a priest must still perform the other prayers of the Rite of Baptism, and administer the Mystery of Chrismation.
The discipline of Anglicanism and Lutheranism is similar to that of the Latin Rite Catholic Church. For Methodists and many other Protestant denominations, too, the ordinary minister of baptism is a duly ordained or appointed minister of religion.
Newer movements of Protestant Evangelical churches, particularly non-denominational, allow laypeople to baptize.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, only a man who has been ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood holding the priesthood office of Priest or higher office in the Melchizedek Priesthood may administer baptism.
A Jehovah's Witnesses baptism is performed by a "dedicated male" adherent. Only in extraordinary circumstances would a "dedicated" baptizer be unbaptized (see section ''Jehovah's Witnesses'').
Other traditions
Anabaptist
Anabaptists ("re-baptizers") and Baptists promote adult baptism, or "believer's baptism". Baptism is seen as an act identifying one as having accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.
Early Anabaptists were given that name because they re-baptized persons who they felt had not been properly baptized, having received infant baptism, sprinkling, or baptism of any sort by another denomination.
Anabaptists perform baptisms indoors in a baptismal font, a swimming pool, or a bathtub, or outdoors in a creek or river. Baptism memorializes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism does not accomplish anything in itself, but is an outward personal sign or testimony that the person's sins have already been washed away by the cross of Christ. It is considered a covenantal act, signifying entrance into the New Covenant of Christ.
Baptist
For the majority of Baptists, Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to the believer's faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
Churches of Christ
Baptism in
Churches of Christ is performed only by full bodily immersion, based on the
Koine Greek verb ''baptizo'' which is understood to mean to dip, immerse, submerge or plunge. Submersion is seen as more closely conforming to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus than other modes of baptism. Churches of Christ argue that historically immersion was the mode used in the 1st century, and that pouring and sprinkling later emerged as secondary modes when immersion was not possible. Over time these secondary modes came to replace immersion. Only those mentally capable of belief and repentance are baptized (i.e.,
infant baptism is not practiced because the New Testament has no precedent for it).
Churches of Christ have historically had the most conservative position on baptism among the various branches of the Restoration Movement, understanding baptism by immersion to be a necessary part of conversion. The most significant disagreements concerned the extent to which a correct understanding of the role of baptism is necessary for its validity. However, members of the Churches of Christ reject this, arguing that since faith and repentance are necessary, and that the cleansing of sins is by the blood of Christ through the grace of God, baptism is not an inherently redeeming ritual. Rather, their inclination is to point to the biblical passage in which Peter, analogizing baptism to Noah's flood, posits that "likewise baptism doth also now save us" but parenthetically clarifies that baptism is "''not'' the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the ''response of a good conscience'' toward God" (1 Peter 3:21). One author from the churches of Christ describes the relationship between faith and baptism this way, "''Faith'' is the ''reason why'' a person is a child of God; ''baptism'' is the ''time at which'' one is incorporated into Christ and so becomes a child of God" (italics are in the source). Baptism is understood as a confessional expression of faith and repentance, rather than a "work" that earns salvation.
Reformed and Covenant theology view
Paedobaptist Covenant theologians see the administration of all the biblical covenants, including the New Covenant, as including a principle of familial, corporate inclusion or "generational succession". The biblical covenants between God and man include signs and seals that visibly represent the realities behind the covenants. These visible signs and symbols of God's covenant redemption are administered in a corporate manner (for instance, to households), not in an exclusively individualistic manner.
Baptism is considered by the Reformed churches as the visible sign of entrance into the New Covenant and therefore may be administered individually to new believers making a public profession of faith. Paedobaptists further believe this extends corporately to the households of believers which typically would include children, or individually to children or infants of believing parents (see Infant baptism). In this view, baptism is thus seen as the functional replacement and sacramental equivalent of the Abrahamic rite of circumcision and symbolizes the internal cleansing from sin, among other things.
Catholic
In Catholic teaching, baptism is believed to be usually essential for salvation. This teaching dates back to the teachings and practices of 1st-century Christians, and the connection between salvation and baptism was not, on the whole, an item of major dispute until Huldrych Zwingli denied the necessity of baptism, which he saw as merely a sign granting admission to the Christian community. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament." Accordingly, a person who knowingly, willfully and unrepentantly rejects baptism has no hope of salvation. This teaching is based on Jesus' words in the
Gospel according to John: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."
Catholics are baptized in water, by submersion, immersion or affusion, in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—not three gods, but one God subsisting in three Persons. While sharing in the one divine essence, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, not simply three "masks" or manifestations of one divine being. The faith of the Church and of the individual Christian is based on a relationship with these three "Persons" of the one God. Adults can also be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
It is claimed that Pope Stephen I, St. Ambrose and Pope Nicholas I declared that baptisms in the name of "Jesus" only as well as in the name of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" were valid. The correct interpretation of their words is disputed. Current canonical law requires the Trinitarian formula and water for validity.
The Church recognizes two equivalents of baptism with water: "baptism of blood" and "baptism of desire". Baptism of blood is that undergone by unbaptized individuals who are martyred for their faith, while baptism of desire generally applies to catechumens who die before they can be baptized. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes these two forms:
The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This ''Baptism of blood'', like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament. (1258)
For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament. (1259)
The Catholic Church holds that non-Christians who seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try to do God's will as they know it through the dictates of conscience can also be saved without water baptism as they are said to desire it implicitly. As for unbaptized infants, the Church is unsure of their fate; "the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God" (Catechism, 1261).
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that baptism should be performed by complete immersion (submersion) only when an individual is old enough to understand its significance. They believe that water baptism is an outward symbol that a person has made an unconditional dedication through Jesus Christ to do the will of God. They consider baptism to constitute ordination as a minister.
Prospective candidates for baptism must express their desire to be baptized well in advance of a planned baptismal event, to allow for congregation elders to assess their suitability. Elders approve candidates for baptism if the candidates are considered to understand what is expected of members of the religion and to demonstrate sincere dedication to the faith.
Most baptisms among Jehovah's Witnesses are performed at scheduled assemblies and conventions by elders and ministerial servants and rarely occur at local Kingdom Halls. Prior to baptism, at the conclusion of a pre-baptism talk, candidates must affirm two questions:
Only baptized males may baptize new members. Baptizers and candidates wear swimsuits or other informal clothing for baptism, but are directed to avoid clothing that is considered undignified or revealing. Generally, candidates are individually immersed by a single baptizer, unless a candidate has special circumstances such as a physical disability. In circumstances of extended isolation, a qualified candidate's dedication and stated intention to become baptized may serve to identify him as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, even if immersion itself must be delayed. In rare instances, unbaptized males who had stated such an intention have reciprocally baptized each other, with both baptisms accepted as valid. Individuals who had been baptized in the 1930s and 1940s by female Witnesses, such as in concentration camps, were later re-baptized but recognized their original baptism dates.
Mormonism
In Mormonism, baptism has the main purpose of remitting the sins of the participant. It is followed by confirmation, which inducts the person into membership in the church and constitutes a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Latter-day Saints believe that baptism must be by full immersion, and by a precise ritualized ordinance: if some part of the participant is not fully immersed, or the ordinance was not recited verbatim, the ritual must be repeated.
It typically occurs in a baptismal font. In addition, Latter-day Saints do not believe a baptism is valid unless it is performed by a Latter-day Saint priest or elder. Authority is passed down through a form of apostolic succession. All new converts to the faith must be baptized or re-baptized. Baptism is seen as symbolic both of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection and is also symbolic of the baptized individual discarding their "natural" self and donning a new identity as a disciple of Jesus.
According to Latter-day Saint theology, faith and repentance are prerequisites to baptism. The ritual does not cleanse the participant of original sin, as Latter-day Saints do not believe the doctrine of original sin. Mormonism rejects infant baptism and baptism must occur after the age of accountability, defined in Latter-day Saint scripture as eight years old.
Latter-day Saint theology also teaches baptism for the dead in which deceased ancestors are baptized vicariously by the living, and believe that their practice is what Paul wrote of in . This occurs in Latter-day Saint temples.
Non-practitioners
Quakers
Quakers (members of the
Religious Society of Friends) do not believe in the baptism of either children or adults with water, rejecting all forms of outward
sacraments in their religious life.
Robert Barclay's ''Apology for the True Christian Divinity'' (a historic explanation of Quaker theology from the 17th century), explains Quakers' opposition to baptism with water thus:
Here John mentions two manners of baptizings and two different baptisms, the one with water, and the other with the Spirit, the one whereof he was the minister of, the other whereof Christ was the minister of: and such as were baptized with the first were not therefore baptized with the second: "I indeed baptize you, but he shall baptize you." Though in the present time they were baptized with the baptism of water, yet they were not as yet, but were to be, baptized with the baptism of Christ.|Robert Barclay, 1678}}
Barclay argued that water baptism was only something that happened until the time of Christ, but that now, people are baptised inwardly by the spirit of Christ, and hence there is no need for the external sacrament of water baptism, which Quakers argue is meaningless.
Salvation Army
The
Salvation Army does not practice water baptism, or indeed other outward
sacraments.
William Booth and
Catherine Booth, the founders of the
Salvation Army, believed that many Christians had come to rely on the outward signs of spiritual grace rather than on grace itself. They believed what was important was spiritual grace itself. However, although the
Salvation Army does not practice baptism, they are not opposed to baptism within other Christian denominations.
Hyperdispensationalism
There are some Christians termed "
Hyperdispensationalists" who accept only Paul's Epistles as applicable for the church today. They do not accept baptism or the Lord's Supper, since these are not found in the Prison Epistles. They also teach that Peter's gospel message was not the same as Paul's. Hyperdispensationalists assert:
The great commission[] and its baptism is directed to early Jewish believers, not the Gentile believers of mid-Acts or later.
The baptism of is Peter's call for Israel to repent of complicity in the death of the Messiah; not as a Gospel announcement of atonement for sin, a later doctrine revealed by Paul.
Water baptism found early in the Book of Acts is, according to this view, now supplanted by the one baptism foretold by John the Baptist. The one baptism for today, it is asserted, is the "baptism of the Holy Spirit". This, "spirit" baptism, however, is unlikely given the texts and facts that the baptisms of the Eunuch and the household of Cornelius were explicitly in water. Further evidence points to the humanly administered Great Commission which was to last until the end of the world. Therefore, the baptism the Ephesians underwent was water by context. Likewise, Holy Spirit Baptism is recorded as only occurring twice in all the book of Acts to selected individuals. Finally, it is argued that only Jesus possessed the power to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire which eliminates any mortal ever doing.
John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire".
Many in this group also argue that John's promised baptism by fire is pending, referring to the destruction of the world by fire.
John, as he said "baptized with water", as did Jesus's disciples to the early, Jewish Christian church. Jesus himself never personally baptized with water, but did so through his disciples. Unlike Jesus' first Apostles, Paul, his Apostle to the Gentiles, was sent to preach rather than to baptize but did occasionally baptize, for instance in Corinth and in Philippi, in the same manner as they.cf. He also taught the spiritual significance of the submerging in baptism and how one contacts the atoning death of Christ in such.
Other Hyperdispensationalists believe that baptism was necessary only for a short period between Christ's ascension and mid-Acts. The great commission and its baptism was directed to early Jewish believers, not the Gentile believers of mid-Acts or later. Any Jew who believed did not receive salvation or the Holy Spirit until they were baptized. This period ended with the calling of Paul. Peter's reaction when the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit before baptism is worthy of note.
Comparative summary
Comparative Summary of Baptisms of Denominations of Christian Influence. (This section does not give a complete listing of denominations, and therefore, it only mentions a fraction of the churches practicing "believer's baptism".)
| ! Denomination
|
! Beliefs about baptism
|
! Type of baptism
|
! Baptize infants?
|
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
|
! Standard
|
| Anglican Communion
|
"Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God."
|
By submersion, immersion, pouring, or sprinkling.
|
Yes (in most sub-denominations)
|
Yes (in most sub-denominations)
|
Trinity
|
| Apostolic Brethren
|
Necessary for salvation because it conveys spiritual rebirth.
|
By submersion only. Also stress the necessity of a “second” Baptism of a special outpouring from the Holy Spirit.
|
No
|
Yes
|
Jesus
|
| Baptists
|
A divine ordinance, a symbolic ritual, a mechanism for publicly declaring one's faith, and a sign of having already been saved, but not necessary for salvation.
|
By submersion only.
|
No
|
No
|
Trinity
|
| Christadelphians
|
Baptism is essential for the salvation of a believer. It is only effective if somebody believes the true gospel message before they are baptized. Baptism is an external symbol of an internal change in the believer: it represents a death to an old, sinful way of life, and the start of a new life as a Christian, summed up as the repentance of the believerit therefore leads to forgiveness from God, who forgives people who repent. Although someone is only baptized once, a believer must live by the principles of their baptism (i.e.,death to sin, and a new life following Jesus) throughout their life.
|
By submersion only
|
No
|
Yes
|
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (although Christadelphians do not believe in the Nicean trinity)
|
| Disciples of Christ
|
Baptism is an outward and public sign of God's grace made manifest in the individual. In submersion, one symbolically experiences dying with Christ, and then rises with Him.
|
Usually by submersion
|
No
|
No
|
Trinity
|
| Churches of Christ
|
Churches of Christ have historically had the most conservative position on baptism among the various branches of the Restoration Movement, understanding baptism by immersion to be a necessary part of conversion.
|
No (at least 8 years old)
|
Yes
|
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost (The LDS church doesn't believe in the nicean creed |
| [[Jehovah’s Witnesses
|
Baptism is necessary for salvation as part of the entire baptismal arrangement: as an expression of obedience to Jesus' command (Matthew 28:19–20), as a public symbol of the saving faith in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10), and as an indication of repentance from dead works and the dedication of one's life to Jehovah. (1 Peter 2:21) However, baptism does not guarantee salvation.
|
By submersion only; typical candidates are baptized at district and circuit conventions.
|
No
|
No
|
Jesus
|
| ! Denomination (continued)
|
! Beliefs about baptism
|
! Type of baptism
|
! Baptize infants?
|
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
|
! Standard
|
|
|
By sprinkling or pouring.
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Trinity
|
| Methodists (Arminians, Wesleyans) |
The Sacrament of initiation into Christ's holy Church whereby one is incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the spirit. Baptism washes away sin and clothes one in the righteousness of Christ.
|
By sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.
|
Yes
|
Yes, although contingent upon repentance and a personal acceptance of Christ as Saviour. |
Trinity
|
| Pentecostalism |
Water Baptism is an ordinance, a symbolic ritual used to witness to having accepted Christ as personal Savior.
|
By submersion. Also stress the necessity of a “second” Baptism of a special outpouring from the Holy Spirit.
|
No
|
Varies
|
Trinity
|
|
Being baptized is an ordinance directed and established by Jesus and the Apostles.
|
By submersion. Also stress the necessity of a baptism of a the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 8:14–17, 35–38).
|
No
|
Yes
|
Jesus
|
|
A sacrament, a symbolic ritual, and a seal of the adult believer’s present faith. It is an outward sign of an inward grace.
|
By sprinkling, pouring, immersion or submersion
|
|
No
|
Trinity
|
|
Only an external symbol that is no longer to be practiced.
|
Do not believe in Baptism of water, but only in an inward, ongoing purification of the human spirit in a life of discipline led by the Holy Spirit.
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
| [[Revivalism
|
A necessary step for salvation.
|
By submersion, with the expectation of receiving the Holy Spirit.
|
No
|
Yes
|
Trinity
|
| Roman Catholic Church
|
"Necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament"
|
Usually by pouring in the West, by submersion or immersion in the East; sprinkling admitted only if the water then flows on the head.
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Trinity
|
|
Not stated as the prerequisite to salvation, but a prerequisite for the admission to the church. It symbolizes death to sin and new birth in Jesus Christ. "It affirms joining the family of God and sets on apart for a life of ministry."
|
No
|
No
|
Trinity
|
|
One of two sacraments. Baptism is an outward sign of God's inward grace. It may or may not be necessary for membership in a local congregation. However, it is a common practice for both infants and adults.
|
By sprinkling, pouring, immersion or submersion.
|
|
No
|
Trinity
|
| Anabaptist
|
Baptism is considered by the majority of Anabaptist Churches (anabaptist means to baptize again) to be essential to Christian faith but not to salvation. It is considered a biblical ordinance along with communion, feet washing, the holy kiss, the Christian woman's head covering, anointing with oil, and marriage. The Anabaptists also have stood historically against the practice of infant baptism. The Anabaptists stood firmly against infant baptism in a time when the Church and State were one and when people were made a citizen through baptism into the officially sanctioned Church (Reformed or Catholic). Belief and repentance are believed to precede and follow baptism.
|
By pouring, immersion or submersion.
|
No
|
No
|
Trinity
|
Other initiation ceremonies
Many cultures practice or have practiced initiation rites, with or without the use of water, including the
ancient Egyptian, the
Hebraic/
Jewish, the
Babylonian, the
Mayan, and the
Norse cultures. The modern Japanese practice of
Miyamairi is such as ceremony that does not use water. In some, such evidence may be
archaeological and descriptive in nature, rather than a modern practice.
Mystery religion initiation rites
Apuleius, a 2nd-century
Roman writer, described an initiation into the
mysteries of
Isis. The initiation was preceded by a normal bathing in the public baths and a ceremonial sprinkling by the priest of Isis, after which the candidate was given secret instructions in the temple of the goddess. The candidate then fasted for ten days from meat and wine, after which he was dressed in linen and led at night into the innermost part of the sanctuary, where the actual initiation, the details of which were secret, took place. On the next two days, dressed in the robes of his consecration, he participated in feasting.}} Apuleius describes also an initiation into the cult of
Osiris and yet a third initiation, of the same pattern as the initiation into the cult of Isis, without mention of a preliminary bathing.
The water-less initiations of Lucius, the character in Apuleius's story who had been turned into an ass and changed back by Isis into human form, into the successive degrees of the rites of the goddess was accomplished only after a significant period of study to demonstrate his loyalty and trustworthiness, akin to catechumenal practices preceding baptism in Christianity.
Mandaeanism
Mandaeans revere
John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism as a ritual of purification, not of initiation.
Gnostic Catholicism and Thelema
The
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, or Gnostic Catholic Church (the ecclesiastical arm of
Ordo Templi Orientis), offers its Rite of Baptism to any person at least 11 years old. The ceremony is performed before a
Gnostic Mass and represents a symbolic birth into the
Thelemic community.
Baptism of objects
The word "baptism" or "christening" is sometimes used to describe the inauguration of certain objects for use.
The name ''Baptism of Bells'' has been given to the blessing of (musical, especially church) bells, at least in France, since the 11th century. It is derived from the washing of the bell with holy water by the bishop, before he anoints it with the oil of the infirm without and with chrism within; a fuming censer is placed under it and the bishop prays that these sacramentals of the Church may, at the sound of the bell, put the demons to flight, protect from storms, and call the faithful to prayer.
''Baptism of Ships'': at least since the time of the
Crusades, rituals have contained a blessing for
ships. The
priest begs God to bless the vessel and protect those who sail in. The
ship is usually sprinkled with
holy water.
"Debaptism"
Mainline Christian churches see baptism as a once-in-a-lifetime event that can be
neither repeated nor undone. They hold that those who have been baptized remain baptized, even if they renounce the Christian faith by adopting a non-Christian religion or by
rejecting religion entirely.
In addition to ''de facto'' renunciation through apostasy, heresy, or schism, the Roman Catholic Church envisaged from 1983 to 2009 the possibility of formal defection from the Church through a decision manifested personally, consciously and freely, and in writing, to the competent church authority, who was then to judge whether it was genuinely a case of "true separation from the constitutive elements of the life of the Church ... (by) an act of apostasy, heresy or schism." A formal defection of this kind was then noted in the register of the person's baptism, an annotation that, like those of marriage or ordination, was independent of the fact of the baptism and was not an actual "debaptism", even if the person who formally defected from the Catholic Church had also defected from the Christian religion. The fact of having been baptized remains a fact and the Catholic Church holds that baptism marks a person with a lasting seal or character that "is an ontological and permanent bond which is not lost by reason of any act or fact of defection."
Some atheist organizations offer certificates of "debaptism". One such group is the Italian Union of Rationalists and Agnostics. Another is the British National Secular Society. Not even those who provide the certificates consider them as having legal or canonical effect. The Church of England refuses to take any action on presentation of the certificate, while the Roman Catholic Church treats it as any other act of renunciation of the Catholic faith and, if it considers it seriously meant, makes the appropriate annotation in the baptismal register.
Using a hair dryer, some atheist groups have conducted tongue-in-cheek "debaptism" ceremonies, not intended to be taken seriously.
See also
Related articles and subjects
Anabaptist
Baptism by fire
Baptism of desire
Baptism of Jesus
Baptismal clothing
Baptistery
Believer's baptism
Catechumen
Chrismation
Christifideles
Conditional baptism
Consolamentum
Disciple (Christianity)
Divine filiation
Emergency baptism
Infant baptism
Jesus-Name doctrine
Prevenient Grace
Ritual purification
Sacrament
Theophany
Water and religion
People and ritual objects
Baptismal font
Baptistery
Chrism
Godparent
Holy water
Holy water in Eastern Christianity
John the Baptist
Mikvah
Notes
Further reading
External links
"Writings of the Early Church Fathers on Baptism"
"Baptism." Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
"Water Baptism" Dispensationally Considered
"River Baptism"Video
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Category:Conversion to Christianity
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hi:बपतिस्मा
hr:Krštenje
id:Baptisan
ia:Baptismo
os:Аргъуыд
is:Skírn
it:Battesimo
he:טבילה לנצרות
kn:ಬ್ಯಾಪ್ಟಿಸಮ್(ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ, ಜ್ಞಾನಸ್ನಾನ)
sw:Ubatizo
la:Baptismus
lv:Kristības
lt:Krikštas
li:Duip
ln:Batísimo
hu:Keresztség
mk:Крштевање
ml:മാമ്മോദീസ
arz:تعميد
ms:Pembaptisan
na:Ebaptizo
nl:Doop (sacrament)
ja:洗礼
no:Dåp
nn:Dåp
oc:Baptisme
nds:Dööp
pl:Chrzest
pt:Batismo
ro:Botez
rm:Battaisem
qu:Bawtisay
ru:Крещение
sq:Pagëzimi
scn:Vattìu
simple:Baptism
sk:Sviatosť krstu
sl:Sveti krst
szl:Krzest
sr:Крштење
sh:Krštenje
fi:Kaste
sv:Dop
tl:Binyag
ta:திருமுழுக்கு
te:బాప్టిజం
tg:Баптизм
tr:Vaftiz
uk:Хрещення
ur:بپتسمہ
vi:Báp têm
wa:Bateme
war:Bunyág
zh:洗禮
![Holy Trinity, fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta, 1738-9 (St. Gaudenzio Church at Ivrea). The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with the Spirit represented by a dove, as specified in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ; it is nearly always shown with wings outspread. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art.[102] The Father and the Son are usually differentiated by age, and later by dress, but this too is not always the case. The](http://web.archive.org./web/20120509130217/http://cdn3.wn.com/pd/8d/f2/8762dea0dbe33f4e04c8b5e94dbc_medium.jpg "Holy Trinity, fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta, 1738-9 (St. Gaudenzio Church at Ivrea). The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with the Spirit represented by a dove, as specified in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ; it is nearly always shown with wings outspread. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art.[102] The Father and the Son are usually differentiated by age, and later by dress, but this too is not always the case. The")
