Baptism (from the Greek noun βάπτισμα "baptisma") is a Christian rite of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into Christianity. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely. The synoptic gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus. Baptism is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. Baptism according to the Trinitiarian formula, which is done in most mainstream Christian denominations, is seen as being a basis for Christian ecumenism, the concept of unity amongst Christians. Baptism is also called christening, although some reserve the word "christening" for the baptism of infants.
Introduction
Baptism
Baptism | Introduction
It is a Christian rite of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into Christianity It is a Christian rite of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into Christianity. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. It is Christian rite of admission and adoption.
who was the leader of the soviet union when sputnik was launched
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Nikita Khrushchev
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when was this satellite launched?
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4 October 1957
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which place was it launched from?
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Site No.1/5, at the 5th Tyuratam range, in Kazakh SSR
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which was the organization behind this launch?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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where was the leader mentioned above born?
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Kalinovka village in what is now Russia's Kursk Oblast
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was he against any religion?
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Yes. He was anti-religious
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in what way did he push this belief forward?
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He banned all services held outside of church walls, renewed enforcement of the 1929 legislation banning pilgrimages, and recorded the personal identities of all adults requesting church baptisms, weddings, or funerals
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of the three practices finally mentioned, elaborate on the first one.
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Feeney held to a strict reading of John 3:5, that being "born again" of water baptism is necessary for salvation. Also, Feeney's position was that the love and providence of God would not permit a soul to die in such a state. He held with Catholic tradition that the Apostles literally followed Christ's commands to preach to all nations, and he pointed to archaeological evidence that he said suggests the presence of Christians in the Americas in the first millennium, a view not supported by the archeological profession. He argued, and gave examples from his own ministry to support it, that any non believer who was sincerely interested in Catholicism would be provided with a priest when the moment of death came.
Baptism of desire | Related theological views
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".
Baptism in early Christianity | Studies before 1950
John Stokesley argued for all seven, while Thomas Cranmer only acknowledged baptism and the Eucharist. The others divided along party lines. The conservatives were at a disadvantage because they found it necessary to appeal to sacred tradition, which violated Cromwell's instructions that all arguments refer to scripture. In the end, the missing sacraments were restored but placed in a separate section to emphasize "a difference in dignity and necessity." Only baptism, the Eucharist and penance were "instituted of Christ, to be as certain instruments or remedies necessary for our salvation". Confirmation was declared to have been introduced by the early Church in imitation of what they had read about the practice of the Apostles.
Thirty-nine Articles | "Bishops' Book" (1537)
He did believe that it was ordinarily necessary and to refuse baptism would be a rejection of God's grace. In agreement with Reformed theology, however, Cranmer believed that salvation was determined by God's unconditional election, which was predestined. If an infant was one of the elect, dying unbaptised would not affect the child's salvation. To Cranmer, baptism and the Eucharist were the only dominical sacraments (sacraments instituted by Christ himself) and of equal importance. The prayer book made public baptism the norm, so a congregation could observe and be reminded of their own baptism. In cases of emergency, a private baptism could be performed at home.
Book of Common Prayer (1549) | Baptism
Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. Though some form of immersion was likely the most common method of baptism in the early church, many of the writings from the ancient church appeared to view this mode of baptism as inconsequential. The Didache 7.1–3 (AD 60–150) allowed for affusion practices in situations where immersion was not practical. Likewise, Tertullian (AD 196–212) allowed for varying approaches to baptism even if those practices did not conform to biblical or traditional mandates (cf. De corona militis 3; De baptismo 17). Finally, Cyprian (ca. AD 256) explicitly stated that the amount of water was inconsequential and defended immersion, affusion, and aspersion practices (Epistle 75.12).
Baptism | History
For the first 300 years of the church, the common requirement for baptism was a profession of faith following a conversion to Christianity. Advocates of believers' baptism argue that this implies infants would not be baptized since they could not profess faith for themselves. Beginning with Augustine, the Catholic Church solidified the practice of infant baptism and there is little mention of competing practices until the 1500s. Augustine held the view that baptism was a requirement for the washing away of sins. He was faced with the issue of whether an unconscious or unwilling individual on their deathbed should be baptized; he felt it was better to err on the side of caution and baptize such a person.
Believer's baptism | Reform
His followers interpret the Catholic Church's declarations that outside of the Church there is no salvation as excluding from salvation people such as the American Indians who lived between the times of Christ and Columbus, because they could not have been baptized (unless some Christian missionaries did manage to reach and baptize them in the Catholic faith).
Feeneyism | Salvation and baptism
In additional criticisms against the Church Menocchio declared that he rejected all the sacraments, including baptism, as human inventions, and mere "merchandise," instruments of exploitation and oppression in the hands of the clergy. He stated "I believe that the law and commandments of the Church are all a matter of business, and they make their living from this." Regarding baptism he states "I believe that as soon as we are born we are baptized, because God who has blessed all things, has baptized us; but this other baptism is an invention, and priests begin to consume souls even before they are born and continue to devour them even after their death." Regarding confirmation he stated "I believe it is a business, an invention of men, all of whom have the Holy Spirit; they seek to know and they know nothing." Regarding marriage he stated "God did not establish it, men did.
Menocchio | Views on rites
The Apostolic Tradition, sometimes attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (died 235), describes how to perform the ceremony of baptism; it states that children were baptised first, and if any of them could not answer for themselves, their parents or someone else from their family was to answer for them. From at least the 3rd century onward Christians baptised infants as standard practice, although some preferred to postpone baptism until late in life, so as to ensure forgiveness for all their preceding sins.
Infant baptism | Antiquity
In the Middle Ages, the church taught that children were born with original sin and that only baptism could remove it. Baptism was, therefore, essential to salvation. It was feared that children who died without baptism faced eternal damnation or limbo. A priest would perform an infant baptism soon after birth on any day of the week, but in cases of emergency, a midwife could baptise a child at birth. The traditional baptism service was long and repetitive. It was also spoken in Latin. The priest only spoke English when exhorting the godparents. Cranmer did not believe that baptism was absolutely necessary for salvation.
Book of Common Prayer (1549) | Baptism
McGary's view became the prevailing one in the early 20th century, but the approach advocated by Lipscomb never totally disappeared. As such, the general practice among churches of Christ is to require rebaptism by immersion of converts, even those who were previously baptized by immersion in other churches. More recently, the rise of the International Churches of Christ has caused some to reexamine the issue.
Baptism | Churches of Christ
Strang strongly believed in the sanctity of the seventh-day Sabbath, and he enjoined it in lieu of Sunday; the Strangite church continues to observe this tradition. He advocated baptism for the dead, and practiced it to a limited extent in Voree as well as on Beaver Island. He also introduced animal sacrifice–not as atonement for sin, but as a part of Strangite celebration rituals. Animal sacrifices and baptisms for the dead are not currently practiced by the Strangite organization, but belief in each is still required by it. Strang attempted to construct a temple in Voree, but he was prevented from completing its construction due to the poverty and lack of cooperation which existed among his followers.
James Strang | Practices
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.
Baptism in early Christianity | 21st-century studies
Anabaptists denied the validity of infant baptism, which was the normal practice when their movement started and practiced believer's baptism instead. Several groups related to Anabaptism, notably the Baptists and Dunkards, soon practiced baptism by immersion as following the Biblical example.
History of baptism | Introduction
Baptism by immersion as performed by one of the church's workers is required for full participation. Some in the church claim it is a direct continuation of the 1st-century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration of some sort may have occurred in the late 19th century.
Two by Twos | Introduction
Baptism was not considered the end of spiritual endeavour but the reaching of maturity through the laying on of the apostles hands (known as "sealing"), after acceptance to full communion and the renewal of baptismal vows, was considered necessary to the full development of every person whether woman or man, lay or clergy. Classes were held for younger people and new members, a catechism was written, and regular contacts with the ministers having the care of the family or person was instituted and encouraged. Infant baptism was practised on the grounds that it was the only gate to eternal life, and it seemed wrong to deny this to anyone.
Catholic Apostolic Church | Spiritual development
The church's beliefs were largely consistent with the Holiness movement; however, there were distinct doctrinal positions. Irwin taught of a third blessing that came after salvation and entire sanctification called the "baptism of fire." While speaking in tongues was not unheard of among the Fire-Baptized Holiness, it was not understood as the initial evidence of Spirit baptism. This idea was formulated by Charles Parham and only began to influence the Fire-Baptized Church as news of the Azusa Street Revival spread after 1906. By 1900, Irwin also taught there were additional "baptisms of fire" he called baptisms of "dynamite", "lyddite", and "oxidite".
Fire-Baptized Holiness Church | Theological distinctives
Spilsbury's presentation of believer's baptism by immersion of necessity engaged covenantal theology. He approved covenant theology and built his doctrine of the church on the "infallible certainty" of the eternal covenant of grace; he argued, however, that the spirituality of the New Covenant in Christ eliminated the possibility of an infant's participation in it. The issue of the salvation of infants dying in infancy he treated as an area of mystery. He argued that one's answer to that question does not affect the revealed qualifications for those who may legitimately receive New Covenant ordinances. Though the visible perpetuity of the Old Covenant included the circumcision of male infants, the exclusion of infants from the sign of the new does not mean that the new is less encouraging in its privileges than the old.
John Spilsbury (Baptist minister) | Believer's baptism
It was during his period at Whittington he wrote the bulk of his published works and founded the first public library in Oswestry. In 1863–1868 he brought out a "Commentary on the Four Gospels" and he also wrote a manual for the Holy Communion. Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge during the 1890s under the title "Holy Communion, Preparation and Companion...together with the Collects, Epistles and Gospels" this book was widely distributed and many copies still survive today. In the movement for infusing new spiritual life into the church services, especially among the poor, How was a great force.
Walsham How | Writings
The Catholic Encyclopedia notes: "As the acceptance of Christianity involved belief in a body of doctrine and the observance of the Divine law ("teach, make disciples, scholars of them"; "teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you", Matthew 28:20 [see Great Commission]), it is clear that some sort of preliminary instruction must have been given to the converts." See also Council of Jerusalem. Justin Martyr, in his "First Apology", cites instruction as occurring prior to baptism: The "persuasion" would be carried out by the preaching of an evangelist; but since belief must precede baptism, the person concerned should be prepared spiritually to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through baptism.
Catechesis | Historic Christian practice
As a result, there was no uniform or consistent mode of baptism in the ancient church prior to the fourth century. By the third and fourth centuries, baptism involved catechetical instruction as well as chrismation, exorcisms, laying on of hands, and recitation of a creed.
Baptism | History
The majority appear to have taught and practiced baptism by pouring, while a minority practiced baptism by immersion. The writings of Menno Simons seem at times to promote immersion as the proper mode, but his practice was by pouring. Bernhard Rothmann argued for immersion in his "Bekentnisse", and Pilgram Marpeck copied this idea into his "Vermanung", but weakened the position by accepting pouring or sprinkling as an alternate mode. The mode of baptism was debated by the Hutterites and the Polish Brethren around the turn of the 17th century, and the arguments for immersion by Polish leader Christoph Ostorodt were incorporated into the "Racovian Confession of Faith" in 1604.
Theology of Anabaptism | Baptism
This "chemical jargon" never took root within the church and was abandoned by Irwin's successors. Other doctrines held by Irwin were also rejected after his departure. He, like other holiness Christians, was against women wearing "needless ornamentation". However, he also applied this prohibition to men, claiming that the wearing of neckties was sinful. He also said it was a sin to eat anything forbidden by the dietary laws of the Old Testament. As a result, the church was sometimes called "the no ties, no hog-meat people."
Fire-Baptized Holiness Church | Theological distinctives
He opposes it not on doctrinal grounds but practical ones, suggesting that baptism be postponed until after marriage so that one can be cleansed of the fornication one commits before marriage in baptism. Tertullian later in life became a Montanist and the strict views on post-baptismal sin which that sect took affected some of his writing.
Believer's baptism | Instructions
Catherine established rituals such as baptism of infants, blessing of couples and communion of young people. They simply consist of an "elevation of thought" that take place after the services in a consulting room of the temple. These rituals have no particular meaning in the religion and are not considered sacraments; they are performed only at the request of followers, including young people, who want to provide a religious dimension to the important moments of their lives. Funerals are also performed at the request of the concerned person, unless the family asks for rituals of another religion. The procession always takes place at the cemetery or the funeral home, and the deceased person is never brought to the temple.
Antoinism | Marriage, communion, baptism and funeral
His parish work must have been disrupted and it was during these years that he first made his mark as a controversialist. His published writings all focussed on the issue of infant baptism. In "The Birth Priviledge, or, Covenant-Holinesse of Beleevers" (1644) he defended the universal right to baptism against strict Calvinist exclusiveness, so long as the child's parents expressed visible penitence. Over the next two years he also published critiques of works by both Baptists and Presbyterians that upheld believer's baptism, including "Two Treatises" by John Tombes.
Thomas Blake (minister) | First steps in controversy
Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (masbuta) as a ritual of purification, not of initiation. They are possibly the earliest people to practice baptism. Mandaeans undergo baptism on Sundays ("Habshaba"), wearing a white sacral robe (Rasta) and consists of a triple full immersion in water, a triple "signing" of the forehead with water and a triple drinking of water. The priest (Rabbi) then removes a ring made of myrtle worn by the baptized and places it on his/her forehead. This is then followed by a handshake (kushta-"hand of truth") with the priest. Living water is a requirement for baptism, therefore can only take place in rivers.
Baptism | Mandaean baptism
Unlike many of the 16th-century Anabaptists, Rothmann held immersion to be the proper mode of baptism. According to historian Darren T. Williamson, "He based his position primarily on three arguments: first, he argued along grammatical lines, not Greek grammar but Dutch/German. He contended that the meaning of the Dutch translation of baptism must be taken literally. Fortunately, the Dutch words "doepen" and "dumpelen" meant literally to immerse or 'dunk in water'. It is important to note that although Rothmann was technically correct on this point of grammar, it was also as commonly understood that there was a long standing theological exception as practiced by the church, namely sprinkling.
Bernhard Rothmann | Baptism
In the time when Archibald Campbell Tait was Archbishop of Canterbury (1868–1882), the eastward position, introduced by the Oxford Movement, was the object of violent controversy, leading to its outlawing by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874. In their pastoral letter of 1 March 1875, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England lamented "the growing tendency to associate doctrinal significance with rites and ceremonies which do not necessarily involve it. For example, the position to be occupied by the minister during the prayer of consecration in the Holy Communion' [...] We, the clergy, are bound by every consideration to obey the law when thus clearly interpreted [...]".
Ad orientem | Anglican Christianity
John the Baptist, who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. The earliest Christian baptisms were probably normally by immersion, though other modes, such as pouring, were used. By the third and fourth centuries, baptism involved catechetical instruction as well as chrismation, exorcisms, laying on of hands, and recitation of a creed. In the West, Affusion became the normal mode of baptism between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, though immersion was still practiced into the sixteenth. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther retained baptism as a sacrament, but Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli considered baptism and the Lord's supper to be symbolic.
History of baptism | Introduction
Instead, he taught that water baptism is a human act of obedience. His views have been called "neo-Zwinglian" for this reason, and he himself identified Zwingli's views on sacraments as the believer's oath as his own. He continued to accept the validity of infant baptisms, and did not believe those baptized as infants should be rebaptized.
Reformed baptismal theology | Modern
He died on 17 January 1976. Southcott was notable for his height- six feet six inches- and his conducting of services in parishioners' houses, celebrating communion at family dinner tables. On this subject, Southcott pronounced: 'We don't go to church; we are the Church.' Nevertheless, his own services were so popular that the church was full half an hour before proceedings began. It took him 5 years to convince St. Wilfrid's parishioners that the baptismal font ought to be in the center of the church. For Southcott, baptism was a public occasion, at which the child is received into the church, and at which the entire congregation is present, to accept responsibility for the child and his future.
Ernest Southcott | Introduction
In 895, the provincial Council of Tribur commented on the traditional teaching 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. 313–86) and Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – after 394).
History of baptism | Middle Ages
In the early 16th century, the Anabaptist movement began demanding that baptismal candidates be able to make a confession of faith that is freely chosen, thus rejecting the baptism of infants. This and other doctrinal differences led both Catholics and Protestants to persecute the Anabaptists, executing them by fire, sword, or drowning. Anabaptist groups spread across Europe and later to Russia and the Americas. In 1641, the Baptist movements began adopting immersion. Some of them may have insisted on credobaptism by affusion a few decades earlier. The book "Martyrs Mirror" documents the history of credobaptists through 1660. Another argument posed by some advocates of believer's baptism focuses on the fact that most churches that practice infant baptism were heavily intertwined with the state in medieval and Reformation-era Europe.
Believer's baptism | Reform
In "The Archaeology of Baptism" (1876) Wolfrid Cote, quoting Prudentius, who in his "Psychomachia" 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".
Baptism in early Christianity | Studies before 1950
His services were highly emotional with participants often getting the "jerks", shouting, speaking in tongues, and holy dancing and laughing. Thousands attended his meetings and his teaching was circulated widely within the holiness movement, with its greatest strength in the Midwest and South. His message was largely rejected, however, and was denounced as a "third blessing heresy". Because of opposition Irwin formed his own organization in 1895 called the Iowa Fire-Baptized Holiness Association at Olmitz, Iowa. As he traveled throughout the nation, he established associations to promote his message. By the time these associations were organized into one denomination in 1898, there were churches in eight American states and two Canadian provinces.
Fire-Baptized Holiness Church | History
Catholics traditionally believe that sacramental baptism ("baptism of water") is the only way to be properly baptized. In addition, "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." The belief in water baptism and the doctrinal position that those who are outside the Catholic Church are not saved can be found in the writings of the early fathers and the rulings of ecumenical councils.
Feeneyism | Salvation and baptism
God had endowed him with a rare combination of graces ... what we hoped would come of it ... strong and tender and true, he lived for others and died for others." On 30 May 1915, a memorial service was held at St Giles' Church in Oxford. Reverend William Temple addressed the congregation, saying: "Many of us believed that with his ready sympathy, his utter freedom from selfishness, and his courage to follow what he saw to be right, he would grasp the causes of our labour unrest and class friction, and by removing them from the great industry in whose control a large part was to be his, set an example which would prove a great force in our social regeneration ...
Ronald Poulton | "In memoriam"
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.
Baptism in early Christianity | Studies before 1950
The evening services at the church became so well attended that the only suitable place to assemble was outdoors. At one of these evening gatherings, some of the new converts gave testimony, and Bain preached two sermons. The whole audience was gripped with a sense of intense spiritual anxiety. Numbers cried for mercy, and not a single soul departed from that scene until morning." In June 1859 3000 people gathered for an open-air service in a field adjoining the village.
Straid | 19th century
Banyard and three other men, Samuel Harrod, David Handley and John Thorogood, were ordained as Bishops. (Thorogood's son John Thorogood Jnr, later married Banyard's eldest daughter Hephzibah in October 1868). At this time a constitution was established; there were Bishops, Elders and 'Saints' and their strict code included abstention from alcohol and smoking. The sect adopted a dress code for worship: a dark suit and bowler hat for men, and black capes and bonnets for the women. Their hymns were sung without musical accompaniment, a practice later adopted by the Society of Dependents.
James Banyard | Faith Healing
50 of these occurred in the week before 1 July when civil registration was made mandatory. Most of those baptised were over the age of one, mostly children with the oldest age recorded being 26. One view is the prevalence of baptisms in this year is that non-conformists wished to ensure their children and young adults were recorded before the introduction of civil registration.
Naseby | 1837 baptisms
Alfred Saker's mind was not on the Gospel. One Sabbath evening he was strolling alone through the street, when the singing in a chapel that he passed drew his attention. He entered. He assisted in the choir, and as his gifts drew attention, he was prompt to exercise them in the cottages and hamlets around. He took an active part in every good work. On 4 January 1834, at 19 years old, he was baptized by Mr. Fremling, of Foots cray, and became a member of the church in the village of his nativity. With the public devotion of himself to Christ, he began to extend his labours in every direction.
Alfred Saker | Early life and consecration (1841 - 1842)
Hyperdispensationalism holds that the early Christian Church lost four basic truths starting near the end of the Apostle Paul’s ministry. The four truths are (in order of loss): The truths, advocates say, were gradually recovered in reverse order starting during the Reformation. For example, Martin Luther is credited with recovery of "justification by faith" and John Nelson Darby with "Church Truth". Hyperdispensationalists reject water baptism, (along with charismatic gifts, prophets, and apostles) which divides them from mainstream dispensationalists who are often Baptists, like W. A. Criswell, or in earlier times Presbyterians like James H. Brookes. So instead of various water baptisms, they believe in the baptism made without hands and without water by the Spirit which occurs when one believes in Christ as their Savior whereby one is identified with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Hyperdispensationalism | General views
Wang Mingdao was especially tight on church entry. During the sixteen years from 1933-1949 only 570 new believers received baptism since new believers were required to bring another convert to the church before baptism was allowed. He said, “The sheep must have life, your behaviour of giving birth to more sheep shows that you have life”. Therefore, being able to bring people to believe in the faith is evidence that indeed you are quite clear of the path to salvation. Although it does not mean that you have already received salvation, it shows that you are worthy to become one of their church members.
Christian Tabernacle | Entry requirements
Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism as a ritual of purification, not of initiation.
Religious initiation rites | Mandaeanism
The LDS Church teaches that those who have died may choose to accept or reject the baptisms done on their behalf. The modern term itself is derived from a phrase "baptised for the dead" occurring in one verse of the New Testament (), though the meaning of that phrase is an open question among scholars. Early heresiologists Epiphanius of Salamis ("Panarion" 28) and Chrysostom ("Homilies" 40) attributed the practice respectively to the Cerinthians and to the Marcionites, whom they identified as heretical "Gnostic" groups. For that reason, the practice was forbidden by the early Church, and is therefore not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity, whether Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or any Protestant churches.
Baptism for the dead | Introduction
However, after receiving Believer's Baptism, he was kicked out of the Church of England. Upon his return to Britain, he held many positions in the academic realm as a respected Old Testament scholar and became associated with the Open Brethren.
H. L. Ellison | Introduction
His most important theological contributions were his beliefs about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. There were Christians groups speaking in tongues and teaching an experience of Spirit baptism before 1901, like for example, in 17th century, the Camisards and the Quakers. However, Parham was the first to identify tongues as the "Bible evidence" of Spirit baptism. It is not clear when he began to preach the need for such an experience, but it is clear that he did by 1900. Initially, he understood the experience to have eschatological significance—it "sealed the bride" for the "marriage supper of the Lamb".
Charles Fox Parham | Initial evidence
It is not entirely clear what mode of baptism Hubmaier practiced, but it seems as though he continued practicing affusion as he had himself been baptized and that the mode of immersion among Anabaptists was a somewhat later development.
Balthasar Hubmaier | On Baptism
In Philadelphia on September 25, 1929, J. Gresham Machen declared the following in his inaugural address: "We believe, first, that the Christian religion, as set forth in the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, is true; we believe, second, that the Christian religion welcomes and is capable of scholarly defense; and we believe, third, that the Christian religion should be proclaimed without fear or favor, and in clear opposition to whatever opposes it, whether from within or without the church, as the only way of salvation for lost mankind. On that platform, brethren, we stand. Pray that we may be enabled by God’s grace to stand firm.
Westminster Theological Seminary | Theological position
The Anabaptists insisted on adult baptism. By contrast, Martin Luther defended infant baptism; his belief in it stemmed from his view of the church as ideally an inclusive reality in a Christian society. Menno Simons based his rejection of infant baptism on the concept of the church as a disciplined group of individuals who have voluntarily committed their lives to Christ. He viewed sanctification as a lifelong process that does not completely rid the presence of sin from one's life.
Menno Simons | Infant baptism
Indeed, for many years it was illegal in Britain to hold public office whilst believing in transubstantiation, as under the Test Act of 1673. Archbishop John Tillotson decried the "real barbarousness of this Sacrament and Rite of our Religion", considering it a great impiety to believe that people who attend Holy Communion "verily eat and drink the natural flesh and blood of Christ. And what can any man do more unworthily towards a Friend? How can he possibly use him more barbarously, than to feast upon his living flesh and blood?" ("Discourse against Transubstantiation", London 1684, 35). In the Church of England today, clergy are required to assent that the 39 Articles have borne witness to the Christian faith.
Transubstantiation | Anglicanism
Much of Hubmaier's work centered on the issue of baptism because of the polemical nature of the issue in distinguishing the emerging Anabaptist movement from Zwinglian or other magisterial reform movements. Hubmaier rejected the notion of infant baptism as unscriptural and was a proponent of believer's baptism, i.e. that baptism is an ordinance for those who respond to the gospel. The importance of this point in Hubmaier's theology is demonstrated by the fact that the first half of his catechism is reserved for clarification of the issue. He further rejected the Catholic doctrine of baptism insofar as it was "ex opere operato" and viewed the rite as a symbol of entrance into and accountability to the community of faith.
Balthasar Hubmaier | On Baptism
Huldrych Zwingli, the earliest theologian considered part of the Reformed tradition, was vigorously opposed to worship practices he believed to be based on tradition rather than the Bible. Nevertheless, he disagreed with Anabaptists, who refused to baptize their children on scriptural grounds. Through his arguments with Anabaptists, Zwingli arrived at the position that baptism was a sign of the covenant between God and his people, but that it did not convey grace to the baptized. He saw baptism as essentially identical to the circumcision of Israelites in the Old Testament in this respect, and used this idea in polemics against Anabaptists.
Reformed baptismal theology | Reformation and Reformed orthodoxy
John the Baptist adopted baptism as the central sacrament in his messianic movement, seen as a forerunner of 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. There is a scholarly consensus that the earliest Christian baptism was normally by immersion, or at least that this is probable. Some interpret this as meaning total immersion or submersion beneath the water.
History of baptism | Early Christianity
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", 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".
Baptism in early Christianity | Studies in the second half of the 20th century
In debates with David Lipscomb, editor of the rival publication "Gospel Advocate", McGary advanced positions regarding the relationship between baptism and salvation, some of which were already seminal in the formation of the group of Christian churches known as the Churches of Christ, others of which would become the basis for continuing disagreement among members of that body. The substance of McGary's argument was based on the notion, generally accepted by members of the Churches of Christ, that the state of human salvation begins at the moment of that individual's baptism. McGary, however, further asserted that another condition of salvation lay in the believer's knowledge and acceptance of this idea (of baptism securing the remission of sins) at the moment of baptism, concluding that baptisms occurring outside of this condition were invalid, and did not bring about the salvation of those baptised in the absence of that state of belief.
Austin McGary | Rebaptism controversy
This custom may have arisen, in part, as a charitable response to the poverty of most members of this Church and also as a pragmatic response to the length of meetings (particularly the sermons) and the distances some members of the congregation had to travel in order to attend. At Glasite services, any member who "possesses the gift of edifying the brethren", was allowed to speak. The practice of washing one another's feet was at one time observed; and it was for a long time customary for each brother and sister to receive new members, on admission, with a holy kiss.
Glasite | Beliefs and practice
Feeney argued that those who are truly sincere will be led by God to the Catholic Church. He also accepted no form of baptism as opening the way to salvation other than by water and only within the Catholic Church, but he did say that this was an opinion. He denied the salvational efficacy of the mere wish alone, even the explicit wish to be baptized, and held that God must have provided those martyrs who apparently died for the faith without being baptized with a minister and water to baptize them before their death. Feeney and his followers maintain that there is a contradiction between the Second Vatican Council's document "Lumen gentium" and earlier authoritative statements, which they interpret as saying that non-Catholics are indiscriminately damned.
Feeneyism | Salvation and baptism
Edward Barber (died 1674?), was an English Baptist minister. Barber was originally a clergyman of the established church, but long before the beginning of the civil wars he adopted the principles of the baptists. He had numerous followers, who assembled for worship in the Spital in Bishopsgate Street, London, and appear to have been the first congregation among the baptists that practised the laying on of hands on baptised believers at their reception into the church. This custom was introduced among them about 1646 by Mr. Cornwell. Previously to the year 1641 Barber was kept eleven months in Newgate Prison for denying the baptism of infants and that the payment of tithes to the clergy was God's ordinance under the gospel.
Edward Barber (minister) | Introduction
When the missionaries preached, many came forward desiring to be baptised. Learning of the proposed baptisms, and foreseeing correctly that he was going to lose his flock, James visited Apostle Heber C. Kimball, the mission leader, the night before, forbidding him from doing so. Elder Kimball simply replied that God was no respecter of persons and he would proceed with the baptisms.. Those first baptisms east of the Atlantic took place the following Sunday, 30 July 1837, in the River Ribble near the Old Tram Bridge, in what is now Avenham Park, Preston. The nine baptised were all from James Fielding's congregation.
Joseph Fielding | Mission to England
The Ottomans ruled the Christians through the millet system and subjected the Catholics to the civil authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, causing numerous conversions to Orthodoxy. Cyril's actions to require the re-baptism of converts was due both by his fierce anti-Catholic position and by his sincere desire to provide what he considered to be a valid baptism. As of 1752 Cyril ruled that in any case the Armenian and Catholic converts should be re-baptised. The Holy Synod met on 28 April 1755 and formally voted against Cyril's position, considering it an innovation not envisaged by the ancient canons and contrary to the liturgical praxis.
Cyril V of Constantinople | The "Oros" and the validity of baptisms
As a symbol of their renunciation of worldly goods, the outer clothing contained no pockets in which possessions could be carried, although later an inside pocket was provided for the sanitary measure of carrying a handkerchief. All went bareheaded and barefoot. The community practices plural marriage. One long time leader, Ortell Kingston, encouraged marriage of close relatives in an effort to improve the genetic profile of the group. Some of these marriages were considered incestuous, according to the laws of the state of Utah.
Latter Day Church of Christ | Beliefs
It was at also Oxford that Grissell developed a strong interest in ecclesiastical ritual. He came to believe that the Book of Common Prayer had its roots in the Catholic liturgy and argued for greater ritualism in Anglican worship. In 1865 he published a work called 'Ritual Inaccuracies', in which he attempted to 'bring the rubrics of the Protestant Communion Service into line with those of the Roman Missal'. Reminiscing about this period of his life he was to write: I soon came to the conclusion myself that this exhumation of scraps and snatches of an ancient rite, and the profane distortion of the rubrics of the Roman Missal for the disguise of Protestant worship was little better than an imposture.
Hartwell de la Garde Grissell | Conversion
Secondly, there are differences of opinion on the methodology of the act. These methods are: by "immersion"; if immersion is total, by "submersion"; by affusion (pouring); and by aspersion (sprinkling). Those who hold the first view may also adhere to the tradition of infant baptism; the Orthodox Churches all practice infant baptism and always baptize by total immersion repeated three times in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church also practices infant baptism, usually by affusion, and utilizing the Trinitarian formula. Evangelical denominations adhering to the doctrine of the believers' Church, practice the believer's baptism, by immersion in water, after the new birth and a profession of faith.
Christianity | Baptism
Parham's beliefs developed over time. Several factors influenced his theological ideas. He preferred to work out doctrinal ideas in private meditation, he believed the Holy Spirit communicated with him directly, and he rejected established religious authority. He focused on "salvation by faith; healing by faith; laying on of hands and prayer; sanctification by faith; coming (premillennial) of Christ; the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, which seals the bride and bestows the gifts".
Charles Fox Parham | Beliefs
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.
Baptism in early Christianity | Mode of baptism
A practice similar to baptism is known to have been practiced by the Jewish Essenes between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. The Jewish Encyclopedia compares Christian baptism to ancient Jewish purification and initiation rites involving immersion in water, and states that "Baptism was practised in ancient (Hasidic or Essene) Judaism".
Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon | Baptism
In Catholic teaching, baptism is stated to be "necessary for salvation by actual reception or at least by desire". Catholic doctrine holds that the baptism ceremony is ordinarily performed by deacons, priests, or bishops, but in an emergency can be performed by any Catholic. This teaching is based on the Gospel according to John which says that Jesus proclaimed: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." It 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.
Baptism | Catholicism
Early Christian beliefs regarding baptism probably predate the New Testament writings. It seems certain that numerous Jewish sects and certainly Jesus's disciples practised baptism. John the Baptist had baptized many people, before baptisms took place in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul likened baptism to being buried with Christ in his death.
Christianity in the 1st century | Baptism
Reverend Charles Stewart Thompson held strong beliefs in individual conversion. He advocated personal faith, moral self cleansing, and Bible study. Before accepting anyone as a convert, he had very strict criteria and tests the would-be convert needed to pass before baptism. First, they needed to prove that they conformed to the social and cultural values of the missionaries. For example, males promised to never have more than one wife. They had to agree to accept European medicine and renounce their previous beliefs in Bhil treatment. The would-be convert also needed to prove that they were self-sufficient. This way, any Bhils who wanted to convert simply for food or a job were eliminated.
Charles Stewart Thompson | Evangelical Efforts
Mandaeans revere John the Baptizer and practice frequent baptism (masbuta) as a ritual of purification, not of initiation. They are possibly the earliest people to practice baptism. Mandaeans undergo baptism on Sundays ("Habshaba"), wearing a white sacral robe (Rasta) and consists of a triple full immersion in water, a triple "signing" of the forehead with water and a triple drinking of water. The priest (Rabbi) then removes a ring made of myrtle worn by the baptized and places it on his/her forehead. This is then followed by a handshake (kushta-"hand of truth") with the priest. Living water is a requirement for baptism, therefore can only take place in rivers.
Immersion baptism | Mandaean baptism
Defenders of infant baptism have attempted to trace the practice to the New Testament era, but generally acknowledge that no unambiguous evidence exists that the practice existed prior to the 2nd century. During the Reformation, the relationship of the church to the state was a contentious issue, and infant baptism was seen as a way to ensure that society remained religiously homogeneous. As a result, groups that rejected infant baptism were seen as subversive and were often persecuted. Even in theological circles where some response to God's call is considered necessary for the convert (such as belief, confession, repentance, and prayer), a believer's baptism is sometimes categorized as a work instead of a response of faith, though not always (see Baptism in the Christian churches and churches of Christ).
Believer's baptism | Theological objections
Their principle from the beginning had been to admit all individuals to their society who were willing to acknowledge their belief in the Bible as inspired scripture, and to take it as a guide for Christian life; but no confession of faith was used, and the widest diversity of opinion was permitted. Their form of worship consisted of prayer meetings held on Sundays and Wednesdays, at which any men of the community might pray and expound the scripture, but there was no regular organization of a ministry among them. They recognized the necessity of baptism, which they administered by immersion, and twice a year they had a sacramental meeting extending over several days, similar to those of the Scottish Presbyterians.
Collegiants | Belief and Practice
Sufflation did not last long in any of the churches arising from the magisterial or radical reformations. Martin Luther's first attempt at a baptismal liturgy, the Tauffbuchlin (Taufbüchlein) of 1523 (reprinted 1524 and 1525) did retain many ceremonies from the late Medieval ritual as it was known in Germany, including a triple exsufflation of baptizands. But in an epilogue, Luther listed this ceremony among the adiaphora — i.e., the inessential features that added nothing to the meaning of the sacrament: "The least importance attaches to these external things, namely breathing under the eyes, signing with the cross, placing salt in the mouth, putting spittle and clay on the ears and nose, anointing with oil the breast and shoulders, and signing the top of the head with chrism, vesting in the christening robe, and giving a burning candle into the hand, and whatever else … men have added to embellish baptism.
Insufflation | Sufflation in Protestantism
The Gospel of John 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 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.
Baptism in early Christianity | Baptism by Jesus
Historians trace the earliest "Baptist" church to 1609 in Amsterdam, Dutch Republic with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor. In accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect. Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have freedom of religion. Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious conflict with English dissenters under James I.
Baptists | Introduction
The Ecumenical Council of Florence (1442) spoke of baptism as necessary even for children and required that they be baptised soon after birth. This had earlier been affirmed at the local Council of Carthage (417). The Council of Florence also stated that those who die in original sin alone go to hell, but with pains unequal to those suffered by those who had committed actual mortal sins. John Wycliffe's attack on the necessity of infant baptism was condemned by another general council, the Council of Constance. The Council of Trent in 1547 explicitly stated that baptism (or desire for baptism) was the means by which one is transferred "from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace, and of the adoption of the sons of God, through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Limbo | Modern era
He was baptized 20 May 1877 along with his wife, who had been cautious about converting under the Church of England due to the fact that this church differed from that of her children. Ahtahkakoop not only introduced Hines and his religious teachings to his own people but also other bands, such as that of Mistawasis and Okinomotayew of Stony Lake. He stated that it was neither the work of Hines nor his own work that led to the spread of Christianity, but that rather people converted of their own accord. Ahtahkakoop was under the impression that the previous missionaries under the Roman Catholic Church that visited his people would send somebody to educate his children, and others in his band, which they had stated they would.
Ahtahkakoop | John Hines
He wished, however, to administer the sacraments without being ordained; the congregation objected; he consulted Joseph Priestley, then in Birmingham, who, to his surprise, urged him to be ordained. The congregation gave in on cost grounds. Shortly afterwards Lloyd began to have doubts about infant baptism, and on 3 April 1790 proposed to omit this rite or resign; his resignation was accepted. Through Joshua Toulmin he was put in charge of a General Baptist congregation at Ditchling, Sussex, and went there after visiting London in May 1790. At Ditchling he received adult baptism, but refused imposition of hands, then usual among General Baptists; he also again declined ordination.
Charles Lloyd (minister) | Life
In 1913, a local resident recalled: "I remember that once a month on Sunday afternoons, Dr Price, the Baptist minister, used to baptise his recent converts in the Cynon River, alongside the iron bridge at the bottom of Commercial Street. I have seen as many as 25 or 30 converts, men and women, on the same afternoon. On these occa- sions the whole of the Baptist community used to meet at the chapel and march ii procession through the streets with the converts, the men converts being attired in long black robes and the women in white. They marched through the streets from the chapel to the place of baptism singing hymns.
Thomas Price (Baptist minister) | Nonconformist minister
Against this, the Reformed believed that justification is only by grace, rather than based on any human decision. Baptism also became a public event in Geneva, with the font moved to the front of the church or even being attached to the pulpit. Confirmation was abolished, but as in Strasbourg children were expected to make a public profession of faith when able, and this became the standard rite of passage for children to be admitted to communion in Reformed churches. Puritans also saw baptism as a prophetic sign at the beginning of Christian life. Confession of sin and professions of faith (such as reciting the Apostles' Creed) were considered the fulfillment of the sign, the living out of one's baptism, or improving on one's baptism.
Reformed worship | Baptism
To this end, he lectured frequently around California and founded several presses such as The Progressive Publishing Company, U.F.I. Press, and Whitaker and Ray, Co. He was also a progressive reformer of the church. By 1912, he along with members of the Los Gatos Baptist Church, decided to cancel all "ritualistic ceremonies" and make baptism optional.
Robert Whitaker (minister) | Introduction
At dawn following the Paschal Vigil starting the night of Holy Saturday, they were taken to the baptistry 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, received the laying on of hands, 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 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.
Baptism in early Christianity | Theology
Though Oncken lived in Scotland and was converted in London, there is no existing evidence of any contact with the English Baptists. The evangelical Christianity of Scotland was influenced the Haldane brothers, and it is known that at least later Oncken made contact with them. Oncken apparently arrived at a "Baptist" position on believer's baptism (and baptism by immersion) by degrees through personal Bible study. By 1829, though still a member of a church that taught infant baptism, he appears to have decided against it, for in that year he refused to present his child for the ceremony. He discussed the baptism issue with T.
Johann Gerhard Oncken | Adoption of Baptist views
Foot washing, the dedication of children, prayer for the sick, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil are important accepted practices, but are not called ordinances.
Brethren in Christ Church | Beliefs
William Sanford La Sor, Lothar Heiser, Jean-Charles Picard, Malka Ben Pechat, and Everett Ferguson agree that early Christian baptism was normally by total immersion. Sanford La Sor (1987) considers it likely that the archaeological evidence favours total immersion. Lothar Heiser (1986), likewise understands the literary and pictorial evidence to indicate total immersion. Jean-Charles Picard (1989), reaches the same conclusion, and so does Malka Ben Pechat (1989). The study by Everett Ferguson (2009) supports the view of La Sor, Heiser, Picard, and Pechat. Frank K. Flinn also says that the immersion was total, saying 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, Commenting on early church practice, other reference works speak of immersion without specifying whether it was total or partial.
Immersion baptism | Archaeological evidence
The point must be made clearly and without equivocation that the earliest Particular Baptists, as well as General Baptists, established their churches by agreement to a confession of faith. Spilsbury considered this as necessary, not just convenient and for the well-being of the church, but for the being of the church. Spilsbury declared in no uncertain terms that saving faith must be manifest in the hearty approval and assertion of a body of propositional truths. No church, and thus no baptism, could exist apart from submission to orthodox evangelicalism embodied in a confession of faith. Spilsbury said that submission to such constituted the covenantal agreement was necessary before baptism into his doctrine of the church.
John Spilsbury (Baptist minister) | Professions of faith
He later determined that salvation was dependent upon having the theology he had developed for baptism to be effective for salvation and published an "Confession and Abjuration" of his previous position on March 3, 1847. He was also rebaptised. Following his abjuration and rebaptism he went to England on a preaching tour in June 1848 including Reformation Movement churches, Although his abjuration and his disfellowship in America were reported in the British churches magazines certain churches in the movement still allowed him to present his views. Thomas also gained a hearing in Unitarian and Adventist churches through his promotion of the concept of "independence of thought" with regards to interpreting the Bible.
Restorationism | Christadelphians
Rothmann believed the church to be a congregation of only baptized believers. In his "Confession" he wrote, "The church of Christ is a gathering of the believing children of God who praise the name of God. No one else belongs in it...The Scriptures richly testify that faith comes from hearing the Word and that the holy church be built only of those who believe. It cannot be denied that the true proclamation of the holy gospel started the holy church...The second thing through which the holy church is built is holy baptism. Baptism is the entry and gateway to the holy church; therefore according to God's order no one may be allowed into the church except through baptism."
Bernhard Rothmann | Church
A second lawsuit was brought in March 1874 repeating the old charges as well as adding new ones including the use of processions with a crucifix, use of the Agnus Dei, and the ancient custom of the eastward-facing consecration. (The normal practice, prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, was to stand at the north end of the altar facing south; westward-facing consecration, as is now most common in the Church of England, was only introduced by Cranmer and as an attempt to deemphasise the sacrificial nature of the traditional Mass.) Mackonochie stood firm in the face of the prosecutions but on 12 June 1875 was found against on most of the charges and suspended for six weeks.
Alexander Mackonochie | Persecution
St. John Chrysostom mentions the custom in his day of all Christians washing their hands before entering the church for worship. This practice was first legislated in the Rule of St. Benedict in the 6th century, but has earlier antecedents.
Lavabo | Ablutions before Christian prayer and worship
From the mid-1830s to his death in 1844, Smith continued to introduce ideas and practices which differed significantly from traditional Protestantism. First, Smith pressed Christian perfection beyond Protestant orthodoxy. He followed non-Protestant Christians in rejecting the doctrine of justification by faith alone and moved toward universalism by introducing a hierarchy of three glorious heavens, in which even the wicked had a place. In the late 1830s, Smith introduced baptism for the dead by proxy as a means for unredeemed souls to accept salvation in the afterlife, and he also taught that the ordinance of marriage was required to reach the highest level of salvation.
Mormonism and Christianity | Late–Joseph Smith era
According to Newton, Gilbert was the first prelate to introduce at confirmations the practice of the bishop laying his hands on each candidate at the altar rails, and then retiring and solemnly pronouncing the prayer once for the whole number. This mode was first observed at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham; it "commanded attention, and raised devotion," and before long became the regular manner of administering the rite.
John Gilbert (archbishop of York) | Archbishop of York
In January 1534, wandering Dutch Anabaptist preachers arrived in Münster proclaiming that a new prophet was on his way. They were soon followed by the "prophet" himself, the baker Jan Matthys of Haarlem. Knipperdolling became a passionate believer. Bernhard Knipperdolling taught that the righteous before the day of Judgment, [each person would] have a monarchy on earth and the wicked be destroyed, that men are not justified by their faith in Christ; that there is no original sin; that infants ought not to be baptized, and that immersion is the only mode of baptism; that every one has the authority to preach and administer the sacraments; that men are not obliged to pay respect to magistrates; that all things ought to be in common, and that it is lawful to marry many wives.
Bernhard Knipperdolling | Early life
The people came in carts from Abernethy, Grantown, and as far distant as Cromdale. ... Mr Bain's conservatism in matters of Church worship is widely known. He believe the introduction of instrumental worship and hymns is contrary to the Act of 1707 and that to permit this innovation would be perjury. At the same time, he has no objection to organs and hymns in themselves Mr Bain is in sympathy with the movement for emancipation of women. He favour votes for women on the terms enjoyed by men, and is inclined to be in favour of women in the pulpit.
James Bain (minister) | Assessments by contemporaries
Baptism, as the initiatory rite of Christianity, is mentioned frequently by the early writers; Tertullian wrote a special treatise on this sacrament, describing the preparation required for it, and the ceremonies accompanying it- "The catechumens should prepare for the reception of baptism by frequent prayers, by fasts, and vigils." Although he usually speaks of the baptism of adults, he admits the baptism of infants but seems somewhat opposed to the practice, which was commended by St. Cyprian, the latter holding baptism of children to be essential for their eternal salvation. Easter, or any day between Easter and Pentecost, was the time set for the solemn administration of baptism, but Tertullian declares that as every day belongs to the Lord it might be conferred at any time.
African Rite | Baptism
One day he invited a distinguished zoologist to deliver a lecture to the members. The speaker, adopting "a frankly atheistic approach," described the sequence of events leading to the emergence, "though he did not say how," of the first primitive life-form from lifeless matter. When he concluded, there was polite applause. Then, "a mild and very average youngster rose nervously to his feet," and with a slight stammer asked how there came to be anything in the first place. The naïve question took everyone by surprise. The lecturer "looked annoyed, hesitated, slowly turned red. Then, before he could answer, the whole club burst into a howl of laughter.
A. J. Cronin | Religion
"The numbers given correspond to the section numbers within the text." "...it remains true that all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church. When considering how the Church may allow for "common worship", which must never be used "indiscriminately", it is for "local episcopal authority, unless otherwise provided for by the Bishops' Conference according to its statutes, or by the Holy See" to determine the course to follow, making due provision for specific "circumstances of time, place, and persons".
Unitatis redintegratio | Contents