Baptism

What is baptism?

christian baptism is the religious use of water as the sacrament or ceremony of initiation into the christian church

What is water in association with in religious ceremonies?

associated with forgiveness, purity and life

Backgrounds to baptism? (5)

1. Old testament

2. The essenes

3. jewish proselyte baptism

4. john the baptist

5. Jesus

Old testament baptism?

Jewish priests were required to undergo ceremonial washing before performing duties

The essenes?

jewish monks lived near the dead sea and praised daily ritual washings

Jewish proselyte baptism?

gentiles who converted to judaism were baptised asa part of a cleansing process

John the baptist?

John had a baptising ministry in preparation for the coming messiah. it is described as a ‘baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins’

Jesus?

instructed His disciples to baptise during his ministry. when he was resurrected, he told his disciples to make disciples of all nations ‘baptising them in the name of the father, son and the Holy spirit’- Direct command

what does Norbert Brox say about baptism?

‘Christian baptism is something new, unprecedented, in the history of religion, though individual elements of the interpretation also occur elsewhere’

Where is the first Christian Baptism described?

in the book of acts on the day of Pentecost. Peter tells the people ‘Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins’

When were christians baptised in the NT?

as soon as they believed in the christian message- they did not go through a period of instruction beforehand

Details of baptism in NT? (4)

• Household baptisms mentioned in book of Acts (jailers family)- may have included infants

• Believers were immersed in water (word ‘baptise’ comes from the greek which means dip or immerse)

• In paul’s letters he refers to baptism as symbolically representing the death and resurrection of Jesus

• Baptism is performed in’ or ‘into’ the name of Jesus or the name of the Father, son and holy spirit

What is the Didache?

early Christian book usually included in the collection of early Christian writings known as the ‘Apostolic Fathers’ written in late first or second century containing various instructions on baptism

What happens before baptism? (Didache)

Period of preparation require - fasting by the one being baptised, the baptiser and ‘anyone else who is able’

Method of baptism in the didache? (4 details)

Immersion preferred but pouring 3 times on head permitted
Preference form running, cold water
Baptism in threefold name possibly spoken over the person being baptised
Baptism becoming less of an outdoor missionary practice and more of an indoor practice

Doctrine of the baptism in the didache? (3)

performed in threefold divine name- person committed and belongs to Father, son and holy spirit
Preference for living waters reference to Jesus’ words of eternal life
only baptised can share in the eucharist- baptism admits believers to full membership of church

Who was justin martyr?

Christian apologist (mid second century)

what does Justin Martyr’s first apology provide us with?

earliest account of a baptismal service?

What happens during the preparation for baptism (Justin)

• preparation for baptism is a period of instruction, prayer and fasting by the person being baptised and the members of the church

doctrine of baptism? (Justin)

• repentance, faith and commitment to christian life

Who was hippolytus?

Church leader in Rome in the early third century. in his book ‘apostolic tradition’ there are instructions concerning baptism

Preparation for Baptism (Hippolytus)?

Period known as the ‘catechumenate’ was normally three years long and involved teaching, prayer, examination and spiritual preparation

when was it preferred to be baptised? (Hippolytus)

Easter time- idea of baptism as union with Jesus in his death and resurrection

What happened as time drew nearer for the baptism?

Preparation became more intense- involving performance of daily exorcisms

Timeline of baptism before easter sunday? (Hippolytus)

• Thursday- candidates would bathe

• friday and saturday- they would fast and a final exorcism performed by the bishop and he would read from the bible

What happens on the day of the baptism (Hippolytus)?

• at dawn, water would be prayed over. water had to be pure and flowing and was to make contact with the naked bodies of those being baptised

What is hippolytus the first to explicitly mention?

Children being baptised- they would be baptised first, and if they were too young to speak, a family member would answer for them (infant baptism)

Who would be baptised after children (Hippolytus)

men and then women

restrictions for women being baptised? (Hippolytus)

Hair had to be loose and they weren’t permitted to wear any jewellery

What would the baptismal service itself include? (Hippolytus)

Rejection and exorcism of satan and all evil spirits. Two different oils used- one for exorcism and one for thanksgiving. this was followed by triple interrogation of the candidate followed by triple response. this was then followed by a triple baptism in the name of the father, son and holy spirit

Once baptised, what were the candidates regarded as? (Hippolytus)

full members of the church

What happened after the baptism (Hippolytus)?

• candidates brought to the church.

• bishops hand was laid on them and he would pray that they would receive God’s spirit or God’s grace

• bishop then anoints the newly baptised with the holy oil of thanksgiving

• they would pray together with others in the church and exchange the kiss of peace and share in their first eucharist

Who is involved in the baptismal service? (Hippolytus)

Presbyter, bishop and deacon, each having a role to play

Who was tertullian?

early christian theologian from carthage, north africa around the beginning of the third century. refers to baptism in his book ‘on baptism’

When was baptism to be performed? (Tertullian)

at passover time

What happened before the baptism? (Tertullian)

preparation ‘those who were about to enter upon baptism must pray frequent prays, fasts, kneeling and all night vigils and confessions of all their past sins’. No specified time period, but it ended with a final stage of intense repentance

How was the water prepared (Tertullian)

‘All waters were called upon; acquire the sacramental power of sanctification for immediately the spirit comes down from heaven, staying upon the waters’ - tertullian is the first to mention the calling of the holy spirit upon the water

Who is involved in the baptism? (Tertullian)

The bishop has the right to perform the baptism but has the right to delegate others.. the presbyter or the deacon to assist, but women cannot help

What happens just before the act of baptism? (tertullian)

Rejection of the devil- ‘when coming to the water we affirm that we renounce the devil and him pomp and his anger’

other details of the baptism? (Tertullian)

• there is also a triple response and triple baptism

• after the candidate is baptised and anointed with oil, they receive the sign of the cross and they laying on of hands
  “next the hand is laid upon us, inviting and welcoming the holy spirit through the act of blessing’

• the baptised are then welcomed into the church and receive their first eucharist as well as ‘partake of a mice of milk and honey’

doctrine of the baptism? (Tertullian) (3)

importance of repentance and faith of which baptism is the seal

it provided forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death, rebirth and the holy spirit

also gave admission to the church and allowed them to receive the eucharist

What does tertullian say about infant baptism?

refers to it but only to disapprove of it. he argued fro delayed baptism especially in the case of infants ‘let them become christians when they are able to know christ’

Who was Cyprian?

bishop of Carthage in the middle of the third century. wrote a number of letters at the time of the delian persecution which tell us about his views on baptism

Cyprians view on infant baptism?

unlike tertullian, cyprian approved of infant baptism ‘if no one is excluded from baptism and grace, how much less should an infant be excluded, who been newly born has committed no sin’
he believed the crying of an infant is a sign of their request to be baptised and that they didnt have to wait until 8 days old

method of baptism (cyprian)

baptism was to be performed in the threefold divine name and in Jesus only

immersion was prefered method but individuals could be sprinkled;ed with water if it was necessary in case of illness

Doctrine of baptism? (Cyprian)

through baptism, the person received forgiveness of sins, rebirth and the devil was driven out

What did Cyprian say about heretical baptism?

he rejected heretical baptism, baptism performed outside the one true church
“there is one baptism that one baptism is in the catholic church . if there is one church, there can be no baptism outside of it. therefore out assertion is that those who come to us out of heresy are baptised by us not rebaptised’

What do scholars Bridge and Phypers state about the development of baptism?

“compared to the New Testament, the accounts of baptism in the early church show three areas of development; the extent of baptismal preparation, the way the rite is administered and the way the rite is understood”

Baptismal preparation in NT?

little to no preparation, according to book of acts, converts were baptised on the spot, as soon as they believed (Ethiopian euneuch)

Baptismal preparation in Didache and justin?

unspecified period of instruction, fasting and praying

Baptismal preparation in Hippolytus?

3 year long catechumenate consisting of intensive moral, spiritual and doctrinal preparations

Scholar Garret’s explanation of development of baptism?

‘increased length of the catechumenate and the greater thoroughness of instruction was a necessary development’
‘In NT times, urgency of the expectation of the end of the age had led early evangelists to baptise with only a minimal preparation’
‘Very length and complexity of the christian initiation helped stress its overriding importance on the life of the church, as did also the fact that it was presided over by the Bishop as the chief pastor of the church’

Second reason for development of baptism?

rapid growth of church meant careful baptismal preparation was required as this ensured that those converting from paganism were genuine, before full admission to church was given

Development of baptismal administration?

growing formalism, institutionalism, clericalism, and ritualism

Reason for development of baptismal administration?

underlined importance and seriousness of baptism and reflected the growing significance of Christianity in wider society

Negative of development of baptismal administration?

some considered such trends as an unfortunate move of focus from a more personal faith and commitment of the baptised to external and mechanical rituals

What has baptism ALWAYS been understood as?

forgiveness of sins, rebirth and admission to full eucharistic fellowship in the church

development of baptismal understanding?

renunciation of the devil and exorcism, infant baptism, and whether spirit was given through baptism

What happens during baptism (Justin)

• threefold divine name over the one being baptised

• makes confession of faith

What happens after baptism? (justin)

• brought to the main congregation where prayers are offered

why should you be baptised at passover time (tertullian)

‘for then was accomplished the Lord’s passion, into which we are baptised’