The History Of Baptism
Baptism remains the point of entry into the Christian church. However, the form of baptism has developed through the centuries, as seen in the following entries. Catechism shifted from before baptism to after baptism in the medieval church as infant baptism became the most common path of initiation. In the Western church, anointing with oil (chrism) became detached from baptism and developed into a separate sacrament (confirmation). First Communion was also delayed until the child was old enough to understand the significance of the Eucharist. Western scholastic theologians described baptism as marking the person and explained the relationship between Christ's work and the priest's instrumentality in the sacrament. On the other hand, Eastern Orthodox churches continued to include baptism, chrismation, and first Communion in the initiation rites of even infants. During the Reformation, Radical Reformation sects (Anabaptists, later English Baptists, and various free churches) challenged …
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Chapters & Articles in The History Of Baptism (6)
From the very beginning of the Christian church, baptism was the path for entering the church, whether as adults, c…
As infant baptism became common, the process of catechizing shifted from before to after baptism. In the Western ch…
To implement reforms decided upon at the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic church has restored the adult c…
Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin all believed baptism could properly be administered to infants. Yet, whereas Luther emp…
In today's churches the theology and practice of baptism continues to be shaped by the debates begun during the Pro…
The actions of Christian initiation seem to be growing toward an ecumenical shape as some major traditions shift th…