Baptism. The sacramental rite, involving the use of water, by which a candidate is admitted to the Church. It is clear that it goes back to the earliest days from the many references in Acts and in the Epistles of St Paul. Traditionally it has been held that Christ Himself instituted the sacrament, but how far He made His intentions explicit, or indeed envisaged the Church as a continuing institution, is now disputed.

Baptism has been in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at least since the end of the 1st cent. In the early Church it was normally administered by immersion. The rite, at which the bishop usually presided, included the laying on of hands and anointing, and culminated in the Eucharist. (For the later division of these ceremonies in the W., see CONFIRMATION.) In the first four or five cents. it was common to defer Baptism until death was thought to be imminent because of the responsibilities attached to it.

The theology of Baptism was elucidated by the 3rd-cent. controversy over the validity of Baptism administered by heretics. Largely through the influence of St Augustine, it came to be accepted that the validity of sacraments depended on the use of the correct form, regardless of the faith or worthiness of the minister. Against the Pelagians Augustine maintained that one of the chief effects of Baptism was the removal of the stain of Original Sin on the soul which bars even the new-born child from Heaven. He also held that the Holy Spirit produced in Baptism an effect independent of sanctifying grace; it could not be destroyed and was not to be repeated. In the 16th cent. various aspects of Catholic teaching were rejected by the Reformers. M. Luther sought to combine belief in the necessity of Baptism with his doctrine of justification by faith alone; for him Baptism was a promise of Divine grace after which a man's sins are no longer imputed to him. U. Zwingli denied the necessity of Baptism, seeing in it only a sign admitting man to the Christian community. J. Calvin taught that it was efficacious only for the elect, since they alone had the faith without which it was worthless. The BCP preserved the traditional Catholic teaching. At the Council of Trent, the RC Church stressed that Baptism is not merely a sign of grace, but actually contains and confers it on those who put no obstacle in its way.

The forms of the rite used in the RC Church are the most elaborate found in the W. In the case of children it includes an undertaking from the parents that the child shall be brought up in the Christian faith, a prayer of exorcism, blessing of water, renunciation of evil by parents and godparents and a declaration of faith, Baptism by immersion or affusion with the Trinitarian formula, and anointing with chrism. The child's father, godfather, or someone else, holds a candle lit from the Paschal Candle. The Baptism of Adults is not very different, except for the omission of the chrismation; it is followed immediately by Confirmation. The C of E rite is similar but simpler. In CW, renunciation of evil is followed by the signing of each candidate with the cross, blessing of water, and Baptism by immersion or affusion, using the Trinitarian formula. A lighted candle may be given to the newly baptized. In the Orthodox Church, the rite for the admission to the catechumenate, consisting of exorcisms, the renunciation of Satan and profession of faith, is followed by the rite of Baptism proper, in which water and oil are blessed, the candidate is anointed with oil, immersed three times in water, and clothed with a white garment. Chrismation follows immediately and, if possible, Communion is given at the same time to the newly baptized.

baptism The Greek word for the rite of baptism means ‘to dip in’ or ‘to wash’ but the classical meaning of drowning or overwhelming is found in the LXX (Isa. 21: 4), and there is a suggestion of this sense in the NT when Jesus predicts his coming ‘baptism’ of death (Mark 10: 38–9) and perhaps when Paul refers to the Israelites being ‘baptized’ in the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10: 2). Both these passages are interpretations of Christian baptism; for Paul baptism is compared to Israel's Exodus through the sea; and in baptism Christians share symbolically in Jesus' death and resurrection; they are buried with him and rise to a new life. So baptism is also regarded as the beginning of a new life (John 3: 4–5).

The Christian rite was not without some partial precedents in Judaism and in other religions. Water is a natural and vivid source of purification, so Gentiles who wished to become Jews baptized themselves before circumcision. At Qumran there were elaborate rites of purification by water. John the Baptist the Baptist invited his hearers to repent and to be baptized in the River Jordan, and Jesus accepted baptism at his hands, not for remission of sins (Matt. 3: 13–15) but to identify himself with his people. It was the moment when he was commissioned to proclaim the kingdom, the moment when he was adopted as Son of God (Mark 1: 10–11).

Baptism immediately assumed the role of rite of initiation into the covenant which had been, and is, the purpose of circumcision in Judaism (Col. 2: 11–12). Peter exhorted his audience in Jerusalem to repent and accept baptism (Acts 2: 38). An Ethiopian eunuch was baptized, without an elaborate course of instruction, by Philip as soon as there was a handy pool of water (Acts 8: 38). It is not recorded that the Ethiopian became a member of a local Christian community ‘but he went on his way rejoicing’, a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5: 22).

It was held that in baptism the gift of the Spirit was conferred, as it had been with Jesus (Mark 1: 10), and the prerequisite for baptism was faith (Gal. 3: 14). Whether the requirement of faith therefore excludes infants from the Christian sacrament is much debated; there is no explicit evidence either way in the NT. It is argued that households who were baptized (Acts 16: 15, 33) would have included infants; and the parallel with circumcision as a rite of infant initiation points in the same direction.

Archaeological evidence from the early centuries shows that baptism was administered sometimes by submersion or immersion, in which the rite symbolically re-enacted the process of burial and resurrection, but also by affusion from a vessel when water was poured on the candidate's head, just as earth was sprinkled over the corpse at a funeral. There is a similarity of symbolism in both forms of ritual. Paul mentions a practice in his time of baptism ‘on behalf of the dead’ (1 Cor. 15: 29). He is referring, perhaps, to those at Corinth who were baptized with a view to being united at the resurrection with their Christian friends who had died.

Baptism. The rite of admission into the Christian church, practised by all denominations. Its origin is probably to be sought in (i) the Jewish practice of baptizing proselytes; and (ii) the baptism administered by John the Baptist ‘for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mark 1. 4).

The doctrine which attended baptism in the early church was variable. Baptism might be, for example, the washing away of sins (Acts 2. 38), a dying with Christ (Romans, 6. 4), a rebirth (John 3. 5), or the occasion of the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12. 13).

The theology of baptism gained precision in the 3rd and 4th cents., notably in the West in the writings of Augustine. The Catholic view which emerged was of a rite which works ex opere operato, which confers a ‘character’ on the recipient (who thus can never be rebaptized, even after apostasy).

The 16th-cent. Reformers modified that theology: Luther, reconciling the necessity of baptism with his doctrine of justification by faith alone, regarded baptism as a promise of divine grace after which a person's sins are no longer imputed to him or her. Zwingli, on the other hand, saw baptism only as a sign of admission to the Christian community. Calvin taught that baptism can only be of effect for the elect, who have faith (without which the rite is vacuous). The radical Anabaptists understood baptism exclusively as a response of faith on the part of the individual to the gospel, and thus rejected infant baptism.

In the most usual form of early Christian baptism, the candidate stood in water, and water was poured over the upper part of the body. This is technically called ‘immersion’, but the word is now more often used to refer to the method (used e.g. by Baptists and Orthodox) of dipping the whole body under water.

35. Baptism

See also 80. CHRISTIANITY ; 349. RELIGION .

Abecedarian

a member of a 16th-century Anabaptist sect who refused to learn to read, arguing that the guidance of the Holy Spirit was sufficient for the understanding of the Bible.

Anabaptism

1. a belief in adult, as opposed to infant baptism.

2. membership in various Protestant sects advocating adult baptism. —Anabaptist, n., adj.

antipedobaptism, antipaedobaptism

the denial, on scriptural grounds, of the validity of infant baptism. —antipedobaptist, antipaedobaptist, n.

baptisaphily

an interest in collecting Christian baptismal names.

catabaptist

an opponent of baptism.

conditional baptism

Christian baptism administered when there is doubt whether a person has already been baptized or whether a former baptism is valid.

hemerobaptism

the practice of ancient Jewish and early Christian sects involving daily ceremonial baptisms or ablutions. —hemerobaptist, n.

holobaptism

a belief in baptism by immersion. Also called immersionism . —holobaptist, n.

palingenesis

a belief that baptism effects a new birth or regeneration. Also palingenesy . —palingenesist, n. —palingenesian, adj.

parabaptism

a baptism that is in some way irregular or unauthorized. —parabaptist, n.

pedobaptism, paedobaptism

the historic Christian practice of infant baptism. —pedobaptist, paedobaptist, n.

ubbenite

a member of a sect of Anabaptists founded in Germany in 1534 by Ubbe Phillips.

baptism [Gr., =dipping], in most Christian churches a sacrament . It is a rite of purification by water, a ceremony invoking the grace of God to regenerate the person, free him or her from sin, and make that person a part of the church. Thus, baptism is usually required for membership in the church. In Roman Catholic and Anglican theology baptism is also held to confer an indelible character on the person, requiring him or her to worship. Formal baptism is performed by immersion (as among the Baptists ) or by pouring or sprinkling water on the person to be baptized. This ceremony is accompanied, in churches that accept the dogma of the Trinity, by a formula asking the blessing of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In some churches the child is baptized soon after birth and has sponsors (godfather and godmother) who make declarations of faith in his name. The rite is sometimes called christening, and this term is applied especially to the giving of a baptismal name. Other churches withhold baptism until the person is relatively mature. Some Protestant groups, such as the Religious Society of Friends , reject all outward baptismal rites. Similar customs are known in many non-Christian cultures. The baptism of Jesus himself can be considered part of the founding of the Christian Church.

bap·tism / ˈbapˌtizəm/ • n. (in the Christian Church) the religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person's forehead or of immersion in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on young children and is accompanied by name-giving. ∎  a ceremony or occasion at which this takes place. ∎  a religious experience likened to this: baptism in the Holy Spirit. ∎ fig. a person's initiation into a particular activity or role, typically one perceived as difficult: this event constituted his baptism as a politician. PHRASES: baptism of fire a difficult or painful new undertaking or experience. DERIVATIVES: bap·tis·mal / bapˈtizməl/ adj.

baptism in the Christian Church, the religious rite of sprinkling water on a person's head or of immersing them in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. Recorded from Middle English, the word comes via Old French and ecclesiastical Latin from ecclesiastical Greek baptismos ‘ceremonial washing’, from baptizein ‘immerse, baptize’.
baptism of blood the death by violence of unbaptized martyrs, regarded as a form of baptism.
baptism of fire a difficult or painful new undertaking or experience, from the original sense of ‘a soldier's first battle’.

baptism Pouring of water on a person's forehead or the immersion of the body in water, used as a rite of initiation into the Christian Church. Baptism is one of the sacraments of the Christian Church. The water symbolizes regeneration. Total immersion is practised by the Baptists. In churches that practise infant baptism, the rite is usually referred to as christening and is the occasion when a child is named.

58. Baptism

1. Aenon where St. John performed rites. [N.T.: John 3:23]
2. Cornelius Roman centurion baptized by Peter. [N.T.: Acts 10, 11]
3. John the Baptist prophet who baptized crowds and preached Christ’s coming. [N.T.: Matthew 3:1–13]
4. scallop shell vessel used for conferral of sacrament. [Christian Symbolism: Appleton, 88]