baptism

(băp'tĭz'əm)

1. A religious sacrament marked by the symbolic application of water to the head or immersion of the body into water and resulting in admission of the recipient into the community of Christians.
2. A ceremony, trial, or experience by which one is initiated, purified, or given a name.

[Middle English baptisme, from Old French, from Late Latin baptismus, from Greek baptismos, from baptizein, to baptize. See baptize.]

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Baptism is the rite which admits a candidate into the Christian Church, and is considered a sacrament by most denominations. The paradigmatic baptism is that of Jesus himself. As recounted in the Gospels, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan; after Jesus emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon him, in the form of a dove, and the voice of God spoke from heaven, declaring Jesus to be ‘my well-beloved son’. Hence the constituent elements of the baptismal rite are water and a Trinitarian formula: candidates are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to Matthew's gospel, Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize thus in his post-resurrection appearance to them in Galilee.

The origins of Christian baptism are probably found in the initiation rites of Jewish proselytes and, possibly, those of the mystery religions. Various baptismal rites were developed in the early Church, all designed to bring some or all of the body into contact with the baptismal waters. They generally involved immersion. This usually meant standing in water and having water poured on one's head and upper body. Such rites might involve triple immersion (in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as outlined in the late-first-century practical teaching document, The Didache, in which Christians were instructed to baptize the candidate three times in running water or by pouring water over the head three times. The Apostolic Tradition, describing rites and practices in third-century Rome, stated that the baptismal candidates should remove their clothes and enter the waters of the baptistry, where they would be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Having been anointed with chrism (see below), they would put their clothes back on and enter the church to participate in the Eucharist for the first time.

Baptism was quickly seen as necessary for salvation and as the initial moment of redemption; many passages in Acts teach that baptism must be preceded by faith and the confession and renunciation of sins. Paul developed a theology of baptism in which believers, being baptized, come to union with Christ, share in His death and resurrection, are cleansed of their sins, and incorporated into the body of Christ. The believer's sins are metaphorically washed away in the rite. The water is the visible sign of God's grace.

Preparation for baptism in the early Church was serious and lengthy — it could take up to three years. Many public officials in the early Church, and in early Christendom especially, postponed baptism until the end of their lives, knowing that they would be ‘sullied’ by the activities of their public life. Early creeds developed as simple formulae of Christian belief to be used in the baptismal rite. In the first two centuries, bishops, priests, and deacons (all of whom could be women or men) conferred baptism, but gradually, as the bishop's role was expanded, and women were squeezed out of all of these ministerial positions, it came to be the bishop who baptized. In cases of necessity, baptism could be conferred by anyone — and thus, right through the Middle Ages and into the modern period, it was often the midwife who performed the baptismal rite when a newly-born baby's life was in danger. Easter and Pentecost were the traditional times for baptism, though some churches began to hold baptisms on other feasts, such as Epiphany or Christmas. Baptismal candidates have traditionally had sponsors or godparents to support them in the faith (who, in the case of infants, would accept Christ as the infant's saviour on his or her behalf).

Chrism — holy oil which is a mixture of olive oil and balsam, and consecrated by a bishop — is used in baptismal rites in Eastern Orthodox. Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches. It was used in early baptismal rites. Tradition has it that it is placed on the baptismal candidate's forehead, hands, and feet, to seal the points at which the devil might enter, but there are also understandings of chrism representing — by the richness of the oil and the sweetness of the balsam — the fullness of sacramental grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as the sweetness of Christian virtue. John Chrysostom, in the fourth century, wrote of baptismal candidates being anointed with oil from the top of the hairs of the head down to the feet and thereby becoming sharers in the true olive tree, Jesus Christ, and being healed of every trace of sin. An old Roman Catholic baptismal rite involved the offering of blessed salt to the baptismal candidate; this was probably based on the pagan Roman custom of placing a few grains of salt on the lips of an infant, eight days after its birth, to chase away the demons. Salt, because of its preservative quality, represented purity and incorruptibility.

The early Church seems to have baptized both infants and adults (though there is debate amongst historians about this). Gradually, infant baptism came to be the norm in Christendom, especially as a doctrine of original sin developed. Thus baptism became one of the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic church. At the Reformation, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin all retained infant baptism, though they interpreted the theology of it differently from the Roman Catholic Church. The Anabaptists rejected infant baptism, advocating believers' baptism, a response of faith by the individual to the gospel.

Today, some Christians — notably Baptists and many Eastern Orthodox — practise full immersion, that is the dipping of the whole body, including the face, into the water. In most Western churches, water is poured or splashed onto the head three times.

— Jane Shaw

Definition: rite
Antonyms: farewell, last act, last rites

Baptism is a sacrament ("sacred secret") common to all Christian traditions. Practiced by religious traditions worldwide, it became associated with the early Christian movement following the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth by John, called the Baptist or the Baptizer. Jesus would later issue a Great Commission to his church:

Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

Two forms of baptism are in use today. Some Christians practice "believer's baptism." Adults are baptized, usually immersed fully in water, upon their confession of faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. This affirmation declares they have become "born again."

Others practice infant baptism. Babies are baptized by sprinkling drops of water on their foreheads. Parents or godparents make baptism vows, awaiting the child's coming of age when the child personally confirms those vows and makes his or her "confirmation." After a period of study, usually in a series of classes, a public service is held where the child is received into church membership and, if not allowed already according to the dictates of the denomination, receives or "makes" his or her first communion.

A few traditions view baptism as the mark of salvation. They believe that with few exceptions, only those baptized will receive entrance into heaven. But most Christian traditions believe baptism to be an outward sign of an inward reality. Those baptized have been "cleansed of sin" by God, "washed clean" by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

(See also Anabaptists; Baptist; Sacrament)

Sources: Douglas, J. D., ed. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1974.

A Christian Greek word derived from a verb whose basic meaning is "to dip, to immerse, to wash". It is a NT institution though in Christian tradition typified in the OT by the crossing of the Red Sea (I Cor 10:1-2) and the flood of Noah (I Pet 3:20-21). Proselyte baptism of converts to Judaism may also have served as a historical antecedent. In Christian faith baptism has two aspects: an external washing or pouring with water and words in the name of Jesus, and an internal cleansing from sin (forgiveness of sins) and pouring in of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Being the commencement of Christian life, it is unrepeatable. Although the baptism into repentance given by John the Baptist was regarded as inadequate in the NT (Matt 3:11), the appearance of the Holy Spirit unto Jesus at his baptism by John in the Jordan (Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22) is taken as the model of Christian baptism which imparts the Spirit. In addition the baptism of Jesus was understood as his messianic anointing (Acts 10:38).

Paul presents a deeper theology of baptism (Rom 6:1-9; I Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27) as a sacramental dying and rising with Christ unto newness of life, a participation in his suffering and glory, and incorporation into his body, the church. Matthew 28:19 speaks of baptism in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the formula which has remained standard for this rite ever since. The baptized should find a new unity as summarized in Ephesians 4:5: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Baptism commits the believer to a new way of life, the pledge to God of an irreproachable conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Pet 3:21). An additional aspect of baptism is a leave taking from the denial of God by a corrupt world, as the flood did for Noah and his family (I Pet 3:20-21).

Also called christening, this is for most denominations an essential act; many theologians taught that infants dying unbaptized could never enter Heaven—a doctrine reflected in the unwillingness to give them proper burial. In popular belief it was also assumed that unbaptized babies were in danger from demons, witches,and fairies. At the same time, christening was (and is) a ceremony asserting the baby's membership of a family and social group; the choice of godparents, for instance, often has more to do with social bonding than religious upbringing. Name-giving, accompanied by presents and celebration, ratifies the child's status; the need for such a ritual is so strongly felt that some now wish to devise an official but non-religious ceremony as its civic equivalent.

An interesting custom in working-class areas of Newcastle and Durham was for parents taking a baby to baptism to have with them a paper bag containing a cheese sandwich and a slice of cake, and a silver coin, and sometimes a candle and salt; this had to be given to the first person of the sex opposite to the baby's whom the christening party saw on their way to church, or at the church gate after the ceremony. This was still being done in the 1970s (FLS News 11 (1990), 4-7; 12 (1991), 10-13).

In folk tradition, various taboos and beliefs surrounded baptism. The chosen name must not be used in advance, nor should the baby go out of the house until taken to the church for the ceremony, for it was in danger itself and a possible source of bad luck to others; if the mother's churching had not yet taken place, she could not attend the christening. The baby should cry when sprinkled with the baptismal water, to show the Devil has been driven out; some said a silent baby would not live long. If several were to be baptized at once, boys must precede girls; in northern counties, it was said that if this rule was broken the boy would never grow a beard, but the girl would (Henderson, 1866: 9). It was widely held that fretful or sickly babies, especially those suffering from fits, would improve in health once baptized.

See also NAMES, UNBAPTIZED BABIES.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Radford, Radford, and Hole, 1961: 27-30, 172
• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 72-4

n.

A sacred rite of such efficacy that he who finds himself in heaven without having undergone it will be unhappy forever. It is performed with water in two ways -- by immersion, or plunging, and by aspersion, or sprinkling.

    But whether the plan of immersion
    Is better than simple aspersion
        Let those immersed
        And those aspersed
    Decide by the Authorized Version,
    And by matching their agues tertian.
                                                                  G.J.

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To be baptized in a dream may signal that the dreamer is undergoing spiritual renewal in waking life. Perhaps the dreamer has been going through great change and upheaval and has come through it a new person.

• Family Affairs - baptism: Christian sacrament of naming and admission to Christian community
• Infancy - baptism: Christian sacrament involving ritual use of water and naming of child, who is thus received into faith; christening
• Celebrations, Observances, Rites, and Gatherings - baptism: sacrament of admission into Christian church, enacted by sprinkling of water on child
• Practice and Doctrine - baptism: Christian sacrament of admission into church shortly after birth; immersion in water to symbolize such admission

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - baptisme

idioms:

• baptism of fire    smertefuld førstegangsoplevelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
doop

Français (French)
n. - baptême

idioms:

• baptism of fire    baptême du feu

Deutsch (German)
n. - Taufe

idioms:

• baptism of fire    Feuertaufe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάπτισμα, βάφτιση

idioms:

• baptism of fire    βάπτισμα του πυρός

Italiano (Italian)
battesimo

idioms:

• baptism of fire    battesimo del fuoco

Português (Portuguese)
n. - batismo (m)

idioms:

• baptism of fire    batismo de fogo

Русский (Russian)
крещение, суровое испытание

idioms:

• baptism of fire    боевое крещение

Español (Spanish)
n. - bautismo, bautizo

idioms:

• baptism of fire    bautismo de fuego, primer combate, nueva y dolorosa experiencia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dop, döpelse, baptism

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
浸洗, 严峻考验, 洗礼

idioms:

• baptism of fire    严峻的考验, 炮火的洗礼

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 浸洗, 嚴峻考驗, 洗禮

idioms:

• baptism of fire    嚴峻的考驗, 炮火的洗禮

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 세례

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 洗礼, 最初の試練

idioms:

• baptism of fire    霊的洗礼, 砲火の洗礼

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عماد, تنصير ( عند المسيحيين)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טבילה, הטבלה, בפטיזם (אסכולה בנצרות)‬

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