Baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
has been part of Christianity
from the start, as shown by the many mentions in the
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
and the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
.
Background in Jewish ritual
Although the term "baptism" is not today used to describe the Jewish rituals (in contrast to New Testament times, when the Greek word ''baptismos'' did indicate Jewish ablutions or rites of purification), the purification rites (or ''mikvah''—ritual immersion) in
Jewish law
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...
and tradition are similar to baptism, and the two have been linked. In the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
and other Jewish texts, immersion in water for
ritual purification
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may ...
was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. For example,
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s who (according to the
Law of Moses
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
. 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.
New Testament
The
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
includes several references to baptism as an important practice among early Christians and, while giving no actual account of its institution by Jesus, portrays him as giving instructions, after his
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
, for his followers to perform the rite (see
Great Commission
In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain i ...
). It also gives interpretations by the
Apostle Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and in the
First Epistle of Peter
The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from "Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome. T ...
of the significance of baptism.
Baptism of Jesus
![Piero, battesimo di cristo 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Piero%2C_battesimo_di_cristo_04.jpg)
The baptism of Jesus is described in the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
s of
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
,
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
and
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
.
John's gospel
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
does not directly describe
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
' baptism.
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
was a 1st-century mission preacher on the banks of the River Jordan. He baptized Jews for repentance in the River Jordan.
At the start of his ministry,
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Critical scholars broadly agree that the baptism of Jesus is one of the most authentic, or historically likely, events in the life of the
historical Jesus
The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. ...
. Christian baptism has its origin in the baptism of Jesus, in both a direct and historical sense. Many of the earliest followers of Jesus were people who, like him, were baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
Baptism by Jesus
The
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
states that Jesus at an early stage led a mission of baptism that drew crowds. , considered by many scholars to be a later editorial insertion, denies that Jesus himself baptized and states that he did so only through his disciples.
Some prominent scholars conclude that Jesus did not baptize.
Gerd Theissen
Gerd Theißen (or Theissen; born 24 April 1943) is a German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar. He is Professor of New Testament Theology at the University of Heidelberg.
Early life and education
Theissen obtained his doctorate in th ...
and
Annette Merz assert that Jesus did not baptize, detached the notion of repentance from baptism, recognized John's baptism, and put forward a purity ethic in tension with baptism.
The ''Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'' also states that Jesus did not baptize as part of his ministry.
E. P. Sanders
Ed Parish Sanders (April 18, 1937 – November 21, 2022) was an American New Testament scholar and a principal proponent of the "New Perspective on Paul". He was a major scholar in the scholarship on the historical Jesus and contributed to the v ...
omits John's account of Jesus' baptizing mission from his portrait of Jesus as a historical figure.
Robert W. Funk Robert W. Funk (July 18, 1926 – September 3, 2005) was an American biblical scholar, founder of the Jesus Seminar and the nonprofit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. Funk sought to promote research and education on what he called biblica ...
considers the account of Jesus' baptism ministry in John to have internal difficulties: that, for instance, it reports Jesus coming to Judea even though he is already in Jerusalem and thus in Judea. actually speaks of Jesus and his disciples coming, not "εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν" (into Judea), but "εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν γῆν" (into the Judean countryside), which some interpret as contrasted with Jerusalem, the scene of the encounter with Nicodemus described immediately before. According to the Jesus Seminar, the passage about Jesus "coming to Judea" (as they interpret "εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν γῆν") to lead a mission of baptism probably preserves no historical information (a "black" rating).
On the other hand, the Cambridge Companion to Jesus takes a different view. According to this source, Jesus accepted and made his own John the Baptist's message of repentance, forgiveness and baptism; taking over from John, when the latter was imprisoned, he called for repentance and for baptism as a first step in accepting the imminent
Kingdom of God
The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" b ...
; and the central place of baptism in his message is confirmed by the passage in John about Jesus baptizing. After John's execution, Jesus ceased baptizing, through he may have occasionally returned to the practice; accordingly, while baptism played an important part in Jesus' ministry before John's death and again among his followers after his resurrection, it had no such prominence in between.
New Testament scholar
Raymond E. Brown
Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was regarded as a specialist concerning the hypothetical "Johannine community", which he speculated contributed to the au ...
, a specialist in the Johannine writings, considers that the parenthetic editorial remark of that Jesus baptized only through his disciples was intended to clarify or correct the twice repeated statement in the preceding verses that Jesus did baptize, and that the reason for its insertion may have been that the author considered the baptism that the disciples administered to be a continuation of the Baptist's work, not baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Other New Testament scholars also accept the historical value of this passage in John. This is the view expressed by
Joel B. Green
Joel B. Green (born May 7, 1956) is an American New Testament scholar, theologian, author, Associate Dean of the Center for Advanced Theological Study, and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, ...
,
Scot McKnight
Scot McKnight (born November 9, 1953) is an American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, theologian, and author who has written widely on the historical Jesus, early Christianity and Christian living. He is currently Profes ...
,
I. Howard Marshall
Ian Howard Marshall (12 January 1934 – 12 December 2015) was a Scotland, Scottish New Testament scholar. He was Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He was formerly the chair of the Tyndale Fell ...
. Another states that there is "no ''a priori'' reason to reject the report of Jesus and his disciples' conducting a ministry of baptism for a time", and mentions that report as one of the items in John's account "that are likely to be historical and ought to be given due weight".
In his book on the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth,
Daniel S. Dapaah says that John's account "may be a snippet of historical tradition", and comments that the silence of the Synoptic Gospels does not mean that the information in John was invented, and that Mark's account also suggests that Jesus worked with John at first, before moving to Galilee.
Frederick J. Cwiekowski agrees that the account in John "gives the impression" that Jesus baptized.
The
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who said that the JST/IV was intended to restore what ...
says that "though ''he''
hrist
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse ''valkyrja'' "chooser of the fallen") is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's ...
himself baptized not ''so many as'' his disciples; 'For he suffered them for an example, preferring one another.'
The Gospel of John remarks, in , that, though Jesus drew many people to his baptism, they still did not accept his testimony, and the
Jesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 2004) ...
concludes, on the basis of Josephus's accounts, that John the Baptist likely had a larger presence in the public mind than Jesus.
Paul's epistles
In the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
baptism effects and represents the believer's union with Christ, a union by which the believer shares in Christ's death and resurrection; cleanses of sin; incorporates into the
Body of Christ
In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus' words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it may refer to ...
and makes one "drink of the Spirit."
The conception of a sacramental principle, widespread not only in the Greco-Roman world, but even in pre-Columbian America and in preliterate societies, took on a unique significance, and to Paul's influence is attributed an interpretation given to the Christian rite in terms of the
Greco-Roman mysteries
Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy ass ...
but little weight can be attached to the counterparts of baptism in mystery religions as an explanation of the Christian practice.
Gospel of Matthew
; ;
Matthew begins with the "generation" of Jesus as Son of David, followed by the visit of the gentile
Magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
, and the
flight into Egypt
The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...
to escape
Herod, after whose death the
holy family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...
returns into the
land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, then moves to
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, and then includes a detailed version of the preaching of John the Baptist, followed by the baptism of Jesus. John protests to Jesus that he needs to be baptized by Jesus, but Jesus tells him to let it be so now, saying that it is fitting for the two of them ("for us") to thus "fulfill all righteousness." When Jesus is baptized, he goes up immediately out of the water, the heavens open and John sees the Spirit of God descend upon him like a dove, alighting on him, and he hears a voice from heaven say, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Later, at the request of the mother of James and John, who prompted her to present their request to him to declare that they are to sit one at his right hand and the other at his left, Jesus speaks of the "cup" he is to drink, and he tells them that they too will drink of his cup, but in Matthew's gospel Jesus does not ''explicitly'' state that the baptism with which he must be baptized is also the "cup" that he must drink.
The Gospel of Matthew also includes the most famous version of the Great Commission. Here, the resurrected Jesus appears to the apostles and commissions them to make disciples of all nations, to baptize, and teach. This commission reflects the program adopted by the infant Christian movement.
Gospel of Mark
;
This gospel, today generally believed by scholars to be the first and to have been used as a basis for Matthew and Luke, begins with Jesus' baptism by John, who preached a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. John says of Jesus that he will baptize not with water but
with the Holy Spirit. At Jesus' baptism, he hears God's voice proclaiming him to be his Son, and he sees the spirit like a dove descend on him.
During Jesus' ministry, when James and John ask Jesus for seats of honor in the coming kingdom, Jesus likens his fate to the cup that he will drink and to the baptism with which he must be baptized, the very cup and baptism in store for John and James (that is, martyrdom).
;
The
traditional ending of Mark is thought to have been compiled early in the 2nd century, and initially appended to the gospel by the middle of that century.
It says that those who believe ''and'' are baptized will be saved, "but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark's gospel does not ''explicitly'' state that baptized persons who believe will be saved from the "wrath to come," the wrath to which John the Baptist refers in Matthew's gospel, but readers can
infer
Inferences are steps in reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinction that in ...
that being "condemned" includes the "wrath to come".
Gospel of Luke
; ;
This gospel begins with a statement that it contains reliable information obtained directly from the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word. It introduces the conception of John the Baptist, the annunciation of
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
to
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
the
virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
, the birth of the Baptist who will be called the
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
of the Most High, and then the birth of Jesus, in the days of Herod,
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
of Judea, and of
Caesar Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
,
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
of the Roman Empire. There follows the account of Jesus in the Temple among the
teachers
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
; and then the calling and preaching of the prophet John the Baptist in the days of Tiberius Caesar, emperor, of Herod and Philip,
tetrarchs
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. ...
, of Annas and Caiaphas,
high priests; and then by far the ''briefest account'' in the canonical Gospels of the baptism of Jesus.
The baptism of John is ''different'' from the baptism of the one who is to come after him. Jesus declares later that he has ''another'' baptism to be baptized with, and that he is under
constraint (he is straitened) until it is accomplished. (The petition of the mother of James and John, the personal request of James and John, and Jesus' declaration to them that they will be baptized as he will be baptized, and will drink the cup that he will drink, is not in Luke's gospel.)
In the Gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus appears to the disciples and the eleven apostles gathered together with them in Jerusalem and gives them the Great Commission without ''explicitly'' speaking of baptism, but readers can infer that "the forgiveness of sins" here includes "baptism" according to the preaching of the apostles at the time of Luke's gospel.
Gospel of John
The
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
mentions John the Baptist's baptizing activity, in particular his baptism of Jesus,, and his statement that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. It also mentions baptizing activity by Jesus, specifying that the baptizing was not done by Jesus himself but by his disciples.
Some references to water in John's Gospel have been interpreted as referring to baptism, in particular, the phrase "born of water and the Spirit" and the account of blood and water coming out of the side of Jesus when pierced after crucifixion
Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
, written ,
states that about 3,000 people in Jerusalem were baptized in one day on
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
. It further relates baptisms of men and women in
Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...
, of an
Ethiopian eunuch
The Ethiopian eunuch ( gez, ኢትዮጵያዊው ጃንደረባ) is a figure in the New Testament of the Bible; the story of his conversion to Christianity is recounted in Acts 8.
Biblical narrative
Philip the Evangelist was told by an angel ...
, of
Saul of Tarsus
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, of the household of
Cornelius, of
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
's household, of the
Philippi
Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...
jailer's household, of many
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
ians and of certain Corinthians baptized by Paul personally.
In Acts, the prerequisites of baptism are faith and repentance, but in certain cases (like Cornelius' household) the reception of the Spirit also precedes baptism.
Also in Acts, some twelve men who had undergone John's baptism, a "baptism of repentance" that John administered, "telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus", were baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus", whereupon they received the Holy Spirit.
, and speak of baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ" or "in the name of the Lord Jesus", but whether this was a formula that was used has been questioned.
Apostolic Age
There is a scholarly consensus that the earliest Christian baptism was by
immersion
Immersion may refer to:
The arts
* "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard
* ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux
* ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum
* ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...
.
Thomas Schreiner likewise states that "Most scholars agree that immersion was practiced in the NT", identifying submersion as the form of immersion practiced. Heyler says most New Testament scholars generally agree that Christian baptism in the New Testament era was by immersion.
Everett Ferguson
Everett Ferguson (born February 18, 1933) currently serves as Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.[Didache
The ''Didache'' (; ), also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian tr ...]
'' or ''Teaching of the Twelve Apostles'', an anonymous book of 16 short chapters, is probably the earliest known written instructions, outside of the Bible, for administering baptism. The first version of it was written .
The second, with insertions and additions, was written .
This work, rediscovered in the 19th century, provides a unique look at Christianity in the Apostolic Age and is the first explicit reference to baptism by pouring, although the New Testament does not exclude the possibility of this practice." Its instructions on baptism are as follows:
Commentaries typically understand that the Didache indicates a preference for baptizing by immersion.
in "living water" (i.e., running water, seen as symbolic of life).
Furthermore, in cases of insufficient water it permits pouring (
affusion
Affusion ( la. ''affusio'') is a method of baptism where water is poured on the head of the person being baptized. The word "affusion" comes from the Latin ''affusio'', meaning "to pour on". Affusion is one of four methods of baptism used by Chri ...
),
[
] which it differentiates from immersion, using the Greek word ''ekcheō'', ("pour", in the English translation) and not ''baptizō'' ("baptize", in the English translation), while at the same time considering the action done by pouring to be a baptism, giving no hint that this form made the baptism any less valid, and showing that immersion was not the only baptismal practice then acceptable. Barclay observes the Didache shows that baptism in the early church was by total immersion, if possible, Barton describes the immersion of the Didache as "ideally by total immersion", and Welch says it was by "complete immersion".
James V. Brownson notes that the Didache does not specify either immersion or pouring when using running water, and Sinclair B. Ferguson argues that really the only mode that the Didache mentions is affusion. Martin and Davids say the Didache envisages "some form of immersion",
and the ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' refers its readers to its entry on immersion, which it distinguishes from submersion and affusion.
Early Christianity
Theology
The theology of baptism attained precision in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
While instruction was at first given after baptism, believers were given increasingly specific instructions before being baptized, especially in the face of heresies in the 4th century.
By the 4th and 5th centuries, a series of rites spread over several weeks led up to the actual baptism at
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
:
catechumens
Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the r ...
attended several meetings of intensive
catechetical
Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...
instruction, often by the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
himself, and often accompanied by special prayers,
exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
s, and other rites. Catechumens recited the Creed on
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...
to show that they had completed their catechetical instruction. At dawn following the
Paschal Vigil
Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ba ...
starting the night of Holy Saturday, they were taken to the
baptistry
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
where the bishop
consecrated the water with a long prayer recounting the types of baptisms. The catechumens disrobed, were anointed with oil, renounced the devil and his works, confessed their faith in the Trinity, and were immersed in the font. They were then anointed with
chrism
Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in ...
, received the
laying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism ''semikhah'' ( he, סמיכה, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority.
In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...
, clothed in white, and led to join the congregation in the Easter celebration. By then, postponement of baptism had become general, and a large proportion of believers were merely
catechumens (
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
was not baptized until he was dying); but as baptisms of the children of Christians, using an adaptation of the rite intended for adults, became more common than baptisms of adult converts, the number of catechumens decreased.
As baptism was believed to forgive sins, the issue of sins committed after baptism arose. Some insisted that apostasy, even under threat of death, and other grievous sins cut one off forever from the Church. As indicated in the writings of Saint
Cyprian
Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Chri ...
, others favoured readmitting the "
lapsi" easily. The rule that prevailed was that they were readmitted only after undergoing a period of penance that demonstrated sincere repentance.
What is now generally called the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
, longer than the text adopted by the
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325.
This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
of 325, and known also as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed because of its adoption in that form by the
First Council of Constantinople
The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...
in 381, was probably the baptismal creed then in use in Constantinople, the venue of the 381 Council.
Mode of baptism
Scholars "generally agree that the early church baptized by immersion", but sometimes used other forms.
Howard Marshall says that immersion was the general rule, but affusion and even sprinkling were also practised.
His presentation of this view has been described by Porter and Cross as "a compelling argument".
Laurie Guy says immersion was probably the norm, but that at various times and places full immersion, partial immersion and affusion were probably in use.
It is disputed where immersion was necessarily total. Tischler and the ''Encyclopedia of Catholicism'' say that the immersion was total.
The same encyclopedia of Roman Catholicism notes that the preference of the Early Church was total immersion in a stream or the sea or, if these were not available, in a fountain or bath-sized tank, and ''Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity'' says that baptism was normally by immersion, without specifying whether total or partial. The Dictionary of the Bible (2004) says "Archaeological evidence from the early centuries shows that baptism was sometimes administered by submersion or immersion... but also by affusion from a vessel when water was poured on the candidate's head...". In one form of early Christian baptism, the candidate stood in water and water was poured over the upper body.
Baptism of the sick or dying usually used means other than even partial immersion and was still considered valid.
Internet-available illustrations of ancient Christian representations of baptism from as early as the 2nd century include those in CF Rogers, ''Baptism and Christian Archeology'', the chapter "The Didache and the Catacombs" of Philip Schaff's ''The Oldest Church Manual Called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles'', and Wolfrid Cote's ''The Archaeology of Baptism''.
Studies before 1950
In ''The Archaeology of Baptism'' (1876) Wolfrid Cote, quoting
Prudentius
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman citizen, Roman Christianity, Christian poet, born in the Roman Empire, Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He prob ...
, who in his ''
Psychomachia
The ''Psychomachia'' (''Battle of Spirits'' or ''Soul War'') is a poem by the Late Antique Latin poet Prudentius, from the early fifth century AD. It has been considered to be the first and most influential "pure" medieval allegory, the first in ...
'' spoke of the "bathed chests" of the baptized, and the views of two earlier Italian archaeologists, stated that "the primitive mode appears to have been this: The administrator and candidate both standing in the water the former placed his right hand on the head of the candidate, and, pronouncing the baptismal words, gently bowed him forward, till he was completely immersed in the water". He included in his book a woodcut of a fresco in the Catacomb of San Callisto (a photographic reproduction appears in this article), and reported that one archaeologist interpreted it as a youth being baptized by affusion, while for another the youth standing in the water was "immersed in a cloud of water". Cote described this painting as of great antiquity, probably of the 4th or 5th century, while remarking that it is impossible to ascertain the precise age of the pictures in the catacombs of Rome. The other paintings that Cote described are of much later periods, while the mosaic in the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, in Ravenna (erected in the 4th century), which shows John baptizing Jesus by pouring water on his head from a cup, Cote explained as the product of later restoring. The font in this baptistery Cote described as ten feet in diameter and three and a half feet deep. Cote listed 67 still existing Italian baptisteries dating from the 4th to the 14th centuries, all of which he understood to have been used for total immersion. He made no mention of any pre-Constantine evidence.
In 1903 Clement F Rogers published "Baptism and Christian Archaeology". This was a study of the archaeological evidence, both the positive evidence that paintings and carvings on sarcophagi etc. provide about how baptism actually was conferred, and the negative evidence given by the structure of baptismal fonts on how it could not have been conferred. He used literary sources plentifully but merely for illustration. For the first three centuries (i.e. before the time of Constantine) direct archaeological evidence is limited to pictures of baptism in the catacombs of Rome. Rogers concluded that "the direct evidence from archaeology alone may not be conclusive to show that in pre-Constantinian times baptism by affusion only was practiced generally or indeed in any one single case; but it does show that there was nothing repugnant in it to the general mind, that no stress was laid on total immersion, that the most important moments were held to be those when water was poured over the catchumen, and when the minister laid his hand on his head. This, taken in connexion with the known customs of later ages, make it more than probable that the usual method of administration was by affusion only." Taking into account the positive archaeological evidence of post-Constantinian times, Roger concludes: "All the evidence of archaeology goes to prove that the essential part of baptism was considered in the early Church to be the pouring of water over the candidate's head by the bishop, or the guiding his head under a descending stream, followed by the laying on of hands"; he adds: "There remains the question, whether this was preceded by a self-immersion". To answer this question, he examines the negative evidence of ancient baptismal fonts, especially those found in archaeological sites, providing on pp. 347–49 a Synoptic Table of Fonts, with date, shape, diameter and depth, showing that some of them could not have been intended for full immersion.
In his "Churches Separated from Rome" (1907),
Louis Duchesne
Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions.
Life
Descended from a family of Breton sailors, ...
responded to accusations by Eastern Orthodox that the Roman Catholic was corrupted because of "the Filioque, baptism by affusion, unleavened bread, &c.", by pointing to the absence of any ancient representation of baptism that showed the neophyte actually being immersed totally.
Studies in the second half of the 20th century
Alois Stenzel's 1958 study of baptism with a focus on liturgy argued that both immersion and affusion were practised by the early Church, since some baptismal pools which have been uncovered were too shallow for baptism and pictorial evidence favoured affusion.
"Baptism in the Early Church" by George Rice (1981), in "
Bible and Spade
Bryant G. Wood (born 1936) is an American biblical archaeologist and young earth creationist. Wood is known for arguing that the destruction of Jericho could be accorded with the biblical literalist chronology of c. 1400 BC. This date is some 1 ...
", cited Cote with favour and claimed that archaeology "overwhelmingly testifies to immersion as the normal mode of baptism in the Christian church during the first ten to fourteen centuries". Rice cites in particular imagery in the
Catacomb of San Ponziano and a crypt in the catacomb of Santa Lucina, as well as a 9th- or 10th-century fresco in the basilica of San Clemente he also states that "pictures of Jesus standing in water while John ''pours'' water over His head are of a much later date than those depicting immersion and they demonstrate the change in the mode of baptism that came into the church". He mentions a 4th-century baptistery sufficiently large for immersion, Rice says that archaeological evidence demonstrates some early baptismal fonts large enough for adult immersion were later made smaller or replaced, to accommodate affusion baptism of infants, leading to mistakes in the dating of art works by 20th-century studies.
In his contribution to the 1986 11th International Archaeology Congress on "What do the texts teach us on the equipment and furnishings needed for baptism in southern Gaul and northern Italy?" Jean-Charles Picard concluded that the texts speak only of immersion and that the area has no archaeological images of baptism by pouring water on the head.
[; as reported in .]
In 1987, on the basis of archaeology and parallels with Jewish practice,
Sanford La Sor considered it likely that total immersion was also Christian practice.
In the same year, Lothar Heiser, in his study of baptism in the Orthodox Church, concluded on the basis of the literary and pictorial evidence in that field that "the water customarily reached the hips of the baptizand; after calling on the triune God, the priest bent the baptizand under so as to dip him in water over the head; in the cases of pouring in the Didache and in sickbed baptism the baptized did not stand in the font"; but acknowledges that in present Greek practice the priest places the infant being baptized as far down in the water as possible and scoops water over the head so as to cover the child fully with water.
In 1995, Renate Pillinger concluded from the evidence provided by images and buildings and by some literary sources that it was usual for the baptizand to stand in water no more than hip-deep and for the baptizer to pour water over him.
With regard to the shallow baptismal fonts that archaeologists had discovered, Malka Ben Pechat expressed in 1999 the view that full immersion was possible even in small fonts with a mere 60 centimetres (2 feet) of water, while the fonts that were even shallower were intended for the baptism of infants.
21st-century studies
In the close of his comprehensive 2009 study, ''Baptism in the Early Church'', Everett Ferguson devoted four pages (457–60) to summarizing his position on the mode of baptism, expressed also in his ''The Church of Christ'' of 1996, that the normal early-Christian mode of baptism was by full immersion.
He observed that "those who approach the study of baptism from the standpoint of archaeology tend to find greater probability that affusion, or perfusion was a normal practice; those who come from the literary evidence see a greater likelihood of immersion, or submersion, being the normal practice"; but he intended his own comprehensive survey to give coherence to the evidence (p. 857). Ferguson dismissed Rogers' 1903 study as dated with regard to both the depictions of baptism and his survey of the baptismal fonts.
Like Rice, whom he did not mention, Ferguson said that the size of the baptismal fonts was progressively reduced in connection with the prevalence of infant baptism, although there are a few cases where larger fonts are later than the smaller ones. Ferguson also stated: "The predominant number of baptismal fonts permitted immersion, and many were so large as to defy any reason for their existence other than immersion".
Robin Jensen writes: "Historians have sometimes assumed that baptism was usually accomplished by full immersion – or submersion – of the body (dunking). However, the archaeological and iconographic evidence is ambiguous on this point. Many – if not most – surviving baptismal fonts are too shallow to have allowed submersion. In addition, a significant number of depictions show baptismal water being poured over the candidate's head (affusion), either from a waterfall, an orb or some kind of liturgical vessel." ''Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible'' also casts doubt on "the usual assumption that all NT baptisms were by immersion", stating that some early baptisteries were deep enough to stand in but not broad enough to lie down in, and mentioning that ancient representation of Christ at his baptism show him standing in waist-deep water. The immersion used by early Christians in baptizing "need not have meant full submersion in the water" and, while it may have been normal practice, it was not seen as a necessary mode of baptism, so that other modes also may have been used. Submersion, as opposed to partial immersion, may even have been a minority practice in early Christianity.
See also
Related articles and subjects
*
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In Christian theology, baptism of desire ( la, baptismus flaminis, lit=baptism of the breath), also called baptism by desire, is a doctrine according to which a person is able to attain the grace of justification through faith, perfect contritio ...
*
Chrismation
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Christifideles
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Conditional baptism
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Consolamentum
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History of baptism
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Jesus' Name doctrine
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Masbuta
Maṣbuta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡑࡁࡅࡕࡀ) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaeism, Mandaean religion.
Overview
Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as a Ritual purification, ritual of purificati ...
*
Prevenient Grace
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Sacrament
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Theophany
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People and ritual objects
*
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism.
Aspersion and affusion fonts
The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...
*
Chrism
Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in ...
*
Holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
*
Holy water in Eastern Christianity
Among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern-Rite Catholic Christians, holy water is blessed in the church and given to the faithful to drink at home when needed and to bless their homes. In the weeks following the Feast of Epiphany, clergy visit the h ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
*{{cite EB1911, first=Frederick Cornwallis , last=Conybeare , wstitle=Baptism , volume=3, pages=364–369, short=x
WELS Topical Q&A: Why sprinkling or washing?(A
Confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the ''Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulne ...
perspective)
"Baptism."Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
"Water Baptism"Dispensationally Considered
Ancient texts on Baptismin Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database.
Baptism
Early Christianity