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{{About|the Christian religious ceremony|other uses| Baptism (disambiguation)| the Baptist churches and denominations|Baptists}}
{{Redirect|Baptized|the Daughtry album|Baptized (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
[[File:Battesimo dei neofiti 2.jpg|thumb|{{Citation |author= Masaccio |author-link= Masaccio | title= {{Interlanguage link multi|Baptism of the Neophytes|it|3=Battesimo dei neofiti}} | place = [[Brancacci Chapel]], [[Florence]]|year= 1425–1426}}. This painting depicts baptism by [[affusion]]. The artist may have chosen an archaic form for this depiction of baptism by [[St. Peter]].]]
{{Christianity |theology}}
'''Baptism''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] noun βάπτισμα ''baptisma''; [[#Etymology|see below]]) is a [[Christian]] [[rite]] of [[initiation|admission]] and [[Adoption (theology)|adoption]],<ref>St. Paul: Romans 8:15 "the spirit of adoption" ("of sonship" RSV), Galatians 4:5 "adoption of sons", Ephesians 1:15 "the adoption of children by [[Jesus Christ]]" ("to be his sons through Jesus Christ" RSV).</ref> almost invariably with the use of water, into [[Christianity]].<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52311/Baptism | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | contribution = Baptism}}</ref><ref>For example, "baptized in the Catholic Church" ([http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html Second Vatican Council, ''Lumen gentium'', 28] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |date= September 6, 2014 }}</ref> The [[synoptic gospel]]s recount that [[John the Baptist]] [[baptism of Jesus|baptised Jesus]].<ref>{{bibleref2 |Matthew| 3:16}}, {{bibleref2 |Mark| 1:9–10}}, {{bibleref2|Luke| 3:21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Powell |first= Mark Allen |title= Jesus as a figure in history : how modern historians view the man from Galilee |year= 2005 |publisher= Knox |location= Louisville |isbn= 0-664-25703-8 |page= 47 |edition= 7th pr.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Harrington|first= Daniel J. |title= The Gospel of Matthew|year= 1991|publisher = Liturgical Press|location= Collegeville, MI |isbn= 0-8146-5803-2|page= 63}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Lopez |first = Kathryn Muller Lopez | others = et alli | title= Christianity : a biblical, historical, and theological guide for students |year= 2010|publisher= Mercer University Press|location= Macon, GA |isbn= 0-88146-204-7|pages= 95–96|edition = 1st}}</ref> Baptism is considered a [[sacrament]] in most churches, and as an [[ordinance (Christian)|ordinance]] in others. Baptism is also called '''christening''',<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_-cAG52iDQgC&pg=PA23&dq=christening+baptism+christian | first = Rita | last = Faelli | title = Christianity: History, Beliefs, Worship and Celebrations | publisher = [[Blake Education]] | year = 2006 | page = 23| isbn = 9781741641011 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents/lifeevents/baptismconfirm/baptism1.html#difference | title = Church of England: Weddings, Baptisms & Funerals | publisher = Anglican}}</ref> although some reserve the word "christening" for the [[Infant baptism|baptism of infants]].<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aJ2JGNBZhu4C&pg=RA1-PR14&dq=christening+baptism+christian | first = Pat | last = Wootten | title = Christianity | publisher = Heinemann | year = 2002 | page = xiv | isbn = 9780435336349 }}</ref> It has also given its name to the [[Baptists|Baptist churches and denominations]].

The usual form of baptism among [[Early Christians|the earliest Christians]] involved the candidate's [[immersion baptism|immersion]], either totally (submerged completely under the water) or partially (standing or kneeling in water while water was poured on him or her).{{Efn | Experts dispute whether baptism was performed by total or partial immersion. Various scholars have addressed the question:
*"In the early centuries baptism was usually by immersion. However, this need not have meant full submersion in the water. Early Christian mosaics portray persons kneeling or standing in the baptismal pool with water being poured over them".<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Cs9P-6VZTXIC&pg=PA54&dq=baptism++submersion | publisher = Presbyterian Church (USA), Westminster Press | title = Holy Baptism; and, Services for the Renewal of Baptism: The Worship of God | year = 1985 | isbn = 0-664-24647-8 | page = 54}}</ref>
*"The usual form of baptism was [[immersion baptism|immersion]]... But sprinkling, also, or copious pouring rather, was practiced at an early day (late second, early third Century) with sick and dying persons, and in all such cases where total or partial immersion was impracticable"<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc1.i.IX.54.html |first= Philip |last= Schaff |title= Baptism |work = History of the Christian Church, Volume I: Apostolic Christianity. A.D. 1–100.|year= 2009}}</ref>
*"In the case of such a pouring type of baptism, one is necessarily 'immersed' by someone who actually does the pouring over the body".<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2nz1rzxoersC&pg=PA54&dq=%22immersed+by+someone+who+actually+does+the+pouring%22 | first= Joan E | last = Taylor | title = The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism | publisher = [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]] | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-8028-4236-4 | page = 54}}</ref>
*"Very probably Paul pictures baptism as it was given in the early Church by partial immersion, and as the word in its original meaning suggests".<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=baptism++early+christian+affusion&btnG=Search+Books#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1%2Cqdr%3At%2Cbkv%3Ap&q=van+Roo+%22the+word+in+its+original+meaning%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=4ca33d5fde6f623e | first = William A | last = van Roo | publisher = Gregorian University Press |title= the word in its original meaning | year = 1971 | page = 212}}</ref>
*"The baptism of John did have certain similarities to the ritual washings at Qumran: both involved withdrawal to the desert to await the lord; both were linked to an ascetic lifestyle; both included total immersion in water; and both had an eschatological context"<ref>{{Cite book|first= Adela Yarbro |last= Collins |chapter= The Origin of Christian Baptism |chapterurl = https://books.google.com/books?id=dWx4GGR3jusC&pg=PA35 |editor-first = Maxwell E | editor-last = Johnson |title= Living Water, Sealing Spirit: Readings on Christian Initiation |publisher= Liturgical Press |location= [[Collegeville Township, Stearns County, Minnesota|Collegeville Township, Stearns County]], MN |year= 1995 |pages= 35–57 |isbn= 0-8146-6140-8 | oclc = 31610445}}</ref>
*"It is to be noted that for pouring another word ''(ekcheo)'' is used, clearly showing that baptizo does not mean pour. ...There is thus no doubt that early in the 2nd century some Christians felt baptism was so important that, "when the real baptism ([[immersion baptism|immersion]]) could not be performed because of lack of water, a token pouring might be used in its place"<ref>{{Cite book|first= W. H. T. |last= Dau |chapter= Baptism |chapterurl= https://books.google.com/books?id=wo8csizDv0gC&pg=PA410 |editor-first = Geoffrey W | editor-last = Bromiley |title= International Standard Bible Encyclopedia | volume = A–D | publisher = [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|William B Eerdmans]] |location= [[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]], MI |year= 1979 |page= 416 |isbn= 0-8028-3781-6 |oclc = 50333603}}</ref>}} John the Baptist's use of a deep river for his baptising suggests immersion: <blockquote> "The fact that he chose a permanent and deep river suggests that more than a token quantity of water was needed, and both the preposition 'in' (the Jordan) and the basic meaning of the verb 'baptize' probably indicate immersion. In v. 16, Matthew will speak of Jesus 'coming up out of the water'. Phillip and the Eunuch also went down and came up out of water (Acts 8:38-39). Baptism is likened unto a burial in Romans 6:3. "Dip" is translated from ''baptō'' ({{lang|grc|βάπτω}}). The traditional depiction in Christian art of John the Baptist pouring water over Jesus' head may therefore be based on later Christian practice."<ref>{{Cite book | first = RT | last = France | authorlink= R. T. France |title= The Gospel of Matthew | publisher = [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|William B Eerdmans]] | location= [[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]], MI | year = 2007 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0ruP6J_XPCEC&pg=PA109 | page = 109 |isbn= 0-8028-2501-X |oclc= 122701585}}</ref></blockquote> Pictorial and archaeological evidence of Christian baptism from the 3rd century onward indicates that a normal form was to have the candidate stand in water while water was poured over the upper body.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lgmarshall.org/Warfield/warfield_modebaptism.html |first= Benjamin Breckinridge |last= Warfield |title= The Archæology of the Mode of Baptism |quote= We may then probably assume that normal patristic baptism was by a trine immersion upon a standing catechumen, and that this immersion was completed either by lowering the candidate's head beneath the water, or (possibly more commonly) by raising the water over his head and pouring it upon it |deadurl= yes |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090912185139/http://www.lgmarshall.org/Warfield/warfield_modebaptism.html |archivedate= September 12, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = John Anthony | last = McGuckin | authorlink = John Anthony McGuckin | chapter= Baptism | chapterurl= https://books.google.com/books?id=u4i8jv0b7IkC&pg=PA41 |title= The Westminster handbook to patristic theology |publisher= Westminster John Knox Press |location= [[Louisville, Kentucky]] |year= 2004 |pages= 41–44 |isbn= 0-664-22396-6 |oclc= 52858567 | quote= Eastern faiths strongly defended the practice of three-fold immersion under the waters, but Latin practice increasingly came to use a sprinkling of water on the head (also mentioned in Didache 7 if there was not sufficient water for immersion.)}}</ref> Other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead, a method called [[affusion]].

[[Martyrdom]] was identified early in Church history as "baptism by blood",<ref>See Christ's reference to his upcoming death as a form of baptism in {{bibleref2|Luke 12:50}}</ref> enabling the salvation of martyrs who had not been baptized by water. Later, the [[Catholic Church]] identified a [[baptism of desire]], by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered{{by whom|date=September 2018}} saved.<ref name="vatican">{{cite web|url = http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3M.HTM |title= The Necessity of Baptism |work= [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] |publisher= [[Vatican Publishing House]] |year= 1993 |accessdate= February 24, 2009| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090221160536/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3M.HTM | archivedate= February 21, 2009 | deadurl = no}}</ref> As evidenced also in the common Christian practice of [[infant baptism]], Christians universally regarded baptism as in some sense necessary for [[salvation]], until [[Huldrych Zwingli]] (1484-1531) denied its necessity in the 16th century.<ref name="cross2005baptism">{{Cite book|first= Frank Leslie |last= Cross | authorlink = Frank Leslie Cross |author2= Elizabeth A. Livingstone |chapter= Baptism |title= The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |location= [[Oxford]] |year= 2005 |pages= 151–154 |isbn = 0-19-280290-9 | oclc= 58998735}}</ref>

[[Quakers]] and [[the Salvation Army]] practice [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit]] instead of baptism with water.<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Wipf and Stock Publishers | isbn = 978-1-62032-809-5 | last = Cross | first = Anthony R. | title = Recovering the Evangelical Sacrament: Baptisma Semper Reformandum | date = 2012-12-06}}</ref> Among denominations that practice baptism by water, differences occur in the manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize "in the name of the [[God the Father|Father]], and of the [[God the Son|Son]], and of the [[Holy Spirit]]"<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/TextContents/Index/4/SubIndex/67/TextIndex/7 | title = Rite for the Baptism of One Child | publisher = Catholic liturghy}}</ref> (following the [[Great Commission]]), but some baptize in [[Jesus' Name doctrine|Jesus' name only]]. Much more than half of all Christians [[infant baptism|baptize infants]];{{Efn | Out of a total of about 2,100,000,000 Christians,<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.numberof.net/number-of-christians-in-the-world-2/ | publisher = Number of | title = Christians in the World}}</ref>{{year missing|date=September 2018}}<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm | place = Ontario | publisher = Consultants on Religious Tolerance | title = World religions}}</ref>{{year missing|date=September 2018}} infant baptism is in use in the Catholic Church (1,100,000,000), the Eastern Orthodox Church (225,000,000), most of the 77,000,000 members of the Anglican Communion, Lutherans and others.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.adherents.com/adh_rb.html | title = Religious Bodies of the World with at Least 1 Million | publisher = Adherents}}</ref>{{year missing|date=September 2018}}<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity | title = Major Denominational Families of Christianity | publisher = Adherents}}</ref>{{year missing|date=September 2018}}<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.zpub.com/un/pope/relig.html | title = Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 | publisher = zPub}}</ref>}} many others regard only [[believer's baptism]] as true baptism.

The term "baptism" has also been used metaphorically to refer to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is initiated, purified, or given a name.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
|editor-first= Joseph P |editor-last= Pickett |title= baptism
|url= http://www.bartleby.com/61/62/B0066200.html
|encyclopedia= [[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]
|publisher= [[Houghton Mifflin]] |location= Boston |year= 2000
|edition= 4th |isbn= 0-395-82517-2
|accessdate= February 24, 2009 |deadurl= yes
|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207201127/http://www.bartleby.com/61/62/B0066200.html
|archivedate= December 7, 2008
}}
</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Baptism - Saint Calixte.jpg|thumb|[[Catacombs of Rome#Catacombs of San Callisto|Catacombs of San Callisto]]: baptism in a 3rd-century painting]]
The English word ''baptism'' is derived indirectly through [[Latin]] from the neuter [[Greek language|Greek]] concept noun ''baptisma'' (Greek {{lang|grc|βάπτισμα}}, "washing-ism"),<ref group="lower-alpha">{{LSJ|ba/ptisma|βάπτισμα}}, {{LSJ |baptismo/s|βαπτισμός}}, {{LSJ|bapti/zw|βαπτίζω}}, {{LSJ|ba/ptw|βάπτω|ref}}. ''The several Greek words from which the English word ''baptism'' has been formed are used by Greek writers (in [[classical antiquity]], in the [[Septuagint]], and in the New Testament) with a great '''''latitude of meaning''''', including "to make Christian" and "baptisma pyros (baptism of fire)"'' — [http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/X/P1992.html The University of Texas at Austin, College of Liberal Arts, Linguistics Research Center, ''Indo-European Lexicon'', PIE (Proto-Indo-European) ''Etymon'' and IE (Indo-European) ''Reflexes'': "baptism"] [http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/X/P0414.html and "baptize"], [http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/X/P0703.html Greek ''baptein, baptizein, baptos''] — [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#II New Advent, ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': "Baptism": Etymology] — [http://www.spiritrestoration.org/Theological_Terms/A_Prior_%20to_Born_Again.htm Spirit Restoration, Theological Terms: A to B Dictionary: "baptize"] (''scroll down to "baptism"'') — [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=baptize Online Etymological Dictionary: "baptize"] — [http://bibleencyclopedia.com/baptism.htm International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: "baptism"] — two parallel online sources, Search God's Word and Eliyah, for "''Strong's numbers''": [http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=907 Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Greek Lexicon '''''907''''' ''βαπτίζω'' "baptize"]/[http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=907 '''''907''''' ''baptizo'' "baptize"], [http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=908 '''''908''''' ''βάπτισμα'' "baptism"]/[http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=908 '''''908''''' ''baptisma'' "baptism"], [http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=909 '''''909''''' ''βαπτισμός'' "baptisms"]/[http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=909 '''''909''''' ''baptismos'' "baptisms"], and [http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=910 '''''910''''' ''βαπτστἠς'' "baptist"]/[http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=910 '''''910''''' ''baptistes'' "baptist"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629055848/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/X/P1992.html |date=June 29, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/?id=T9zYAAAAMAAJ&dq=baptize+septuagint+ritual+washing&q="it+is+used+of+ritual+washing" | first = Charles Hugh Hope | last = Scobie | title = John the Baptist | publisher = SCM Press | year = 1964 | page = 92}}</ref> which is a [[neologism]] in the [[New Testament]] derived from the masculine Greek noun ''baptismos'' ({{lang|grc|βαπτισμός}}), a term for ritual washing in Greek language texts of [[Hellenistic Judaism]] during the [[Second Temple period]], such as the [[Septuagint]].<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lw5uLXiCUpgC&pg=PA34&dq=baptize+septuagint+ritual+washing | first = Merrill F | last = Unger | title = The Baptism & Gifts of the Holy Spirit | publisher = Moody Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-8024-0467-1 | page = 34}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tSIOFBvsaNUC&pg=RA1-PA149&dq=baptize+septuagint+ritual+washing | first = Lewis Sperry | last = Chafer | title = Systematic Theology | publisher = Kregel | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0-8254-2340-6 | page = 149}}</ref> Both of these nouns are derived from the verb ''baptizō'' ({{lang|grc|βαπτίζω}}, "I wash" [[transitive verb]]), which is used in Jewish texts for ritual washing, and in the [[New Testament]] both for ritual washing and also for the apparently new rite of ''baptisma''. The Greek verb ''baptō'' ({{lang|grc|βάπτω}}), "dip", from which the verb ''baptizo'' is derived, is in turn hypothetically traced to a reconstructed [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] root *''gʷabh-'', "dip".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|first1=JP | last1 =Mallory|first2=Douglas Q.|last2=Adams|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=403, 532}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=baptize | title = Online [[Etymology]] Dictionary | contribution = Baptize}}</ref><ref name = AHD>[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English language]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4IHbQgz1nZYC&lpg=PA33 page 33]''.</ref> The Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings.<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://bibleencyclopedia.com/baptism.htm | title = International Standard Bible Encyclopedia | contribution = Baptism}}</ref>


==History==
{{main|History of baptism}}
[[File:Bethany (5).JPG|thumb|right|[[Al-Maghtas]] ruins on the [[Jordan]]ian side of the [[Jordan River]] are the location for the Baptism of [[Jesus]] and the ministry of [[John the Baptist]].]]
[[File:Mikva.jpg|thumb|Excavated [[mikveh]] in [[Qumran]], Israel]]
Baptism has similarities to [[Tvilah]], a Jewish purification ritual of immersing in water, which is required for, among other things, [[conversion to Judaism#Requirements|conversion to Judaism]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/beliefs/conversion.shtml |title=BBC – Religion & Ethics – Converting to Judaism |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |accessdate=July 21, 2012}}</ref> but which differs in being repeatable, while baptism is to be performed only once.<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Christa |last=Pongratz-Lippitt |date=May 5, 2007|title=Churches mutually recognise baptisms|url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/9737 |journal=[[The Tablet]]|accessdate=February 25, 2009}}</ref> (In fact, the [[Modern Hebrew]] term for "baptism" is "Christian Tvilah".) [[John the Baptist]], who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement.<ref>sacrament (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/515366/sacrament</ref> The apostle Paul distinguished between the baptism of John, ("baptism of repentance") and baptism in the name of Jesus,<ref>[http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/view.cgi?book=ac&chapter=019 David Guzik's Commentary on the Bible] on {{Bibleverse||Acts|19:1–7|ESV}}</ref> and it is questionable whether Christian baptism was in some way linked with that of John.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=hch4J9VvFjcC&pg=PA215&dq=Schmithals+%22baptism+of+John%22#v=onepage&q=Schmithals%20%22baptism%20of%20John%22&f=false |first=Walter|last= Schmithals|title=The Theology of the First Christians|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn= 978-0-66425615-9| page= 215 |year=1997|accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism.<ref name="cross2005baptism" />

The earliest Christian baptisms were probably normally by [[Immersion baptism|immersion]], complete or partial.<ref>"Lexicographers universally agree that the primary meaning of baptizo G966 is 'to dip' or 'to immerse", and there is a similar consensus of scholarly opinion that both the baptism of John and of the apostles was by immersion", Jewett, "Baptism", in Murray (ed.), "Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 1, p.466 (rev. ed. 2009).</ref><ref>"Most scholars agree that immersion was practiced in the NT, and it is likely that both of these texts allude to the practice, even though baptism is not the main point of either text.", Schreiner, "Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ", p. 81 (2007).</ref><ref>"Furthermore, modern NT scholars generally concede, regardless of denominational affiliation, that Christian baptism in NT times was by immersion, as it was and still is in Judaism.", Helyer, 'Exploring Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period", p. 481 (2002).</ref><ref>"The baptism commanded by Jesus in the making of disciples is an immersion in water. The topic formerly was warmly debated, but in these days there is general scholarly agreement. Several lines of evidence converge in support of the baptismal action as a dipping.", Ferguson, "The church of Christ: a biblical ecclesiology for today", p. 201 (1996).</ref><ref>''Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible'' casts doubt on "the usual assumption that all NT baptisms were by immersion" ({{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA148 |editor-first1=David Noel |editor-last1=Freedman |editor-first2=Allen C. |editor-last2=Myers |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2000 |isbn=9789053565032 |page=148}}); and the ''Global Dictionary of Theology'' says that it is "probable" that immersion was the early church's normal mode of baptism, but that it was not seen as an important issue.({{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncqkZnDSeo4C&pg=PA101 | editor-first=William A. |editor-last=Dyrness |title=Global Dictionary of Theology |publisher=Intervarsity Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8308-2454-0 |page=101}})</ref><ref>"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" ({{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iVXYCr0gAkC&pg=PA137 |first=Robin |last=Jensen |title=Living Water |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |isbn=978-9-00418898-3 |page=137}}).</ref><ref>"In the early centuries, baptism was usually by submersion. However, this need not have meant full submersion in the water" ({{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyWqm3hCMC0C&pg=PA163 |editor-first=Peter C. |editor-last=Bower |title=Companion to the Book of Common Worship |publisher=Geneva Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-66450232-4 |page=163}}).</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_jPGFpKY5EC&pg=PA1397 |first=David |last=Hellholm |title=Ablution, Initiation and Baptism |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-11024751-0 |pages=682, 699, 1397 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>Immersion is to be distinguished from submersion (that is going under the water), a minority practice in early Christianity" ({{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15l5qaj7GqcC&pg=PA99 |title=Pastoral Answers (Our Sunday Visitor) |first=M. Francis |last=Mannion |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-87973725-2 |page= 99}}).</ref> though other modes may have also been used.<ref>{{cite book |first=Laurie |last=Guy |title=Introducing Early Christianity |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-83083942-1 |page=225}}</ref>

Though some form of immersion was likely the most common method of baptism, many of the writings from the ancient church appeared to view the 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). As a result, there was no uniform or consistent mode of baptism in the ancient church prior to the fourth century.<ref>Slade, Darren M. (August 2014). [https://www.academia.edu/8008124/The_Early_Churchs_Inconsequential_View_of_the_Mode_of_Baptism "The Early Church's Inconsequential View of the Mode of Baptism."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903085434/http://atijournal.org/ATI_Vol7_No2.pdf|date=September 3, 2014}} American Theological Inquiry 7 (2): 21–34</ref>

By the third and fourth centuries, baptism involved [[catechetical]] instruction as well as [[chrismation]], [[Exorcism in Christianity|exorcism]]s, [[Christian laying on of hands|laying on of hands]], and recitation of a [[creed]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Old|first=Hughes Oliphant|author-link=Hughes Oliphant Old|title=The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century|year=1992|publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]]|location=Grand Rapids, MI|isbn=978-0802824899|pages=3, 7}}</ref>

In the [[early middle ages]] infant baptism became common and the rite was significantly simplified.<ref>{{cite book|last=Old|first=Hughes Oliphant|author-link=Hughes Oliphant Old|title=The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century|year=1992|pages=7–8}}</ref> In Western Europe [[Affusion]] became the normal mode of baptism between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, though immersion was still practiced into the sixteenth.<ref name="cathen">{{cite encyclopedia |first=William |last=Fanning |title=Baptism |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm |year=1907 |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |accessdate=February 24, 2009 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |location=New York City| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090228172517/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm| archivedate= February 28, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> In the sixteenth century, [[Martin Luther]] retained baptism as a sacrament,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |title=Baptism and Its Purpose |publisher=[[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] |accessdate=February 24, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206220443/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |archivedate=February 6, 2009 }}</ref> but Swiss reformer [[Huldrych Zwingli]] considered baptism and the [[Lord's supper]] to be symbolic.<ref name="cross2005baptism" /> [[Anabaptist]]s denied the validity of the practice of infant baptism, and rebaptized converts.

==Mode and manner==

Baptism is practiced in several different ways. [[Aspersion]] is the sprinkling of water on the head, and [[affusion]] is the pouring of water over the head.

The word "[[immersion baptism|immersion]]" is derived from [[late Latin]] ''immersio'', a noun derived from the verb ''immergere'' (''in'' – "into" + ''mergere'' "dip"). In relation to baptism, some use it to refer to any form of dipping, whether the body is put completely under water or is only partly dipped in water; they thus speak of immersion as being either total or partial. Others, of the Anabaptist belief, use "immersion" to mean exclusively plunging someone entirely under the surface of the water.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=immersion Online Etymology Dictionary]. Etymonline.com. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title= 1689 Baptist Catechism
| url= http://www.desiringgod.org/AboutUs/OurDistinctives/ABaptistCatechism/
| author= John Piper
| accessdate=February 3, 2010}}</ref> The term "immersion" is also used of a form of baptism in which water is poured over someone standing in water, without submersion of the person.<ref name=ODCCimmersion>{{Cite book|first=Frank Leslie |last=Cross |authorlink=Frank Leslie Cross |author2=Elizabeth A. Livingstone |chapter=Immersion |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]] and New York|year=2005 |page=827 |isbn=0-19-280290-9 |oclc=58998735}}</ref><ref name=Pinehurst>{{cite web|url=http://www.pinehurstumc.org/clientimages/31669/baptismmode.pdf |title=Study published on the website of Pinehurst United Methodist Church |format=PDF |accessdate=April 13, 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021205649/http://www.pinehurstumc.org/clientimages/31669/baptismmode.pdf |archivedate=October 21, 2013 }}</ref> On these three meanings of the word "immersion", see [[Immersion baptism]].

When "immersion" is used in opposition to "submersion",<ref>In scientific contexts the two words are often understood as mutually exclusive. Examples are found in mathematics (see [https://books.google.com/books?id=dWHet_zgyCAC&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=immersion+submersion&source=bl&ots=1REtDR4qL_&sig=SiRUoIzwU0chy39L2ayr_GBAwwc&hl=en&ei=h_NuS_XEJNOSjAf-nayABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CB4Q6AEwBjgy#v=onepage&q=immersion%20submersion&f=false Ralph Abraham, Jerrold E. Marsden, Tudor S. Ra iu, Manifolds, Tensor Analysis, and Applications], p. 196 and [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSeRz36zXIMC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=immersion+submersion&source=bl&ots=p1VsHU6gOu&sig=wgkwyvu4_KeOKXu8VIZvM1fcHVA&hl=en&ei=h_NuS_XEJNOSjAf-nayABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAjgy#v=onepage&q=immersion%20&f=false Klaus Fritzsche, Hans Grauert, From Holomorphic Functions to Complex Manifolds], p.168), in medicine ([https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1724326/ Effect of immersion, submersion, and scuba diving on heart rate variability)], and language learning ([http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/departments/curricularstudies/scilt/publications/immersion/chapter_1.pdf Immersion in a Second Language in School).] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206222358/https://books.google.com/books?id=dWHet_zgyCAC&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=immersion+submersion&source=bl&ots=1REtDR4qL_&sig=SiRUoIzwU0chy39L2ayr_GBAwwc&hl=en&ei=h_NuS_XEJNOSjAf-nayABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CB4Q6AEwBjgy#v=onepage&q=immersion%20submersion&f=false |date=December 6, 2014 }}</ref> it indicates the form of baptism in which the candidate stands or kneels in water and water is poured over the upper part of the body. Immersion in this sense has been employed in West and East since at least the 2nd century and is the form in which baptism is generally depicted in early Christian art. In the West, this method of baptism began to be replaced by [[affusion]] baptism from around the 8th century, but it continues in use in [[Eastern Christianity]].<ref name=ODCCimmersion/><ref name=Pinehurst/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02274a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia, article ''Baptismal Font'' |publisher=Newadvent.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:The moment of Catichism.jpg|thumb|Christening photograph in [[Orthodox Church]]. The moment of [[Catechism]].]]
[[File:Russian-baptism.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Baptism by submersion in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] ([[Sophia Cathedral]], 2005)]]
[[File:Jordan river baptism cue.jpg|thumb|upright|Men lined up to be baptized by immersion in the River Jordan]]
The word submersion comes from the [[late Latin]] (''sub-'' "under, below" + ''mergere'' "plunge, dip")<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/submerge Submerge – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary]. Merriam-webster.com (April 25, 2007). Retrieved on August 14, 2010.</ref> and is also sometimes called "complete immersion". It is the form of baptism in which the water completely covers the candidate's body. Submersion is practiced in the Orthodox and several other Eastern Churches.<ref>It is not the only method that these churches use: "In the present practice of infant baptism in the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek church]] the priest holds the child as far under the water as possible and scoops water over the head so as to be fully covered with water" ([https://books.google.com/books?id=xC9GAdUGX5sC&pg=PA894&dq=baptism+priest+%22head%22+%22so+as+to%22&hl=en&ei=g4fzTJfpM82FhQedjuylCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=baptism%20priest%20%22head%22%20%22so%20as%20to%22&f=false Everett Ferguson, ''Baptism in the Early Church'', p. 860]).</ref> In the [[Latin Church]] of the Catholic Church, baptism by submersion is used in the [[Ambrosian Rite]] and is one of the methods provided in the [[Roman Rite]] of the baptism of infants. It is seen as obligatory among some groups that have arisen since the [[Protestant Reformation]], such as [[Baptists]] and [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church).

===Meaning of the Greek verb ''baptizein''===
The [[Greek-English Lexicon]] of Liddell and Scott gives the primary meaning of the verb ''baptizein'', from which the English verb "baptize" is derived, as "dip, plunge", and gives examples of plunging a sword into a throat or an embryo and for drawing wine by dipping a cup in the bowl; for New Testament usage it gives two meanings: "baptize", with which it associates the [[Septuagint]] mention of [[Naaman]] dipping himself in the [[Jordan River]], and "perform ablutions", as in Luke 11:38.<ref name="LSJ">[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=bapti/zw Liddell & Scott: entry βαπτίζω]: "βαπτ-ίζω, A. dip, plunge, 'ξίφος εἰς σφαγήν' J.BJ2.18.4; 'σπάθιον εἰς τὸ ἔμβρυον' Sor.2.63:—Pass., of a [[trepanning|trephine]], Gal.10.447; ... 2. draw wine by dipping the cup in the bowl, Aristopho 14.5; 'φιάλαις β. ἐκ . . κρατήρων' ..." The usage examples quoted here mean "a sword into his throat"; "a sword into the foetus"; "draw with cups from bowls"</ref>

Although the Greek verb ''baptizein'' does not exclusively mean dip, plunge or immerse (it is used with literal and figurative meanings such as "sink", "disable", "overwhelm", "go under", "overborne", "draw from a bowl"),<ref name=LSJ/><ref>Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964–c1976. Vols. 5–9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (1:529–530). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.</ref> lexical sources typically cite this as a meaning of the word in both the [[Septuagint]]<ref name="Zodhiates, S. 2000">'In the Sept.: 2 Kgs. 5:13, 14 we have loúō (3068), to bathe and baptízomai. See also {{bibleref2|Lev.|11:25, 28, 40}}, where plúnō (4150), to wash clothes by dipping, and loúō (3068), to bathe are used. In {{bibleref2|Num.|19:18, 19}}, báphō, to dip, and plúnō, to wash by dipping are used', Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.) (G908). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">'In the LXX βάπτειν (βαπτίζειν occurs only at 4 Βασ. 5:14) as a rendering of טָבַל, "to dip," is used for the dipping of the morsel in wine at Ru. 2:14, of feet in the river at Jos. 3:15, of the finger in blood in the Torah of sacrifices at Lv. 4:6, 17 etc., of the dipping of unsanctified vessels in water in the laws of purification at Lv. 11:32 (בא hiph). In the latter case, however, πλύνω (כבס) and λούομαι (רחץ) are more common, as in Lv. 15:11, 13 etc. The sevenfold dipping of Naaman (2 K. 5:14) perhaps suggests sacramental ideas and illustrates the importance of the Jordan. In the later Jewish period טבל (b. Ber., 2b of the bathing of priests; Joma, 3, 2ff. etc.) and βαπτίζειν become tech. terms for washings to cleanse from Levitical impurity, as already in Jdt. 12:7; Gk. Sir. 31(34):30. The טְבִילָה of proselytes belongs to this context.', Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964–c1976. Vols. 5–9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (1:535). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.</ref><ref>'βαπτίζω+ V 0-1-1-0-2=4 2 Kgs 5,14; Is 21,4; Jdt 12,7; Sir 34,25 M to dip oneself 2 Kgs 5,14; to wash Jdt 12,7 ἡ ἀνομία με βαπτίζει I am imbued with transgression Is 21,4 Cf. DELLING 1970, 243–245; →NIDNTT; TWNT', Lust, J., Eynikel, E., & Hauspie, K. (2003). A Greek–English Lexicon of the Septuagint : Revised Edition. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart.</ref> and the [[New Testament]].<ref>'In Mark 7:3, the phrase "wash their hands" is the translation of níptō (3538), to wash part of the body such as the hands. In Mark 7:4 the verb wash in "except they wash" is baptízomai, to immerse. This indicates that the washing of the hands was done by immersing them in collected water. See Luke 11:38 which refers to washing one's hands before the meal, with the use of baptízomai, to have the hands baptized.', Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.) (G907). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.</ref>

"While it is true that the basic root meaning of the Greek words for baptize and baptism is immerse/immersion, it is not true that the words can simply be reduced to this meaning, as can be seen from Mark 10:38–39, Luke 12:50, Matthew 3:11 Luke 3:16 and Corinthians10:2."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncqkZnDSeo4C&pg=PA101 |editor-first=William A. |editor-last=Dyrness |title=Global Dictionary of Theology |publisher=Intervarsity Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8308-2454-0 |page=101 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

Two passages in the [[Gospel]]s indicate that the verb ''baptizein'' did not always indicate submersion. The first is Luke 11:38, which tells how a Pharisee, at whose house Jesus ate, "was astonished to see that he did not first wash (''ἐβαπτίσθη'', aorist passive of ''βαπτίζω''—literally, "was baptized") before dinner". This is the passage that Liddell and Scott cites as an instance of the use of ''{{lang|grc|βαπτίζω}}'' to mean ''perform ablutions''. Jesus' omission of this action is similar to that of his disciples: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash (''{{lang|grc|νίπτω}}'') not their hands when they eat bread".<ref>{{bibleref2|Mt|15:1–2|KJV}}</ref> The other Gospel passage pointed to is: "The Pharisees...do not eat unless they wash (''{{lang|grc|νίπτω}}'', the ordinary word for washing) their hands thoroughly, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash themselves (literally, "baptize themselves"—''βαπτίσωνται'', passive or middle voice of ''βαπτίζω'')".<ref>{{bibleref2|Mk|7:3–4|KJV}}</ref>

[[File:Child baptism with water.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Baptism of a child by affusion]]
Scholars of various denominations<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xewBAAAACAAJ A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology 1992] {{ISBN|0-85151-160-0}} {{ISBN|978-0-85151-160-3}} quoted in {{cite web|url=http://www.mbrem.com/baptism/aabap.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020126072506/http://mbrem.com/baptism/aabap.htm |dead-url=yes |archive-date=January 26, 2002 |title=The Mode of Baptism |first=Michael |last=Bremmer |date=September 7, 2001 |accessdate=February 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first2=Bertram |last2=Naumann |year=2006 |author=Paul Naumann |title=The Sacrament of Baptism |url=http://www.clclutheran.org/lfm/lfm12.pdf |work=Learn From Me |accessdate=February 24, 2009 |publisher=[[Church of the Lutheran Confession]]| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090225041602/http://www.clclutheran.org/lfm/lfm12.pdf| archivedate= February 25, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.com/library/Baptism_Immersion_Only.asp |title=Baptism: Immersion Only? |first=Robert H. |last=Brom |authorlink=Robert Henry Brom |date=August 10, 2004 |publisher=[[Catholic Answers]] |accessdate=February 24, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090314053255/http://catholic.com/library/Baptism_Immersion_Only.asp| archivedate= March 14, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> claim that these two passages show that invited guests, or people returning from market, would not be expected to immerse themselves ("baptize themselves") totally in water but only to practise the partial immersion of dipping their hands in water or to pour water over them, as is the only form admitted by present Jewish custom.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Bernard |last=Drachman |authorlink=Bernard Drachman |author2=[[Kaufmann Kohler]] |title=Ablution |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=A&artid=338 |editor=[[Cyrus Adler]] |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> In the second of the two passages, it is actually the hands that are specifically identified as "washed" (Mark 7:3), not the entire person, for whom the verb used is ''baptizomai'', literally "be baptized", "be immersed" (Mark 7:4), a fact obscured by English versions that use "wash" as a translation of both verbs. Zodhiates concludes that the washing of the hands was done by immersing them.<ref name=Zodhiates>'Washing or ablution was frequently by immersion, indicated by either baptízō or níptō (3538), to wash. In Mark 7:3, the phrase 'wash their hands' is the translation of níptō (3538), to wash part of the body such as the hands. In Mark 7:4 the verb wash in 'except they wash' is baptízomai, to immerse. This indicates that the washing of the hands was done by immersing them in collected water. See Luke 11:38 which refers to washing one's hands before the meal, with the use of baptízomai, to have the hands baptized.", Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.) (G907). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.</ref> The Liddell–Scott–Jones [[Greek-English Lexicon]] (1996) cites the other passage (Luke 11:38) as an instance of the use of the verb ''baptizein'' to mean "perform ablutions", not "submerge".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=baptizw&la=greek#lexicon |title=LSJ: βαπτίζω |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> References to the cleaning of vessels which use βαπτίζω also refer to immersion.<ref>'Despite assertions to the contrary, it seems that baptizō, both in Jewish and Christian contexts, normally meant "immerse", and that even when it became a technical term for baptism, the thought of immersion remains. The use of the term for cleansing vessels (as in Lev. 6:28 Aquila [cf. 6:21]; cf. baptismos in Mk. 7:4) does not prove the contrary, since vessels were normally cleansed by immersing them in water. The metaphorical uses of the term in the NT appear to take this for granted, e.g. the prophecy that the Messiah will baptise in Spirit and fire as a liquid (Matt. 3:11), the "baptism" of the Israelites in the cloud and the sea (1 Cor. 10:2), and in the idea of Jesus' death as a baptism (Mk. 10:38f. baptisma; Lk. 12:50; cf. Ysebaert, op. cit., 41 ff.).', Brown, C. (1986). Vol. 1: New international dictionary of New Testament theology (144)</ref>

As already mentioned, the lexicographical work of Zodhiates says that, in the second of these two cases,<ref>{{Bibleref2|Mark|7:4}}</ref> the verb ''baptizein'' indicates that, after coming from the market, the Pharisees washed their hands by immersing them in collected water.<ref name=Zodhiates/> Balz & Schneider understand the meaning of βαπτίζω, used in place of ῥαντίσωνται (sprinkle), to be the same as βάπτω, to dip or immerse,<ref>'Mark 7:4 [v.l. in v. 8]; here βαπτίσωνται appears in place of ῥαντίσωνται in Koine D Θ pl, giving βαπτίζω the meaning of βάπτω', Balz, H. R., & Schneider, G. (1990–c1993). Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of: Exegetisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament. (1:195). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.</ref><ref>'Βάπτω dip, immerse', Balz, H. R., & Schneider, G. (1990–c1993). Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of: Exegetisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament. (1:195). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.</ref><ref>'βάπτω; ἐμβάπτω: to dip an object in a liquid—'to dip in.'', Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996, c1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (1:522). New York: United Bible societies.</ref> a verb used of the partial dipping of a morsel held in the hand into wine or of a finger into spilled blood.<ref>"In the LXX βάπτειν...is used for the dipping of the morsel in wine at Ju. 2:14, ...of the finger in blood in the Torah of sacrifices at Lv. 4:6, 17 etc.", Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964–c1976. Vols. 5–9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (1:535). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.</ref>

[[File:Baptism - Marcellinus and Peter.jpg|thumb|left|Fresco of a baptism from the [[Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter]].]]
A possible additional use of the verb ''baptizein'' to relate to ritual washing is suggested by [[Peter Leithart]] (2007) who suggests that Paul's phrase "Else what shall they do who are [[baptism for the dead|baptized for the dead]]?"<ref>οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν</ref> relates to Jewish ritual washing.<ref>Peter J. Leithart ''The Baptized Body'' 2007 p136 "Paul uses a distancing third person—"they" baptize for the dead. Why not "we"? Paul might well be referring to Jewish practices. Under the ceremonial laws of Torah, every washing was a washing "for the dead" (cf. Num. 19). Uncleanness was a ceremonial form of death, and through washings of various sorts the unclean dead were restored to life in fellowship with.."</ref> In Jewish Greek the verb ''baptizein'' "baptized" has a wider reference than just "baptism" and in Jewish context primarily applies to the masculine noun ''baptismos'' "ritual washing"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G909&t=KJV |title=masculine noun baptismos 4x NT uses |publisher=Blueletterbible.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> The verb ''baptizein'' occurs four times in the Septuagint in the context of ritual washing, ''baptismos''; Judith cleansing herself from menstrual impurity, [[Naaman]] washing seven times to be cleansed from leprosy, etc.<ref>Philippe Wolff ''Baptism: The Covenant and the Family'' 2009 p45 "This word occurs but four times in the Septuagint, and in no case with the Baptist meaning. 1st. "Judith baptized herself in a fountain of water, by the camp." (Judith xii. 7.) She was then purifying herself from her uncleanness."</ref> Additionally, in the New Testament only, the verb ''baptizein'' can also relate to the neuter noun ''baptisma'' "baptism" which is a [[neologism]] unknown in the [[Septuagint]] and other pre-Christian Jewish texts.<ref>Jonathan David Lawrence ''Washing in Water: Trajectories of Ritual Bathing in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature'' (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006), p294</ref> This broadness in the meaning of ''baptizein'' is reflected in English Bibles rendering "wash", where Jewish ritual washing is meant: for example Mark 7:4 states that the Pharisees "except they wash (Greek "baptize"), they do not eat",<ref>ἐὰν μὴ βαπτίσωνται οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν</ref> and "baptize" where ''baptisma'', the new Christian rite, is intended.

===Derived nouns===
Two nouns derived from the verb ''baptizo'' (βαπτίζω) appear in the New Testament: the masculine noun ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) and the neuter noun ''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα):

*''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) refers in Mark| 7:4 to a water-rite for the purpose of purification, washing, cleansing, of dishes;<ref name=Arndt>Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, (3rd ed.) (165). Chicago: University of Chicago Press</ref><ref name="Friberg"/> in the same verse and in Hebrews 9:10 to Levitical cleansings of vessels or of the body;<ref>Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. 1964–c1976. Vols. 5–9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (1:545). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.</ref> and in Hebrews 6:2 perhaps also to baptism, though there it may possibly refer to washing an inanimate object.<ref name="Friberg">Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Vol. 4: Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker's Greek New Testament Library (87). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.</ref> According to [[Spiros Zodhiates]] when referring merely to the cleansing of utensils ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) is equated with ''rhantismos'' (ῥαντισμός, [[aspersion|"sprinkling"]]), found only in Hebrews 12:24 and Peter 1:2, a noun used to indicate the symbolic cleansing by the Old Testament priest.<ref name=Zodhiates/>
*''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα), which is a [[neologism]] appearing to originate in the New Testament, and probably should not be confused with the earlier Jewish concept of ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός),<ref name=autogenerated2>Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.) (G908). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.</ref> Later this is found only in writings by Christians.<ref name=Arndt/> In the New Testament, it appears at least 21 times:
**13 times with regard to the rite practised by [[John the Baptist]];<ref>{{Bibleref2|Matthew|3:7}}, {{Bibleref2|Matthew|21:25}}; {{Bibleref2|Mark|1:4}}, {{Bibleref2|Mark|11:30}}; {{Bibleref2|Luke|3:3}}, {{Bibleref2|Luke|7:29}}, {{Bibleref2|Luke|20:4}}; {{Bibleref2|Acts|1:22}}, {{Bibleref2|Acts|10:37}}, {{Bibleref2|Acts|13:24}}, {{Bibleref2|Acts|18:25}}, {{Bibleref2|Acts|19:3–4}})</ref>
**3 times with reference to the specific Christian rite<ref>{{Bibleref2|Romans|6:4}}, {{Bibleref2|Ephesians|4:5}}, {{Bibleref2|1Peter|3:21}}</ref> (4 times if account is taken of its use in some manuscripts of Colossians 2:12, where, however, it is most likely to have been changed from the original ''baptismos'' than vice versa);<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7N0m_JAYvxUC&pg=PA137 |first=Outi |last=Leppä |title=The Making of Colossians |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-525-53629-2 |page=137 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
**5 times in a metaphorical sense.<ref>{{Bibleref2|Matthew|20:22–23}}, {{Bibleref2|Mark|10:38–39}}, {{Bibleref2|Luke|12:50}}</ref>
*Manuscript variation: In Colossians, some manuscripts have neuter noun ''baptisma'' (βάπτισμα), but some have masculine noun ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός), and this is the reading given in modern critical editions of the New Testament.<ref>See http://www.bibelwissenschaft.de/online-bibeln/novum-testamentum-graece-na-27/lesen-im-bibeltext/bibelstelle/Kol%202/cache/d3cb350c68/#v12 [[Novum Testamentum Graece|Nestle-Aland]] 27th (latest) edition.</ref> If this reading is correct, then this is the only New Testament instance in which ''baptismos'' (βαπτισμός) is clearly used of Christian baptism, rather than of a generic washing, unless the opinion of some is correct that Hebrews 6:2 may also refer to Christian baptism.<ref name="Friberg"/>
*The feminine noun ''baptisis'',<ref>[[LSJ]] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=ba%2Fptisin&la=greek&prior=th\n#Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ba/ptisis-contents baptisis]</ref> along with the masculine noun ''baptismos''<ref>[[LSJ]] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dbaptismo%2Fs baptismos]</ref> both occur in Josephus' Antiquities (J. AJ 18.5.2) relating to the murder of John the Baptist by Herod.<ref>[[Benedikt Niese]] ed. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0526,001:18:5:2&lang=original Niese edition Greek text]</ref><ref>[[William Whiston]] translator [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D18%3Awhiston%20chapter%3D5%3Awhiston%20section%3D2 English translation]</ref> This feminine form is not used elsewhere by Josephus, nor in the New Testament.<ref>James D. G. Dunn ''Jesus remembered'' 2003 p256</ref>

A Christian baptism is administered in one of the following forms, performing the action either once or thrice:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z47zgZ75dqgC&pg=PA562 |first1=Erwin |last1=Fahlbusch |first2=Geoffrey William |last2=Bromiley |first3=David B. |last3=Barrett |title=The encyclopedia of Christianity |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=0-8028-2413-7 |page=562 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html][[Didache]]<span>, chapter 7:</span> "Pour out water three times upon the head".</ref>

===Apparel===
Until the [[Middle Ages]], most baptisms were performed with the candidates naked—as is evidenced by most of the early portrayals of baptism (some of which are shown in this article), and the early Church Fathers and other Christian writers. Deaconesses helped female candidates for reasons of modesty.<ref>http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/aroseby.txt</ref>

Typical of these is [[Cyril of Jerusalem]] who wrote "On the Mysteries of Baptism" in the 4th century (c. 350 AD):

{{quotation|Do you not know, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death? etc....for you are not under the Law, but under grace.

1. Therefore, I shall necessarily lay before you the sequel of yesterday's Lecture, that you may learn of what those things, which were done by you in the inner chamber, were symbolic.

2. As soon, then, as you entered, you put off your tunic; and this was an image of putting off the old man with his deeds.<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Col|3:9}}</ref> Having stripped yourselves, you were naked; in this also imitating Christ, who was stripped naked on the Cross, and by His nakedness put off from Himself the principalities and powers, and openly triumphed over them on the tree. For since the adverse powers made their lair in your members, you may no longer wear that old garment; I do not at all mean this visible one, but the old man, which waxes corrupt in the lusts of deceit.<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Eph|4:22}}</ref> May the soul which has once put him off, never again put him on, but say with the Spouse of Christ in the Song of Songs, I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on?<ref>{{Bibleref2c|SongofS|5:3|| Song of Sol 5:3}}</ref> O wondrous thing! You were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed; for truly ye bore the likeness of the first-formed Adam, who was naked in the garden, and was not ashamed.

3. Then, when you were stripped, you were anointed with exorcised oil, from the very hairs of your head to your feet, and were made partakers of the good olive-tree, Jesus Christ.

4. After these things, you were led to the holy pool of Divine Baptism, as Christ was carried from the Cross to the Sepulchre which is before our eyes. And each of you was asked, whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and you made that saving confession, and descended three times into the water, and ascended again; here also hinting by a symbol at the three days burial of Christ.... And at the self-same moment you were both dying and being born;<ref>Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 20 (On the Mysteries. II. of Baptism) {{Bibleref2|Romans|6:3–14}} http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310120.htm</ref>}}

The symbolism is threefold:

1. Baptism is considered to be a form of rebirth—"by water and the Spirit"<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Jn|3:5}}</ref>—the nakedness of baptism (the second birth) paralleled the condition of one's original birth. For example, St. John Chrysostom calls the baptism "λοχείαν", i.e., giving birth, and "new way of creation...from water and Spirit" ("to John" speech 25,2), and later elaborates:

: {{Quote|For nothing perceivable was handed over to us by Jesus; but with perceivable things, all of them however conceivable. This is also the way with the baptism; the gift of the water is done with a perceivable thing, but the things being conducted, i.e., the rebirth and renovation, are conceivable. For, if you were without a body, He would hand over these bodiless gifts as naked [gifts] to you. But because the soul is closely linked to the body, He hands over the perceivable ones to you with conceivable things. (Chrysostom to Matthew., speech 82, 4, c. 390 A.D.)}}

2. The removal of clothing represented the "image of putting off the old man with his deeds" (as per Cyril, above), so the stripping of the body before for baptism represented taking off the trappings of sinful self, so that the "new man", which is given by Jesus, can be put on.
[[File:Rosa Hagström & Lars Ridderstedt II 1948.jpg|thumb|Long laced gown worn at a typical Lutheran baptism in Sweden in 1948]]
3. As St. Cyril again asserts above, as Adam and Eve in scripture were naked, innocent and unashamed in the Garden of Eden, nakedness during baptism was seen as a renewal of that innocence and state of original sinlessness. Other parallels can also be drawn, such as between the exposed condition of Christ during His crucifixion, and the crucifixion of the "old man" of the repentant sinner in preparation for baptism.

Changing customs and concerns regarding modesty probably contributed to the practice of permitting or requiring the baptismal candidate to either retain their undergarments (as in many Renaissance paintings of baptism such as those by da Vinci, Tintoretto, Van Scorel, Masaccio, de Wit and others) or to wear, as is almost universally the practice today, baptismal robes. These robes are most often white, symbolizing purity. Some groups today allow any suitable clothes to be worn, such as trousers and a T-shirt—practical considerations include how easily the clothes will dry (denim is discouraged), and whether they will become see-through when wet.

==Meaning and effects==
[[File:Baptême Cathédrale de Troyes 290308.jpg|thumb|Baptism of [[Augustine of Hippo]] as represented in a sculptural group in [[Troyes]] cathedral (1549)]]
There are differences in views about the effect of baptism for a Christian. Some Christian groups assert baptism is a requirement for salvation and a [[sacrament]], and speak of "[[baptismal regeneration]]". Its importance is related to their interpretation of the meaning of the "Mystical Body of Christ" as found in the New Testament. This view is shared by the Catholic and [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] denominations, and by Churches formed early during the [[Protestant Reformation]] such as [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and [[Anglicanism|Anglican]]. For example, [[Martin Luther]] said:

{{Quote|To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save. No one is baptized in order to become a prince, but as the words say, to "be saved". To be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil and to enter into the kingdom of Christ and live with him forever.|''[[Luther's Large Catechism]]'', 1529}}

The [[Churches of Christ]],"<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}}<ref name="Theology Matters"/>{{rp|p.112}} [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Christadelphians]], and [[LDS Church]] also espouse baptism as necessary for salvation.

For Roman Catholics, baptism by water is a sacrament of initiation into the life of the children of God (''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', 1212–13). It configures the person to Christ (CCC 1272), and obliges the Christian to share in the Church's apostolic and missionary activity (CCC 1270). The Catholic holds that there are three types of baptism by which one can be saved: sacramental baptism (with water), baptism of desire (explicit or implicit desire to be part of the Church founded by Jesus Christ), and baptism of blood ([[martyrdom]]). In his encyclical ''[[Mystici corporis Christi]]'' of June 29, 1943, [[Pope Pius XII]] spoke of baptism and profession of the true faith as what makes members of the one true Church, which is the body of Jesus Christ himself, as God the Holy Spirit has taught through the Apostle Paul:
{{Quote|
:'''18'''...''Through the waters of Baptism those who are born into this world dead in sin are not only born again and made members of the Church, but being stamped with a spiritual seal they become able and fit to receive the other Sacraments. ...''
:'''22''' ''Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults committed. 'For in one spirit' says the Apostle, 'were we all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free.' As therefore in the true Christian community there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only one faith. And therefore if a man refuse to hear the Church let him be considered—so the Lord commands—as a heathen and a publican. It follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine Spirit.'' |[http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P12MYSTI.HTM ''Mystici corporis Christi'' (full text in an English translation)]}}

By contrast, [[Anabaptist]] and [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] Protestants recognize baptism as an outward sign of an inward reality following on an individual believer's experience of forgiving grace. [[Reformed]] and [[Methodist]] Protestants maintain a link between baptism and regeneration, but insist that it is not automatic or mechanical, and that regeneration may occur at a different time than baptism.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Faith of the Christian Church|last=Inbody|first=Tyron|year=2005|url=https://www.questia.com/read/119924426/the-faith-of-the-christian-church-an-introduction|publisher=William B. Eerdmans|location=Grand Rapids, MI|page=299}} {{Subscription required |via=[[Questia]]}}</ref>

[[Churches of Christ]] consistently teach that in baptism a believer surrenders his life in faith and obedience to God, and that God "by the merits of Christ's blood, cleanses one from sin and truly changes the state of the person from an alien to a citizen of God's kingdom. Baptism is not a human work; it is the place where God does the work that only God can do."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}} Thus, they see baptism as a passive act of faith rather than a meritorious work; it "is a confession that a person has nothing to offer God".<ref name="Theology Matters">{{cite book |first1=Harold |last1=Hazelip |first2=Gary |last2=Holloway |first3=Randall J. |last3=Harris |first4=Mark C. |last4=Black |title=Theology Matters: In Honor of Harold Hazelip: Answers for the Church Today |publisher=College Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-89900-813-4}}</ref>{{rp|p.112}}

===Christian traditions===
[[File:BaptismalFontStRaphaelDubuque.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|The baptistry at [[St. Raphael's Cathedral (Dubuque)|St. Raphael's Cathedral]], [[Dubuque, Iowa|Dubuque]], Iowa. This particular font was expanded in 2005 to include a small pool to provide for immersion baptism of adults. Eight-sided font architectures are common symbology of the day of Christ's Resurrection: the "Eighth Day".]]
The [[liturgy]] of baptism for Catholics, [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], and [[Methodism|Methodist]] makes clear reference to baptism as not only a symbolic burial and resurrection, but an actual supernatural transformation, one that draws parallels to the experience of [[Noah]] and the passage of the [[Israelites]] through the [[Red Sea]] divided by [[Moses]]. Thus, baptism is literally and symbolically not only cleansing, but also dying and rising again with Christ. Catholics believe baptism is necessary to cleanse the taint of [[original sin]], and so commonly baptise infants. The Eastern Churches ([[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and [[Oriental Orthodoxy]]) also baptize infants on the basis of texts, such as Matthew 19:14, which are interpreted as supporting full Church membership for children. In these denominations, baptism is immediately followed by [[Chrismation]] and [[Eucharist|Communion]] at the next [[Divine Liturgy]], regardless of age. Orthodox likewise believe that baptism removes what they call the ancestral sin of Adam.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Nicodemos the Hagiorite]] |title=Concerning Thoughts |work=Exomologetarion |url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/exo_thoughts.aspx}}</ref> Anglicans believe that Baptism is also the entry into the Church and therefore allows them access to all rights and responsibilities as full members, including the privilege to receive Holy Communion. Most Methodists and Anglicans agree that it also cleanses the taint of what in the West is called original sin, in the East ancestral sin.
[[File:Baptism Jar (Portuguese period).JPG|thumb|Baptism Jar, used in [[Portuguese Ceylon]].]]
Eastern Orthodox Christians usually insist on complete threefold immersion as both a symbol of death and rebirth into Christ, and as a washing away of sin. [[Latin Church]] Catholics generally baptize by affusion (pouring); Eastern Catholics usually by submersion, or at least partial immersion. However, submersion is gaining in popularity within the Latin Catholic Church. In newer church sanctuaries, the baptismal font may be designed to expressly allow for baptism by immersion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baptism and Church Architecture|url=http://www.religiousproductnews.com/articles/2006-November/Feature-Articles/Baptism-and-Church-Architecture-.htm|website=Baptism and Church Architecture|publisher=Religious Product News|accessdate=22 January 2018}}</ref> Anglicans baptize by submersion, immersion, affusion or sprinkling.

According to evidence which can be traced back to at latest about the year 200,<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[Tertullian]] |editor=[[Philip Schaff]] |title=[[Ante-Nicene Fathers]] |chapter=Of the Persons to Whom, and the Time When, Baptism is to Be Administered |chapterurl=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.vi.iii.xviii.html}}</ref> sponsors or godparents are present at baptism and vow to uphold the Christian education and life of the baptized.

Baptists argue that the Greek word {{lang|grc|βαπτίζω}} originally meant "to immerse". They interpret some Biblical passages concerning baptism as requiring submersion of the body in water. They also state that only submersion reflects the symbolic significance of being "buried" and "raised" with Christ.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Rom|6:3–4}}</ref> Baptist Churches baptize in the name of the [[Trinity]]—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, they do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation; but rather that it is an act of Christian obedience.

Some "[[Full Gospel]]" [[Charismatic Christianity|charismatic]] churches such as [[Oneness Pentecostal]]s baptize only in the name of Jesus Christ, citing Peter's preaching baptism in the name of Jesus as their authority.<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Ac|2:38}}</ref>

===Ecumenical statements===
In 1982 the [[World Council of Churches]] published the [[Christian ecumenism|ecumenical]] paper ''[[Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry]]''. The preface of the document states:

{{quotation|Those who know how widely the churches have differed in doctrine and practice on baptism, Eucharist and ministry, will appreciate the importance of the large measure of agreement registered here. Virtually all the confessional traditions are included in the Commission's membership. That theologians of such widely different denominations should be able to speak so harmoniously about baptism, Eucharist and ministry is unprecedented in the modern ecumenical movement. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the Commission also includes among its full members theologians of the Catholic and other churches which do not belong to the World Council of Churches itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper-no-111-the-lima-text/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry.html#c10471 |title=Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry—Faith and Order Paper No. 111 |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |year=1982 |accessdate=March 1, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709031256/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper-no-111-the-lima-text/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry.html |archivedate=July 9, 2008 }}</ref>}}

A 1997 document, ''Becoming a Christian: The Ecumenical Implications of Our Common Baptism'', gave the views of a commission of experts brought together under the aegis of the World Council of Churches. It states:

{{Quote|...according to Acts 2:38, baptisms follow from Peter's preaching baptism in the name of Jesus and lead those baptized to the receiving of Christ's Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and life in the community: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers"<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|Ac|2:42|RSV}}</ref> as well as to the distribution of goods to those in need.<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|Acts|2:45}}</ref>}}

Those who heard, who were baptized and entered the community's life, were already made witnesses of and partakers in the promises of God for the last days: the forgiveness of sins through baptism in the name of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on all flesh.<ref name="bibleref2c|Ac|2:38">{{bibleref2c|Ac|2:38}}</ref> Similarly, in what may well be a baptismal pattern, [[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]] testifies that proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and teaching about new life<ref>{{bibleref2c|1Pe|1:3–21||1 Pe 1:3–21}}</ref> lead to purification and new birth.<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Pe.|1:22–23||1 Pet. 1:22–23}}</ref> This, in turn, is followed by eating and drinking [[Holy Communion|God's food]],<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Peter|2:2–3||1 Pet. 2:2–3}}</ref> by participation in the life of the community—the royal priesthood, the new temple, the people of God<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Peter|2:4–10||1 Pet. 2:4–10}}</ref>—and by further moral formation.<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Peter|2:11ff||1 Pet. 2:11 ff.}}</ref> At the beginning of 1 Peter the writer sets this baptism in the context of obedience to Christ and sanctification by the Spirit.<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Peter|1:2||1 Pet. 1:2}}</ref> So baptism into Christ is seen as baptism into the Spirit.<ref>{{bibleref2c|1Cor|12:13||1 Co 12:13}}</ref> In the fourth gospel Jesus' discourse with [[Nicodemus]] indicates that birth by water and Spirit becomes the gracious means of entry into the place where God rules.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Jn|3:5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2672 |title=Becoming a Christian: The Ecumenical Implications of Our Common Baptism |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |year=1997 |accessdate=May 13, 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509161956/http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2672 |archivedate=May 9, 2007 |deadurl=yes |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===Validity considerations by some churches===
[[File:Окрещённый ребёнок.jpg|thumb|[[Russian Orthodox]] priest greeting an infant and its godparents on the steps of the church at the beginning of the [[Sacred Mystery]] of Baptism.]]

The vast majority of Christian denominations admit the theological idea that baptism is a [[sacrament]], that has actual spiritual, holy and salvific effects.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}{{dubious|date=May 2018}} Certain key criteria must be complied with for it to be valid, i.e., to actually have those effects. If these key criteria are met, violation of some rules regarding baptism, such as varying the authorized rite for the ceremony, renders the baptism illicit (contrary to the church's laws) but still valid.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Ecumenical Proposal About The Sacraments|last=Bruno|first=Luciano|publisher=|year=2015|isbn=|location=|pages=16–17}}</ref>

One of the criteria for validity is use of the correct form of words. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the use of the verb "baptize" is essential.<ref name="cathen" /> Catholics of the [[Latin Church]], Anglicans and Methodists use the form "I baptize you...." Eastern Orthodox and some [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholics]] use a [[passive voice]] form "The Servant/(Handmaiden) of God is baptized in the name of...." or "This person is baptized by my hands...."{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

Use of the [[Trinitarian formula]] "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" is also considered essential; thus these churches do not accept as valid baptisms of non-[[Trinitarianism|Trinitarian]] churches such as [[Oneness Pentecostals]]. {{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

Another essential condition is use of water. A baptism in which some liquid that would not usually be called water, such as wine, milk, soup or fruit juice was used would not be considered valid.<ref name=Fanning/>

Another requirement is that the celebrant intends to perform baptism. This requirement entails merely the intention "to do what the Church does",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1256 |publisher=Vatican.va |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> not necessarily to have Christian faith, since it is not the person baptizing, but the Holy Spirit working through the sacrament, who produces the effects of the sacrament. Doubt about the faith of the baptizer is thus no ground for doubt about the validity of the baptism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/DOCTRINE/INTENTIO.TXT |title=On the Intention Required in the Minister of the Sacraments |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

Some conditions expressly do not affect validity—for example, whether submersion, immersion, affusion or aspersion is used. However, if water is sprinkled, there is a danger that the water may not touch the skin of the unbaptized. As has been stated, "it is not sufficient for the water to merely touch the candidate; it must also flow, otherwise there would seem to be no real ablution. At best, such a baptism would be considered doubtful. If the water touches only the hair, the sacrament has probably been validly conferred, though in practice the safer course must be followed. If only the clothes of the person have received the aspersion, the baptism is undoubtedly void."<ref name=Fanning>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm |title=William Fanning, "Baptism" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1907) |publisher=Newadvent.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> For many communions, validity is not affected if a single submersion or pouring is performed rather than a triple, but in Orthodoxy this is controversial.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

According to the Catholic Church, baptism imparts an [[sacramental character|indelible "seal"]] upon the soul of the baptized and therefore a person who has already been baptized cannot be validly baptized again. This teaching was affirmed against the [[Donatist]]s who practiced rebaptism. The grace received in baptism is believed to operate ''ex opere operato'' and is therefore considered valid even if administered in heretical or schismatic groups.<ref name="ODWR">{{Cite book|first=John |last=Bowker |authorlink=John Bowker (theologian) |title=[[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions|The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-19-866242-4 |oclc=60181672}}{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}</ref>

===Recognition by other denominations===
The [[Catholic]], [[Lutheran]], [[Anglican]], [[Presbyterian]] and [[Methodist]] Churches accept baptism performed by other denominations within this group as valid, subject to certain conditions, including the use of the Trinitarian formula. It is only possible to be baptized once, thus people with valid baptisms from other denominations may not be baptized again upon conversion or transfer. For Roman Catholics, this is affirmed in the [http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P2X.HTM Canon Law 864], in which it is written that "[e]very person not yet baptized and only such a person is capable of baptism."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P2X.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law - IntraText|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref> Such people are accepted upon making a profession of faith and, if they have not yet validly received the sacrament/rite of confirmation or chrismation, by being confirmed. Specifically, "Methodist theologians argued that since God never abrogated a covenant made and sealed with proper intentionality, rebaptism was never an option, unless the original baptism had been defective by not having been made in the name of the Trinity."<ref name="CracknellWhite2005">{{cite book|last1=Cracknell|first1=Kenneth|last2=White|first2=Susan J.|title=An Introduction to World Methodism|date=5 May 2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|language=English|isbn=9780521818490|page=193}}</ref> In some cases it can be difficult to decide if the original baptism was in fact valid; if there is doubt, [[conditional baptism]] is administered, with a formula on the lines of "If you are not yet baptized, I baptize you...."<ref name="Jr2014">{{cite book|last=Jr|first=Charles Yrigoyen|title=T&T Clark Companion to Methodism|date=25 September 2014|publisher=A&C Black|language=English|isbn=9780567290779|page=263|quote=Methdoists historically do not rebaptize unless the ecumenical formula was not used or another major impediment calls into question the adequacy of an earlier rite. When questions arise of a very grevious nature, there is the possibility of conditional baptism using the words 'If you are not already baptized, I baptize you in the name, etc.'}}</ref><ref>[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2W.HTM Code of Canon Law, canon 869]; cf. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law By John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas J.], pp. 1057–1059.</ref>

In the still recent past, it was common practice in the Roman Catholic Church to baptize conditionally almost every convert from Protestantism because of a perceived difficulty in judging about the validity in any concrete case. In the case of the major Protestant Churches, agreements involving assurances about the manner in which they administer baptism has ended this practice, which sometimes continues for other groups of Protestants. The Catholic Church has always recognized the validity of baptism in the Churches of [[Eastern Christianity]], but it has explicitly denied the validity of the baptism conferred in the LDS Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20010605_battesimo_mormoni_en.html |title=Response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |publisher=Vatican.va |date=June 5, 2001 |accessdate=February 25, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090223230027/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20010605_battesimo_mormoni_en.html| archivedate= February 23, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

Practice in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] for converts from other communions is not uniform. However, generally baptisms performed in the name of the Holy Trinity are accepted by the Orthodox Christian Church. If a convert has not received the sacrament (mysterion) of baptism, he or she must be baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity before they may enter into communion with the Orthodox Church. If he has been baptized in another Christian confession (other than Orthodox Christianity) his previous baptism is considered retroactively filled with grace by [[chrismation]] or, in rare circumstances, [[confession of faith]] alone as long as the baptism was done in the name of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The exact procedure is dependent on local [[canon law|canons]] and is the subject of some controversy.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}

[[Oriental Orthodox Church]]es recognise the validity of baptisms performed within the Eastern Orthodox Communion. Some also recognise baptisms performed by Catholic Churches. Any supposed baptism not performed using the Trinitarian formula is considered invalid.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/invalid-baptisms.html|title=Invalid Baptisms|last=User|first=Super|access-date=2018-09-12|language=en-gb}}</ref>

In the eyes of the Catholic Church, all Orthodox Churches, Anglican and Lutheran Churches, the baptism conferred by the LDS Church is invalid.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20010605_battesimo_mormoni_en.html Declaration] of June 5, 2001 by the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]].</ref> An article published together with the official declaration to that effect gave reasons for that judgment, summed up in the following words: "The Baptism of the Catholic Church and that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ essentially, both for what concerns faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in whose name Baptism is conferred, and for what concerns the relationship to Christ who instituted it."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology/MORMBAP1.HTM |title= The Question Of The Validity Of Baptism Conferred In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints |publisher= Ewtn.com |date= August 1, 2001 |accessdate= October 27, 2014 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090116055451/http://www.ewtn.com/library/theology/mormbap1.htm |archivedate= January 16, 2009 |deadurl= no}}</ref>

The LDS Church stresses that baptism must be administered by one having proper authority; consequently, the church does not recognize the baptism of any other church as valid.<ref name = ldsbaptism>{{citation |url= http://www.lds.org/topics/baptism |title= Gospel Topics: Baptism |website= LDS.org |publisher= LDS Church |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208175257/http://www.lds.org/topics/baptism |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref>

Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognise any other baptism occurring after 1914<ref>"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', May 1, 1959, p. 288, "Thus, when Christ was enthroned as King A.D. 1914 it was not necessary for all true Christians to be rebaptized in recognition of his ruling position."</ref> as valid,<ref>"Jehovah's Witnesses Endure for His Sovereign Godship", ''The Watchtower'', September 15, 1966, p. 560, "In the decades of restoration since 1919, right-hearted clergymen of various religious sects in different parts of the earth have repentantly accepted the priesthood services of the anointed remnant of Job-like ones by becoming rebaptized and ordained as true ministers of Jehovah."</ref> as they believe that they are now the one true church of Christ,<ref>"True Christianity Is Flourishing", ''The Watchtower'', March 1, 2004, p. 7 [http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2004161 As retrieved November 3, 2014], "While Christendom's theologians, missionaries, and churchgoers continue to grapple with the gathering storm of controversy in their churches, true Christianity is flourishing worldwide. Indeed, true Christians...invite you to join Jehovah's Witnesses in united Christian worship of the only true God, Jehovah."</ref> and that the rest of "Christendom" is false religion.<ref>''Jehovah's Witnesses— Proclaimers of God's Kingdom'', publ Jehovah's Witnesses, "Chapter 31: How Chosen and Led by God", p. 706, "Clearly, when the time of the end began in 1914, none of the churches of Christendom were measuring up to these Bible standards for the one true Christian congregation. What, though, about the Bible Students, as Jehovah's Witnesses were then known?"</ref>

===Officiator===

There is debate among Christian churches as to who can administer baptism. Some claim that the examples given in the New Testament only show apostles and deacons administering baptism.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Ancient Christian churches interpret this as indicating that baptism should be performed by the clergy except ''in extremis'', i.e., [[emergency baptism|when the one being baptized is in immediate danger of death]]. Then anyone may baptize, provided, in the view of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the person who does the baptizing is a member of that Church, or, in the view of the Catholic Church, that the person, even if not baptized, intends to do what the Church does in administering the rite. Many Protestant churches see no specific prohibition in the biblical examples and permit any believer to baptize another.

In the Roman Catholic Church, [[canon law]] for the [[Latin Church]] lays down that the ordinary minister of baptism is a bishop, priest or deacon,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2V.HTM |title=canon 861 §1 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=May 4, 2007 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> but its administration is one of the functions "especially entrusted to the [[priest|parish priest]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM#18G |title=canon 530 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=May 4, 2007 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> If the person to be baptized is at least fourteen years old, that person's baptism is to be referred to the bishop, so that he can decide whether to confer the baptism himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2V.HTM |title=canon 863 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=May 4, 2007 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> If no ordinary minister is available, a [[catechist]] or some other person whom the local [[Ordinary (officer)|ordinary]] has appointed for this purpose may licitly do the baptism; indeed in a case of necessity ''any'' person (irrespective of that person's religion) who has the requisite intention may confer the baptism<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2V.HTM |title=canon 861 §2 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=May 4, 2007 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> By "a case of necessity" is meant imminent danger of death because of either illness or an external threat. "The requisite intention" is, at the minimum level, the intention "to do what the Church does" through the rite of baptism.

In the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], a deacon is not considered an ordinary minister. Administration of the sacrament is reserved to the Parish Priest or to another priest to whom he or the local [[ordinary (officer)|hierarch]] grants permission, a permission that can be presumed if in accordance with canon law. However, "in case of necessity, baptism can be administered by a deacon or, in his absence or if he is impeded, by another cleric, a member of an institute of consecrated life, or by any other Christian faithful; even by the mother or father, if another person is not available who knows how to baptize."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG1199/__PIT.HTM |title=Canon 677 |work=[[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]] |year=1990 |accessdate=February 26, 2009}}</ref>

The discipline of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] is similar to that of the Eastern Catholic Churches. They require the baptizer, even in cases of necessity, to be of their own faith, on the grounds that a person cannot convey what he himself does not possess, in this case membership in the Church.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ware |first=Kallistos |authorlink=Timothy Ware |year=1964 |title=The Orthodox Church |page=285 |location=New York City |publisher=[[Penguin Books]]}}</ref> The Latin Catholic Church does not insist on this condition, considering that the effect of the sacrament, such as membership of the Church, is not produced by the person who baptizes, but by the Holy Spirit. For the Orthodox, while Baptism ''in extremis'' may be administered by a deacon or any lay-person, if the newly baptized person survives, a priest must still perform the other prayers of the Rite of Baptism, and administer the [[Sacred Mysteries|Mystery]] of [[Chrismation]].

The discipline of [[Anglicanism]] and [[Lutheranism]] is similar to that of the Latin Catholic Church. For [[Methodists]] and many other Protestant denominations, too, the ordinary minister of baptism is a duly ordained or appointed minister of religion.

Newer movements of Protestant [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] churches, particularly non-denominational, allow laypeople to baptize.

In the LDS Church, only a man who has been ordained to the [[Aaronic priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Aaronic priesthood]] holding the priesthood office of [[Priest (Mormonism)|priest]] or higher office in the [[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek priesthood]] may administer baptism.<ref name="lds.org">{{cite book |chapter= Priesthood § Aaronic Priesthood |chapter-url= http://www.lds.org/manual/priesthood-and-auxiliary-leaders-guidebook/priesthood |title= Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders' Guidebook |publisher= LDS Church |year= 2001 |pages= 4–10 |quote= Brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood have authority to perform certain priesthood ordinances. Priests may perform baptisms... |url= http://www.lds.org/manual/priesthood-and-auxiliary-leaders-guidebook/priesthood |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208175446/http://www.lds.org/manual/priesthood-and-auxiliary-leaders-guidebook/priesthood |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref>

A [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] baptism is performed by a "dedicated male" adherent.<ref name="autogenerated480">"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', August 1, 1973, page 480, "In connection with baptism, it may also be noted that a baptism may be performed by a dedicated male even though no other human witnesses are present."</ref><ref>"The General Priesthood Today", ''The Watchtower'', March 1, 1963, page 147, "Because he is a minister, any competent male member is called on to perform funerals, baptisms and weddings, and to conduct the service in annual commemoration of the Lord's death."</ref> Only in extraordinary circumstances would a "dedicated" baptizer be unbaptized (see section ''[[#Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witnesses]]'').

==Specific Christian groups practicing baptism==

[[File:River baptism in New Bern.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|A river baptism in [[North Carolina]] at the turn of the 20th century. Full-immersion (submersion) baptism continues to be a common practice in many African-American Christian congregations today.]]

[[Anabaptist]]s and [[Baptists]] recognize only [[believer's baptism]] or "adult baptism". Baptism is seen as an act identifying one as having accepted Jesus Christ as savior.

===Anabaptist===
Early Anabaptists were given that name because they re-baptized persons who they felt had not been properly baptized, having received infant baptism, sprinkling.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anabaptist | title = Online Etymological Dictionary | origyear = 2001 | year = 2010 | first = Douglas | last = Harper | contribution = Anabaptist | access-date = August 6, 2013}}</ref>

The traditional form of Anabaptist baptism was pouring or sprinkling, the form commonly used in the West in the early 16th century when they emerged. Since the 18th century immersion and submersion became more widespread. Today all forms of baptism can be found among Anabaptist.<ref>[http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Baptism#Mode_and_Ritual Baptism - Mode and Ritual] at [[Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online]].</ref>

Baptism memorializes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.{{bibleref2c|Rom|6}} Baptism does not accomplish anything in itself, but is an outward personal sign or testimony that the person's sins have already been washed away by the blood of Christ's cross.<ref name="London">''London Baptist Confession of 1644'', XVII. Web: [http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bc1644.htm London Baptist Confession of 1644. Dec 29, 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617103253/http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bc1644.htm |date=June 17, 2010 }}</ref> It is considered a covenantal act, signifying entrance into the [[New Covenant]] of Christ.<ref name="London" /><ref>{{bibleref2|Jeremiah|31:31–34}}; {{bibleref2|Hebrews|8:8–12}}; {{bibleref2|Romans|6}}</ref>

===Baptist===
For the majority of Baptists, Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Mt|28:19}}</ref> It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to the believer's faith in the final resurrection of the dead.<ref name="BFM">"The Baptist Faith and Message," Southern Baptist Convention. Adopted, June 14, 2000. Accessed July 29, 2009: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp#vii</ref>

Furthermore, for a new convert the general practice is that baptism also allows the person to be a registered member of the local Baptist congregation (though some churches have adopted "new members classes" as a mandatory step for congregational membership).

Regarding rebaptism the general rules are:
*baptisms by other than immersion are not recognized as valid and therefore rebaptism by immersion is required; and
*baptisms by immersion in other denominations may be considered valid if performed after the person having professed faith in Jesus Christ (though among the more conservative groups such as [[Independent Baptists]], rebaptism may be required by the local congregation if performed in a non-Baptist church – and, in extreme cases, even if performed within a Baptist church that wasn't an Independent Baptist congregation)

===Churches of Christ===
Baptism in [[Churches of Christ]] is performed only by full bodily immersion,<ref name="Perfect Stranger">{{cite book|first1=Stuart M. |last1=Matlins |first2=Arthur J. |last2=Magida |first3=J. |last3=Magida |title=How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies |publisher=Wood Lake Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-896836-28-7 |chapter= Churches of Christ}}</ref>{{rp|p.107}}<ref name="Rhodes 2005">{{cite book |first=Ron |last=Rhodes |title=The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations |publisher=Harvest House Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=0-7369-1289-4}}</ref>{{rp|p.124}} based on the [[Koine Greek]] verb ''baptizo'' which means to dip, immerse, submerge or plunge.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ">{{cite book|url=http://www.woodsonchapel.com/coc.php/|title=Who are the churches of Christ and what do they believe in?|last=Baxter|first=Batsell Barrett|author-link=Batsell Barrett Baxter|accessdate=September 10, 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131110444/http://www.woodsonchapel.com/coc.php/|archivedate=January 31, 2008|deadurl=yes|df=mdy}}, and here [http://church-of-christ.org/who.html], here {{cite web|url=http://www.cris.com/~mmcoc/coc.html|title=Archived copy|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509163609/http://www.cris.com/~mmcoc/coc.html|archivedate=May 9, 2008|deadurl=yes|accessdate=2009-09-10}} and here {{cite web|url=http://www.scripturessay.com/article.php?cat%3D%26id%3D6|title=Who are the Churches of Christ?|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130131444/http://scripturessay.com/article.php?cat=&id=6|archivedate=November 30, 2010|deadurl=yes|accessdate=September 10, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism">{{cite book |first1=Tom J. |last1=Nettles |first2=Richard L. |last2=Pratt, Jr. |first3=John H. |last3=Armstrong |first4=Robert |last4=Kolb |title=Understanding Four Views on Baptism |publisher=Zondervan |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-310-26267-1}}</ref>{{rp|p.139}}<ref name="Howard 1971">{{cite book |first=V. E. |last=Howard |title=What Is the Church of Christ? |edition=4th |publisher=Central Printers & Publishers |location=West Monroe, Louisiana |year=1971}}</ref>{{rp|p.313–314}}<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?">{{cite book |first=Rees |last=Bryant |title=Baptism, Why Wait?: Faith's Response in Conversion |publisher=College Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-89900-858-5}}</ref>{{rp|p.22}}<ref name="Wharton 1997">{{cite book |first=Edward C. |last=Wharton |title=The Church of Christ: The Distinctive Nature of the New Testament Church |publisher=Gospel Advocate Co. |year=1997 |isbn=0-89225-464-5}}</ref>{{rp|p.45–46}} Submersion is seen as more closely conforming to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus than other modes of baptism.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ" /><ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism" />{{rp|p.140}}<ref name="Howard 1971" />{{rp|p.314–316}} Churches of Christ argue that historically immersion was the mode used in the 1st century, and that pouring and sprinkling later emerged as secondary modes when immersion was not possible.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism" />{{rp|p.140}} Over time these secondary modes came to replace immersion.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism" />{{rp|p.140}} Only those mentally capable of belief and repentance are baptized (i.e., [[infant baptism]] is not practiced because the New Testament has no precedent for it).<ref name="Rhodes 2005" />{{rp|p.124}}<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ" /><ref name="Howard 1971" />{{rp|p.318–319}}<ref name="Ferguson 1996">{{cite book |first=Everett |last=Ferguson |author-link=Everett Ferguson |title=The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8028-4189-6}}</ref>{{rp|p.195}}

Churches of Christ have historically had the most conservative position on baptism among the various branches of the [[Restoration Movement]], understanding baptism by immersion to be a necessary part of conversion.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism">{{cite book |first1=Douglas Allen |last1=Foster |first2=Anthony L. |last2=Dunnavant |title=The Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8028-3898-8 |chapter=entry on ''Baptism''}}</ref>{{rp|p.61}} The most significant disagreements concerned the extent to which a correct understanding of the role of baptism is necessary for its validity.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.61}} [[David Lipscomb]] insisted that if a believer was baptized out of a desire to obey God, the baptism was valid, even if the individual did not fully understand the role baptism plays in salvation.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.61}} [[Austin McGary]] contended that to be valid, the convert must also understand that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.62}} McGary's view became the prevailing one in the early 20th century, but the approach advocated by Lipscomb never totally disappeared.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.62}} 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.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}}

Churches of Christ consistently teach that in baptism a believer surrenders his life in faith and obedience to God, and that God "by the merits of Christ's blood, cleanses one from sin and truly changes the state of the person from an alien to a citizen of God's kingdom. Baptism is not a human work; it is the place where God does the work that only God can do."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}} Baptism is a passive act of faith rather than a meritorious work; it "is a confession that a person has nothing to offer God."<ref name="Theology Matters" />{{rp|p.112}} While Churches of Christ do not describe baptism as a "sacrament", their view of it can legitimately be described as "sacramental."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}}<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?" />{{rp|p.186}} They see the power of baptism coming from God, who chose to use baptism as a vehicle, rather than from the water or the act itself,<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?" />{{rp|p.186}} and understand baptism to be an integral part of the conversion process, rather than just a symbol of conversion.<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?" />{{rp|p.184}} A recent trend is to emphasize the transformational aspect of baptism: instead of describing it as just a legal requirement or sign of something that happened in the past, it is seen as "the event that places the believer 'into Christ' where God does the ongoing work of transformation."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}} There is a minority that downplays the importance of baptism in order to avoid sectarianism, but the broader trend is to "reexamine the richness of the biblical teaching of baptism and to reinforce its central and essential place in Christianity."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.66}}

Because of the belief that baptism is a necessary part of salvation, some Baptists hold that the Churches of Christ endorse the doctrine of [[baptismal regeneration]].<ref name="Foster">Douglas A. Foster, [http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/2000s/vol_43_no_2_contents/foster.html "Churches of Christ and Baptism: An Historical and Theological Overview,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520041454/http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/2000s/vol_43_no_2_contents/foster.html |date=May 20, 2010 }} ''[[Restoration Quarterly]]'', Volume 43/Number 2 (2001)</ref> However, members of the Churches of Christ reject this, arguing that since faith and repentance are necessary, and that the cleansing of sins is by the blood of Christ through the grace of God, baptism is not an inherently redeeming ritual.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism" />{{rp|p.133}}<ref name="Foster" /><ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Regeneration">{{cite book |first1=Douglas Allen |last1=Foster |first2=Anthony L. |last2=Dunnavant |title=The Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8028-3898-8 |chapter= entry on ''Regeneration''}}</ref>{{rp|p.630,631}} Rather, their inclination is to point to the biblical passage in which Peter, analogizing baptism to Noah's flood, posits that "likewise baptism doth also now save us" but parenthetically clarifies that baptism is "''not'' the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the ''response of a good conscience'' toward God" (1 Peter 3:21).<ref>[[KJV]], italics inserted.</ref> One author from the churches of Christ describes the relationship between faith and baptism this way, "''Faith'' is the ''reason why'' a person is a child of God; ''baptism'' is the ''time at which'' one is incorporated into Christ and so becomes a child of God" (italics are in the source).<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.170}} Baptism is understood as a confessional expression of faith and repentance,<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.179–182}} rather than a "work" that earns salvation.<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.170}}

===Methodism===
[[File:Baptistry (United Methodist Church of the Saviour).jpg|thumb|right|A baptistry in a [[Methodist]] church]]
The Methodist [[Articles of Religion (Methodist)|Articles of Religion]], with regard to baptism, teach:<ref name="NettlesPrattKolbCastelein2009">{{cite book|title=Understanding Four Views on Baptism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUmAMlP8YOYC&pg=PA92|date=30 August 2009|publisher=Zondervan|language=English|isbn=9780310866985|page=92|quote=Thomas J. Nettles, Richard L. Pratt Jr., Robert Kolb, John D. Castelein}}</ref>
{{quotation|Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.<ref name="NettlesPrattKolbCastelein2009"/>}}
While baptism imparts regenerating grace, its permanence is contingent upon [[Repentance (theology)|repentance]] and a [[Born again#Methodism|personal committment to Jesus Christ]].<ref name="UMC – By Water and the Spirit"/>
In the [[Methodist Church]]es, baptism is a [[sacrament]] of initiation into the visible Church.<ref name="StuartChappell1922">{{cite book|last1=Stuart|first1=George Rutledge|last2=Chappell|first2=Edwin Barfield|title=What Every Methodist Should Know|accessdate=27 July 2018|year=1922|publisher=Lamar & Barton|language=English |page=83}}</ref> [[Covenant theology#Wesleyan covenant theology|Wesleyan covenant theology]] further teaches that baptism is a sign and a seal of the covenant of grace:<ref name="Summers1857">{{cite book|last=Summers|first=Thomas Osmond|title=Methodist Pamphlets for the People|accessdate=27 July 2018|year=1857|publisher=E. Stevenson & F. A. Owen for the M. E. Church, South|language=English|page=18}}</ref>
{{quotation|Of this great new-covenant blessing, baptism was therefore eminently the ''sign''; and it represented "the ''pouring out''" of the Spirit, "the ''descending''" of the Spirit, the "falling" of the Spirit "upon men," by the mode in which it was administered, the pouring of water from above upon the subjects baptized. As a seal, also, or ''confirming'' sign, baptism answers to circumcision.<ref name="Summers1857"/>}}
Methodists recognize three modes of baptism as being valid—"immersion, sprinkling, or pouring" in the name of the [[Holy Trinity]].<ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|year=2014|publisher=[[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]]|location=[[Salem, Ohio|Salem]]|language=English|page=140}}</ref>

===Reformed Protestantism===
{{Main|Reformed baptismal theology}}

In [[Reformed baptismal theology]], baptism is seen as primarily God's offer of [[union with Christ]] and all his benefits to the baptized. This offer is believed to be intact even when it is not received in faith by the person baptized.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riggs |first=John W. |title=Baptism in the Reformed Tradition: A Historical and Practical Theology |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-664-21966-7 |location=Louisville, KY |page=119}}</ref> Reformed theologians believe the Holy Spirit brings into effect the promises signified in baptism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=R. Michael |title=Reformed Theology |year=2010 |publisher=[[T&T Clark]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-567-03430-4 |pages=123–124}}</ref> Baptism is held by almost the entire Reformed tradition to effect regeneration, even in infants who are incapable of faith, by effecting faith which would come to fruition later.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riggs |first=John W. |title=Baptism in the Reformed Tradition: A Historical and Practical Theology |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-664-21966-7 |location=Louisville, KY |page=121}}</ref> Baptism also initiates one into the [[visible church]] and the [[covenant of grace]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Riggs |first=John W. |title=Baptism in the Reformed Tradition: A Historical and Practical Theology |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-664-21966-7 |location=Louisville, KY |page=120}}</ref> Baptism is seen as a replacement of [[circumcision]], which is considered the rite of initiation into the covenant of grace in the Old Testament.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fesko |first=J. V. |title = Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism |year=2013 |orig-year=2010 |publisher=Reformation Heritage Books |isbn=978-1-60178-282-3 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |page=159}}</ref>

Reformed Christians believe that immersion is not necessary for baptism to be properly performed, but that pouring or sprinkling are acceptable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rohls |first=Jan |year=1998 |title=Theologie reformierter Bekenntnisschriften |trans-title=Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to Barmen |language=de |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |isbn=0-664-22078-9 |others=Translated by John Hoffmeyer |origyear=1987 |page=207}}</ref> Only ordained ministers are permitted to administer baptism in Reformed churches, with no allowance for emergency baptism, though baptisms performed by non-ministers are generally considered valid.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rohls |first=Jan |year=1998 |title=Theologie reformierter Bekenntnisschriften |trans-title=Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to Barmen |language=de |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |isbn=0-664-22078-9 |others=Translated by John Hoffmeyer |origyear=1987 |pages=207–208}}</ref> Reformed churches, while rejecting the baptismal ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, accept the validity of baptisms performed with them and do not rebaptize.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rohls |first=Jan |year=1998 |title=Theologie reformierter Bekenntnisschriften |trans-title=Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to Barmen |language=de |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |isbn=0-664-22078-9 |others=Translated by John Hoffmeyer |origyear=1987 |page=209}}</ref>

===Roman Catholicism===
[[File:El Battistero.jpg|thumb|right|A modern baptistery in the Church of the Sacred Heart in [[Monza]], [[Italy]].]]
{{see also|Baptismal vows}}
{{see also|Parish register}}
In Catholic teaching, baptism is stated to be "necessary for salvation by actual reception or at least by desire".<ref name="can849">{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2T.HTM |title=Code of Canon Law, canon 849 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=May 4, 2007 |accessdate=February 25, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090115174636/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2T.HTM| archivedate= January 15, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> This teaching is based on Jesus' words in the [[Gospel according to John]]: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."<ref>{{Bibleref2c|Jn|3:5|RSV}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cross2005baptism"/> The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament."<ref name="vatican" /> The [[Council of Trent]] also states in the ''Decree Concerning Justification'' from session six that baptism is necessary for salvation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Council of Trent Session 6|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/councils/trent6.htm}}</ref> A person who knowingly, willfully and unrepentantly rejects baptism has no hope of salvation. However, if knowledge is absent, "those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience."<ref>{{cite web|title=LUMEN GENTIUM |url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |work=Vatican II |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |archivedate=September 6, 2014 |df=mdy }}</ref>

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states: "Since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the devil, one or more [[exorcism]]s are pronounced over the candidate".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3J.HTM |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1237 |publisher=Vatican.va |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> In the [[Roman Rite]] of the baptism of a child, the wording of the prayer of exorcism is: "Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness and bring him into the splendour of your kingdom of light. We pray for this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her). Through Christ our Lord."<ref>Rite of Baptism of Children, 86</ref>

In the Catholic Church by baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocp.org/what-is-baptism |title=What is Baptism? |publisher=Oregon Catholic Press |accessdate=April 25, 2018}}</ref> Given once for all, baptism cannot be repeated. Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. Sanctifying grace, the grace of justification, given by God by baptism, erases the original sin and personal actual sins.<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church: THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM</ref>

Catholics are baptized in water, by submersion, immersion or affusion, in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit<ref>''Ordo initiationis christanae adultorum'', editio typica, Vatican City, Typis polyglottis vaticanis, 1972, pg 92, cf Lateran IV ''De Fide Catholica'', DS 802, cf Florence, ''Decretum pro Armeniis'', DS, 1317.</ref>—not three gods, but [[Trinity|one God subsisting in three Persons]]. While sharing in the one divine essence, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, not simply three "masks" or manifestations of one divine being. The faith of the Church and of the individual Christian is based on a relationship with these three "Persons" of the one God. Adults can also be baptized through the [[Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults]].

It is claimed that [[Pope Stephen I]], [[St. Ambrose]] and [[Pope Nicholas I]] declared that baptisms in the name of "Jesus" only as well as in the name of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" were valid. The correct interpretation of their words is disputed.<ref name="cathen" /> Current [[canonical law]] requires the Trinitarian formula and water for validity.<ref name="can849" />

The Church recognizes two equivalents of baptism with water: "baptism of blood" and "[[baptism of desire]]". Baptism of blood is that undergone by unbaptized individuals who are [[martyr]]ed for their faith, while baptism of desire generally applies to [[catechumen]]s who die before they can be baptized. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes these two forms:

<blockquote>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. (1258)</blockquote>

<blockquote>For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament. (1259)</blockquote>

The Catholic Church holds that those who are ignorant of Christ's Gospel and of the Church, but who seek the truth and do God's will as they understand it, may be supposed to have an implicit desire for baptism and can be saved: "'Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.' Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P3M.HTM |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1260 |publisher=Vatican.va |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> As for unbaptized infants, the Church is unsure of their fate; "the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P3M.HTM |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1261 |publisher=Vatican.va |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

===Jehovah's Witnesses===
[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that baptism should be performed by complete immersion (submersion) only when an individual is old enough to understand its significance. They believe that water baptism is an outward symbol that a person has made an unconditional dedication through Jesus Christ to do the will of God. They consider baptism to constitute ordination as a minister.<ref>''Jet'' magazine, August 4, 1955, page 26 [https://books.google.com/books?id=xbEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26&dq=%22jehovah%27s+witnesses%22 Online]</ref>

Prospective candidates for baptism must express their desire to be baptized well in advance of a planned baptismal event, to allow for congregation [[Elder (Christianity)#Jehovah's Witnesses|elders]] to assess their suitability.<ref>''Organized to Do Jehovah's Will'', published by Jehovah's Witnesses, page 182.</ref> Elders approve candidates for baptism if the candidates are considered to understand what is expected of members of the religion and to demonstrate sincere dedication to the faith.<ref>''Organized to Do Jehovah's Will'', published by Jehovah's Witnesses, page 217–218.</ref>

Most baptisms among Jehovah's Witnesses are performed at scheduled assemblies and conventions by elders and ministerial servants<ref>''The Watchtower'', May 15, 1970, page 309.</ref><ref>"The General Priesthood Today", ''The Watchtower'', March 1, 1963, page 147</ref><ref>''Organized to Do Jehovah's Will'', published by Jehovah's Witnesses, page 215, "Baptisms are usually performed at assemblies and conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses."</ref> and rarely occur at local [[Kingdom Hall]]s.<ref name=autogenerated1>"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', August 1, 1973, page 480</ref> Prior to baptism, at the conclusion of a pre-baptism talk, candidates must affirm two questions:<ref>Watchtower June 1, 1985</ref>
{{quote|
# On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
# Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?}}

Only baptized males may baptize new members. Baptizers and candidates wear swimsuits or other informal clothing for baptism, but are directed to avoid clothing that is considered undignified or revealing.<ref name="autogenerated1999">""God's Prophetic Word" District Conventions", ''Our Kingdom Ministry'', May 1999, page 4</ref><ref>"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', April 15, 1973, page 254–255</ref><ref>"Question Box", ''Our Kingdom Ministry'', June 1993, page 3</ref> Generally, candidates are individually immersed by a single baptizer,<ref name="autogenerated1999"/> unless a candidate has special circumstances such as a physical [[disability]].<ref name="The Watchtower 1986, page 31">"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', November 15, 1986, page 31</ref> In circumstances of extended isolation, a qualified candidate's dedication and stated intention to become baptized may serve to identify him as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, even if immersion itself must be delayed.<ref>"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', August 1, 1973, pages 479–480</ref> In rare instances, unbaptized males who had stated such an intention have reciprocally baptized each other, with both baptisms accepted as valid.<ref>"Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands", ''1987 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses'', page 71</ref> Individuals who had been baptized in the 1930s and 1940s by female Witnesses, such as in concentration camps, were later re-baptized but recognized their original baptism dates.<ref name="autogenerated480" />

===Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints===
[[File:Mormon baptism circa 1850s.png|thumb|right|upright=0.8|A Mormon baptism, circa the 1850s]]
{{Main|Baptism in Mormonism}}

In [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), baptism has the main purpose of remitting the [[sin]]s of the participant. It is followed by [[Confirmation (Latter Day Saints)|confirmation]], which inducts the person into membership in the church and constitutes a [[baptism with the Holy Spirit]]. Latter-day Saints believe that baptism must be by full immersion, and by a precise ritualized ordinance: if some part of the participant is not fully immersed, or the ordinance was not recited verbatim, the ritual must be repeated.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.lds.org/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-5-performing-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng |title= Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part B |chapter= Performing Priesthood Ordinances § Baptism |year= 2000 |pages= 41–48 |publisher= LDS Church |url= https://www.lds.org/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-5-performing-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208180037/https://www.lds.org/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-5-performing-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref> It typically occurs in a [[baptismal font]].

In addition, members of the LDS Church do not believe a baptism is valid unless it is performed by a Latter-day Saint one who has proper authority (a [[Priest (Latter Day Saints)|priest]] or [[Elder (Latter Day Saints)|elder]]).<ref>{{citation |url= https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/baptism-baptize?lang=eng |title= Guide to the Scriptures: Baptism, Baptize § Proper authority |website= LDS.org |publisher= LDS Church |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208180445/https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/baptism-baptize?lang=eng |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref> Authority is passed down through a form of [[apostolic succession]]. All new converts to the faith must be baptized or [[rebaptism (Mormonism)|re-baptized]]. Baptism is seen as symbolic both of Jesus' death, burial and [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]]<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/baptism?lang=eng |title= Baptism |work= [[LDS edition of the Bible|KJV (LDS)]]: [[Bible Dictionary (LDS Church)|Bible Dictionary]] |publisher= LDS Church |year= 1979 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208180641/http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/baptism?lang=eng |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref> and is also symbolic of the baptized individual discarding their "natural" self and donning a new identity as a disciple of Jesus.

According to Latter-day Saint theology, [[faith]] and [[repentance]] are prerequisites to baptism. The ritual does not cleanse the participant of [[original sin]], as Latter-day Saints do not believe the doctrine of original sin. Mormonism rejects [[infant baptism]]<ref>[[Book of Mormon]], {{lds|Moroni|moro|8|4|23}}</ref><ref name="EoM Infant Baptism">{{citation |last= Parsons |first= Robert E. |contribution= Infant Baptism: LDS Perspective |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3795 |page= 682 |editor1-last= Ludlow |editor1-first= Daniel H |editor1-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |year= 1992 |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 }}</ref> and baptism must occur after the [[age of accountability]], defined in Latter-day Saint scripture as eight years old.<ref>{{lds|Doctrine and Covenants|dc|68|25|27}}</ref><ref name="EoM Accountability">{{citation |last= Warner |first= C. Terry |authorlink= C. Terry Warner |contribution= Accountability |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/5446 |page= 13 |editor1-last= Ludlow |editor1-first= Daniel H |editor1-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |year= 1992 |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 }}</ref>

Latter-day Saint theology also teaches [[baptism for the dead]] in which deceased ancestors are baptized vicariously by the living, and believe that their practice is what Paul wrote of in Corinthians 15:29. This occurs in [[Temple (Latter Day Saints)|Latter-day Saint temples]].<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.lds.org/topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng |title= Gospel Topics: Baptisms for the Dead |website= LDS.org |publisher= LDS Church |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208180901/http://www.lds.org/topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref><ref name="EoM Baptism for the dead">{{citation |last= Burton |first= H. David |authorlink= H. David Burton |contribution= Baptism for the dead: LDS Practice |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/5502 |pages= 95–97 |editor1-last= Ludlow |editor1-first= Daniel H |editor1-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |year= 1992 |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 }}</ref>

==Non-practitioners==

===Quakers===
[[Quakers]] (members of the [[Religious Society of Friends]]) do not believe in the baptism of either children or adults with water, rejecting all forms of outward [[sacraments]] in their religious life. [[Robert Barclay]]'s ''Apology for the True Christian Divinity'' (a historic explanation of Quaker theology from the 17th century), explains Quakers' opposition to baptism with water thus:

{{Quote|"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire".<ref>{{bibleref2c|Mt|3:11}}</ref> Here John mentions two manners of baptizings and two different baptisms, the one with water, and the other with the Spirit, the one whereof he was the minister of, the other whereof Christ was the minister of: and such as were baptized with the first were not therefore baptized with the second: "I indeed baptize you, but he shall baptize you." Though in the present time they were baptized with the baptism of water, yet they were not as yet, but were to be, baptized with the baptism of Christ.|[[Robert Barclay]], 1678<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qhpress.org/texts/barclay/apology/prop12.html |title=Apology, Proposition 12 |publisher=Qhpress.org |accessdate=July 28, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090617033930/http://www.qhpress.org/texts/barclay/apology/prop12.html| archivedate= June 17, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref>}}

[[Robert Barclay|Barclay]] argued that water baptism was only something that happened until the time of Christ, but that now, people are baptised inwardly by the spirit of Christ, and hence there is no need for the external sacrament of water baptism, which [[Quakers]] argue is meaningless.

===Salvation Army===
The [[Salvation Army]] does not practice water baptism, or indeed other outward [[sacraments]]. [[William Booth]] and [[Catherine Booth]], the founders of the [[Salvation Army]], believed that many Christians had come to rely on the outward signs of spiritual grace rather than on grace itself. They believed what was important was spiritual grace itself. However, although the [[Salvation Army]] does not practice baptism, they are not opposed to baptism within other Christian denominations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-print/C28E39B2CA06E8F98025708A003D9FAC?openDocument |title=Why does The Salvation Army not baptise or hold communion? |publisher=The Salvation Army |date=February 28, 1987 |accessdate=July 28, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120233651/http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-print/C28E39B2CA06E8F98025708A003D9FAC?openDocument |archivedate=November 20, 2008 }}</ref>

===Hyperdispensationalism===

There are some Christians termed "[[Hyperdispensationalism|Hyperdispensationalists]]" (Mid-Acts dispensationalism) who accept only Paul's Epistles as directly applicable for the church today. They do not accept water baptism as a practice for the church since Paul who was God's apostle to the nations was not sent to baptize. Ultradispensationalists (Acts 28 dispensationalism) who do not accept the practice of the Lord's supper, do not practice baptism because these are not found in the Prison Epistles.<ref>"Prison epistles" include [[Ephesians]], [[Colossians]], [[Philippians]], and [[Epistle to Philemon|Philemon]]</ref> Both sects believe water baptism was a valid practice for covenant Israel. Hyperdispensationalists also teach that Peter's gospel message was not the same as Paul's.<ref>{{cite web|first=David M. |last=Havard |title=Are We Hyper-Dispensationalists? |url=http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/articles/1011392439.html |publisher=Berean Bible Society |accessdate=January 19, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090204081633/http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/articles/1011392439.html| archivedate= February 4, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Hyperdispensationalists assert:

*The great commission<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|28:18–20}}</ref> and its baptism is directed to early Jewish believers, not the Gentile believers of mid-Acts or later.
*The baptism of Acts 2:36–38 is Peter's call for Israel to repent of complicity in the death of their Messiah; not as a Gospel announcement of [[Atonement in Christianity|atonement]] for sin, a later doctrine revealed by Paul.

Water baptism found early in the Book of Acts is, according to this view, now supplanted by the one baptism<ref>{{Bibleref2c|1cor|12:13||1 Cor 12:13}}</ref> foretold by John the Baptist.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|3:16}}, {{bibleref2|John|1:33}}, {{bibleref2|Matt|3:11}}{{bibleref2|Acts|1:5}}</ref> Others make a distinction between John's prophesied baptism by Christ with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's baptism of the believer into the body of Christ; the latter being the one baptism for today. The one baptism for today, it is asserted, is the "baptism of the [[Holy Spirit]]" of the believer into the Body of Christ church.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Ac|11:15–16}}</ref>

Many in this group also argue that John's promised [[Baptized by fire|baptism by fire]] is pending, referring to the destruction of the world by fire.<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|3:12}}, {{bibleref2|Luke|3:17}}, {{bibleref2|2|Pe|3:10||2 Peter 3:10}}</ref>

John, as he said "baptized with water", as did Jesus's disciples to the early, Jewish Christian church. Jesus himself never personally baptized with water, but did so through his disciples.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Jn|4:1–2}}</ref> Unlike Jesus' first apostles, Paul, his apostle to the Gentiles, was sent to preach rather than to baptize<ref>{{bibleref2c|1Cor.|1:17||1 Co 1:17}}</ref> in contradiction to the Great Commission.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Mt|28:19}}</ref> But Paul did occasionally still baptize Jews, for instance in Corinth<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|1Cor|1:14–16}}</ref> and in Philippi.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Ac|16:13}}</ref> He also taught the spiritual significance of Spirit baptism in identifying the believer with the atoning death of Christ, his burial, and resurrection.<ref>{{bibleref2c|Rom|6:4}}</ref> Romans 6 baptism does not mention nor imply water but is rather a real baptism into Christ's death.

Other Hyperdispensationalists believe that baptism was necessary until mid-Acts. The great commission<ref>{{bibleref2c|Mt|28:18–20}}</ref> and its baptism was directed to early Jewish believers, not the Gentile believers of mid-Acts or later. Any Jew who believed did not receive salvation<ref>{{bibleref2c|Mk|16:16}}</ref><ref>{{bibleref2c|1Peter|3:21||1 Pe 3:21}}</ref> or the baptism of the Holy Spirit<ref name="bibleref2c|Ac|2:38"/> until they were water baptized. This period ended with the calling of Paul.<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|Ac|9:17–18}}</ref> Peter's reaction when the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit before baptism<ref>{{bibleref2c-nb|Ac|10:44–48}}</ref> is seen as proof of transition from water to Spirit baptism. Also significant is the lack of any instructions in the Acts 15 apostolic conference requiring Gentiles to be water baptized.

===Debaptism===
{{main|Debaptism}}
Most Christian churches see baptism as a once-in-a-lifetime event that can be [[sacramental character|neither repeated nor undone]]. They hold that those who have been baptized remain baptized, even if they renounce the Christian faith by adopting a non-Christian religion or by [[irreligion|rejecting religion]] entirely. But some other organizations and individuals are practicing debaptism.

==Comparative summary==

Comparative Summary of Baptisms of Denominations of Christian Influence.<ref>''Good News''. Issue 3. St Louis, MO. 2003. pp 18–19{{Verify source|date=March 2009}}</ref><ref name="39articles">{{cite web|url=http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html |title=The Thirty-Nine Articles |publisher=Anglicans Online |date=April 15, 2007 |accessdate=February 25, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224055615/http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html |archivedate=February 24, 2009 |deadurl=yes |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp |title=The Baptist Faith & Message |publisher=[[Southern Baptist Convention]] |date=June 14, 2000 |accessdate=February 25, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090303000119/http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp| archivedate= March 3, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> (This section does not give a complete listing of denominations, and therefore, it only mentions a fraction of the churches practicing "believer's baptism".)

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%;"
|-
! Denomination
! Beliefs about baptism
! Type of baptism
! Baptize infants?
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
! Standard
|-
| [[Anabaptist]]
| Baptism is considered by the majority of Anabaptist Churches (anabaptist means to baptize again) to be essential to Christian faith but not to salvation. It is considered to be an [[Ordinance (Christian)|ordinance]]. The Anabaptists stood firmly against infant baptism in a time when the Church and State were one and when people were made a citizen through baptism into the officially sanctioned Church (Reformed or Catholic). By Alter in "Why Baptist?" pgs 52-58.
| Traditionally by pouring or sprinkling, since the 18th century also immersion and submersion.
| No
| No. Faith in Christ is believed to precede and follow baptism.
| Trinity
|-
| [[Anglicanism]]
| "Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God."<ref name="39articles" />
| By submersion, immersion or pouring.
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Baptists]]
| A divine ordinance, a symbolic ritual, a mechanism for publicly declaring one's faith, and a sign of having already been saved, but not necessary for salvation.
| By submersion only.
| No
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[Church of the Brethren|Brethren]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Church-Of-The-Brethren/a/The-Brethren-Beliefs.htm |title=The Brethren - Beliefs and Practices Of The Church of The Brethren |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=April 7, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism is an ordinance performed upon adults in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a commitment to live Christ's teachings responsibly and joyfully.
| Immersion only
| No
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Calvary Chapel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Calvary-Chapel/a/Calvary-Chapel-Beliefs.htm |title=Calvary Chapel Beliefs – What Do Calvary Chapels Believe and Teach |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism is disregarded as necessary for salvation but instead recognizes as an outward sign of an inward change
| Immersion only
| No
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[Christadelphians]]
| Baptism is essential for the salvation of a believer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baptism |url=http://thechristadelphians.org/htm/pamphletz/p0004m.htm |accessdate=August 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012223117/http://thechristadelphians.org/htm/pamphletz/p0004m.htm |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |dead-url=yes |df=mdy-all }}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2009}}</ref> It is only effective if somebody believes the true gospel message before they are baptized.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baptism |work=Bible Q & A |year=2001 |url=http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/p_bibleqa.htm#20 |accessdate=August 22, 2007| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927013541/http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/p_bibleqa.htm| archivedate= September 27, 2007 | deadurl= no}}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2009}}</ref> Baptism is an external symbol of an internal change in the believer: it represents a death to an old, sinful way of life, and the start of a new life as a Christian, summed up as the repentance of the believer—it therefore leads to forgiveness from God, who forgives people who repent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Levin |first=David |title=Forgiveness |url=http://www.god-so-loved-the-world.org/english/levin_forgiveness.htm |accessdate=August 22, 2007}}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2009}}</ref> Although someone is only baptized once, a believer must live by the principles of their baptism (i.e., death to sin, and a new life following Jesus) throughout their life.<ref>{{cite web|last=Norris |first=Alfred |title=His Cross and Yours |date=November 12, 2006 |url=http://www.god-so-loved-the-world.org/english/norris_hiscrossandyours.htm |accessdate=August 22, 2007}}</ref>
| By submersion only<ref name="morgan">{{Cite book|last=Morgan |first=Tecwyn |chapter=What Exactly is Christian Baptism? |chapterurl=http://www.god-so-loved-the-world.org/english/morgan_utb14_what_exactly_is_christian_baptism.pdf |title=Understand the Bible for Yourself |publisher=Christadelphian Bible Mission |year=2006 |accessdate=February 26, 2009}}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2009}}</ref>
| No<ref name="morgan" />
| Yes
| The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (although Christadelphians do not believe in the Nicean trinity)
|-
! Denomination (continued)
! Beliefs about baptism
! Type of baptism
! Baptize infants?
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
! Standard
|-
| [[Churches of Christ]]
| Baptism is the remissions for sins, it washes away sins and gives spiritual life; it is a symbolization through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.<ref>{{cite web|author=Todd |url=http://seekingthelostradio.net/article.php?story=whatchurchesofChristbelieveaboutbaptism |title=What the Church of Christ Believes About Baptism — Seeking The Lost –International Radio |publisher=Seekingthelostradio.net |date=March 11, 2012 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref> Churches of Christ have historically had the most conservative position on baptism among the various branches of the [[Restoration Movement]], understanding baptism by immersion to be a necessary part of conversion.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Baptism" />{{rp|p.61}}
| By immersion only<ref name="Perfect Stranger" />{{rp|p.107}}<ref name="Rhodes 2005" />{{rp|p.124}}<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ" />
| No<ref name="Rhodes 2005" />{{rp|p.124}}<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ" /><ref name="Howard 1971" />{{rp|p.318–319}}<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.195}}
| Yes; because of the belief that baptism is a necessary part of salvation, some Baptists hold that the Churches of Christ endorse the doctrine of [[baptismal regeneration]].<ref name="Foster" /> However, members of the Churches of Christ reject this, arguing that since faith and repentance are necessary, and that the cleansing of sins is by the blood of Christ through the grace of God, baptism is not an inherently redeeming ritual.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism" />{{rp|p.133}}<ref name="Foster" /><ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement: Regeneration" />{{rp|p.630,631}} Baptism is understood as a confessional expression of faith and repentance,<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.179–182}} rather than a "work" that earns salvation.<ref name="Ferguson 1996" />{{rp|p.170}}
| Trinity
|-
| [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
| An ordinance essential to enter the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven and preparatory for receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.
| By immersion performed by a person holding proper priesthood authority.<ref name = ldsbaptism/>
| No (at least 8 years old)
| Yes
| Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost (the LDS Church does not teach a belief in the [[nicean creed|Nicean]] [[trinity]], but rather a belief in the [[Godhead (Latter Day Saints)|Godhead]])<ref>For a more thorough Latter-day Saint explanation of the Godhead with scripture references, see: {{citation |url= http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/god-godhead |title= Guide to the Scriptures: God, Godhead |website= LDS.org |publisher= LDS Church |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208181021/http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/god-godhead |archive-date= December 8, 2014 |deadurl= no }}</ref>
|-
|[[Christian and Missionary Alliance|Christian Missionary Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmalliance.org/about/beliefs/perspectives/baptism|title=Baptism|publisher=cmalliance.org|accessdate=March 9, 2016}}</ref>
| Water baptism identifies a person as a disciple of Christ and celebrates the passage from an old life into a new life in Christ. Simply stated, it is an outward sign of an inward change.
| Immersion
| No
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[Community Church movement|Community Churches]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.willowcreek.org/southbarrington/go-deeper/baptism-a-communion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927022844/http://www.willowcreek.org/southbarrington/go-deeper/baptism-a-communion |dead-url=yes |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |title=Baptism & Communion – Willow Creek Community Church |publisher=Willowcreek.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014 }}</ref>
| Not necessary for salvation but rather is a sign as a Christ's followers. It is an act of obedience to Christ that follows one's acceptance of salvation by God's grace. Baptism is a symbolization of cleansing of the spirit through God's divine forgiveness and a new life through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
| Immersion only
| No
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Disciples-Of-Christ/a/Disciples-Of-Christ-Beliefs.htm |title=Disciples of Christ – Distinctive Beliefs and Practices of the Disciples of Christ |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism is a symbolization of [[Christ]]'s death, burial, and resurrection. It also signifies new birth, cleansing from sin, individual's response to God's grace, and acceptance into the faith community.
| Mostly immersion; others pouring. Most Disciples believe that [[believer's baptism]] and the practice of immersion were used in the [[New Testament]].
| No
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/a/orthodoxbeliefs.htm |title=Eastern Orthodox Church – Beliefs and Practices of the Eastern Orthodox Denomination |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism is the initiator the salvation experience and for the remissions of sins and is the actual supernatural transformation
| Immersion
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Evangelical Free Church]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsite3299.web07.intellisite.com/363937.ihtml |title=Evangelical Free Church – Site Map |publisher=Newsite3299.web07.intellisite.com |accessdate=April 13, 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325191223/http://newsite3299.web07.intellisite.com/363937.ihtml |archivedate=March 25, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| An outward expression of an individual's inward faith to God's grace.
| Submersion only
| No
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[Foursquare Gospel Church]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Foursquare-Church/a/Foursquare-Gospel-Church-Beliefs-And-Practices.htm |title=Foursquare Gospel Church – Learn the Beliefs of the Foursquare Gospel Church |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=April 7, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism is required as a public commitment to Christ's role as Redeemer and King
| Immersion only
| No
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Grace Communion International]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gci.org/aboutus/beliefs |title=The GCI Statement of Beliefs | Grace Communion International |publisher=Gci.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism proclaims the good news that Christ has made everyone his own and that it is only Him that everybody's new life of faith and obedience merges.
| Immersion only
| No
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]
| Baptism is necessary for salvation as part of the entire baptismal arrangement: as an expression of obedience to Jesus' command (Matthew 28:19–20), as a public symbol of the saving faith in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10), and as an indication of repentance from dead works and the dedication of one's life to Jehovah. (1 Peter 2:21) However, baptism does not guarantee salvation.<ref>''Worship the Only True God'', published by Jehovah's Witnesses (2002, 2006), "Chapter 12: The Meaning of Your Baptism", p. 118, "It would be a mistake to conclude that baptism is in itself a guarantee of salvation. It has value only if a person has truly dedicated himself to Jehovah through Jesus Christ and thereafter carries out God's will, being faithful to the end."</ref>
| By submersion only; typical candidates are baptized at district and circuit conventions.<ref>"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', May 1, 1979, p. 31, "The Bible shows that baptism by complete immersion is very important. So even when unusual steps are necessary because of a person's condition, he should be baptized if at all possible. ...In modern times Jehovah's Witnesses have arranged for baptisms at conventions. [However], fully valid baptisms have even been performed locally in large home bathtubs. ...Of course, it might be that in some extreme case baptism would seem absolutely impossible for the time being. Then we trust that our merciful heavenly Father will understand".</ref>
| No
| No
| In the name of the Father(Jehovah), the Son(Jesus Christ) and the holy spirit. Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the trinity<ref>https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/trinity/</ref><ref>https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/is-jesus-almighty/</ref> but view Jehovah as Sovereign God Almighty;<ref>https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/who-is-jehovah/</ref> Jesus as God's firstborn only-begotten son, second only to Jehovah himself in authority, who now reigns as the anointed king of God's Messianic Kingdom;<ref>https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20110301/who-is-jesus-christ/</ref><ref>https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-gods-kingdom/</ref><ref>https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20131201/about-the-return-of-christ/#?insight</ref> and the holy spirit as God's active force or the force by which God causes things to happen.<ref>https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit/#?insight</ref>
|-
! Denomination (continued)
! Beliefs about baptism
! Type of baptism
! Baptize infants?
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
! Standard
|-
| [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]]
| The entry [[Lutheran sacraments|sacrament]] into the Church by which a person receives forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Luther|first=Martin|title=Luther's Small Catechism|url=http://www.cph.org/images/topics/pdf/smallcatechism/holy-baptism.pdf|edition=1986|year=1529|publisher=''Concordia Publishing House''|chapter=The Sacrament of Holy Baptism}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/The-Basics/Glossary-of-Terms.aspx#B |title=Glossary of Terms: Baptism |work=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |accessdate=December 2, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101072454/http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/The-Basics/Glossary-of-Terms.aspx |archivedate=November 1, 2012 }}</ref><ref name=LCMS>{{cite web|url=http://lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=1086|title=What About Holy Baptism?|work=Lutheran Church––Missouri Synod|accessdate=December 2, 2012}}</ref>
| By sprinkling, pouring or immersion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Worship/Learning-Center/FAQs/HolyBaptism_What-is-a-baptismal-remembrance_Sprinkling-with-water.aspx |title=What is a baptismal remembrance – sprinkling with water? |work=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |accessdate=December 2, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027054320/http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Worship/Learning-Center/FAQs/HolyBaptism_What-is-a-baptismal-remembrance_Sprinkling-with-water.aspx |archivedate=October 27, 2012 }}</ref>
| Yes<ref name="LCMS" />
| Yes<ref name="LCMS" />
| Trinity
|-
| [[Methodism|Methodists]] and [[Wesleyanism|Wesleyans]]
| The sacrament of initiation into Christ's holy Church whereby one is incorporated into the [[covenant of grace]] and given new birth through water and the spirit. Baptism washes away sin and clothes one in the righteousness of Christ. It is a visible sign and seal of inward [[Regeneration (theology)|regeneration]].<ref name="Crowther1815">{{cite book|last=Crowther|first=Jonathan|title=A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists|year=1815|publisher=T. Blanshard|language=English|pages=224, 228|quote=They believe baptism to be an ordinance appointed by Christ; not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible church, also to be to him a sign or emblem of regeneration, and of his presenting himself to God, through Jesus Christ, to ''walk in newness of life''. It is also a covenant of grace, and by Christ's own appointment, is to continue in the church to the end of the world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/AME/a/AMEC-Beliefs.htm |title=AMEC - Beliefs and Practices of the AMEC (African Methodist Episcopal Church) |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| By sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.<ref name="By Water and the Spirit – Method">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=4&mid=992| title = By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism|publisher = [[The United Methodist Church]]|quote= In United Methodist churches, the water of baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.|accessdate =August 2, 2007}}</ref>
| Yes<ref name="Henry Wheeler, D.D. – Baptism of Infants in Methodism">{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/?id=7swrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=meaning+of+article+7+articles+of+methodist+religion&q=infant| title = History and Exposition of the Twenty-five Articles of Religion of the Methodist Episcopal Church|publisher =Eaton & Mains|pages=295–312|accessdate =August 2, 2007|year = 1908}}</ref>
| Yes, although contingent upon [[Repentance (theology)|repentance]] and a [[Born again (Christianity)|personal acceptance]] of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] as Saviour.<ref name="UMC – By Water and the Spirit">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=4&mid=992| title = By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism|publisher = [[The United Methodist Church]]|quote= John Wesley retained the sacramental theology which he received from his Anglican heritage. He taught that in baptism a child was cleansed of the guilt of original sin, initiated into the covenant with God, admitted into the church, made an heir of the divine kingdom, and spiritually born anew. He said that while baptism was neither essential to nor sufficient for salvation, it was the "ordinary means" that God designated for applying the benefits of the work of Christ in human lives. On the other hand, although he affirmed the regenerating grace of infant baptism, he also insisted upon the necessity of adult conversion for those who have fallen from grace. A person who matures into moral accountability must respond to God's grace in repentance and faith. Without personal decision and commitment to Christ, the baptismal gift is rendered ineffective. <br /> ''Baptism as Forgiveness of Sin''. In baptism God offers and we accept the forgiveness of our sin (Acts 2:38). With the pardoning of sin which has separated us from God, we are justified—freed from the guilt and penalty of sin and restored to right relationship with God. This reconciliation is made possible through the atonement of Christ and made real in our lives by the work of the Holy Spirit. We respond by confessing and repenting of our sin, and affirming our faith that Jesus Christ has accomplished all that is necessary for our salvation. Faith is the necessary condition for justification; in baptism, that faith is professed. God's forgiveness makes possible the renewal of our spiritual lives and our becoming new beings in Christ. <br /> ''Baptism as New Life''. Baptism is the sacramental sign of new life through and in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Variously identified as regeneration, new birth, and being born again, this work of grace makes us into new spiritual creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). We die to our old nature which was dominated by sin and enter into the very life of Christ who transforms us. Baptism is the means of entry into new life in Christ (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), but new birth may not always coincide with the moment of the administration of water or the laying on of hands. Our awareness and acceptance of our redemption by Christ and new life in him may vary throughout our lives. But, in whatever way the reality of the new birth is experienced, it carries out the promises God made to us in our baptism.|accessdate =August 2, 2007}}</ref><ref name="By Water and the Spirit – Personal Faith">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=4&mid=992| title = By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism|publisher = [[The United Methodist Church]]|quote= The United Methodist Church does not accept either the idea that only believer's baptism is valid or the notion that the baptism of infants magically imparts salvation apart from active personal faith.|accessdate =August 2, 2007}}</ref>
| Trinity
|-
| [[Metropolitan Community Church]]
| Baptism is conducted in the order of worship.
| sprinkling, pouring, or immersion
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Moravian Church]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Moravian/a/Moravian-Beliefs.htm |title=Moravian Church Beliefs Are Solidly Based On The Bible |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| The individual receives the pledge of the forgiveness of sins and admission through God's covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ
| sprinkling, pour, or immersion
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarenes]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christianity.about.com/od/Nazarene-Church/a/Nazarene-Beliefs.htm |title=Nazarene – Distinctive Beliefs and Practices of the Church of the Nazarene |publisher=Christianity.about.com |date=March 4, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Baptism signifies the acceptance of Christ Jesus as Saviour and are willingly to obey him righteously and in holiness.
| sprinkling, pouring, or immersion
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Oneness Pentecostalism|Oneness Pentecostals]]
| Necessary for salvation because it conveys spiritual rebirth.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Nathan|title=What is the gospel message? Turning things around|url=http://www.beyondachurch.com/2018/01/what-is-gospel-message-turning-things.html|website=Beyond A Church|accessdate=22 January 2018}}</ref> Being baptized is an ordinance directed and established by Jesus and the Apostles.<ref name="upci.org">[http://www.upci.org/doctrine/baptism.asp United Pentecostal Church International]. Upci.org. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712033102/http://www.upci.org/doctrine/baptism.asp |date=July 12, 2015 }}</ref>
| By submersion. Also stress the necessity of a baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 8:14–17, 35–38).<ref name="upci.org"/>
| No
| Yes
| Jesus<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gloriouschurch.com/html/Oneness-Questions-And-Answers.asp |title=Questions and Answers about The Doctrine of the Oneness of God |first=David A. |last=Huston |year=2003 |publisher=Rosh Pinnah Publications |accessdate=February 25, 2009}}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals (Trinitarian)]]{{efn|[[Assemblies of God]], [[Church of God of Prophecy]], and [[Church of God in Christ]]}}
| Water Baptism is an ordinance, a symbolic ritual used to witness to having accepted Christ as personal Savior.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
| By submersion. Also stress the necessity of a "second" Baptism of a special outpouring from the Holy Spirit.<ref>[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths/sft_full.cfm Fundamental Truths (Full Statement)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025103149/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths/sft_full.cfm |date=October 25, 2010 }}. Ag.org (March 1, 2010). Retrieved on August 14, 2010.</ref>
| No
| Varies
| Trinity
|-
| [[Reformed baptismal theology|Reformed]] (includes [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] churches)
| A sacrament and means of grace. A sign and a seal of the remission of sins, regeneration, admission into the visible church, and the covenant of grace. It is an outward sign of an inward grace.<ref name="WCF28">[[Wikisource:Westminster Confession of Faith#CHAPTER XXVIII. Of Baptism.]]</ref>
| By sprinkling, pouring, immersion or submersion<ref name="WCF28" />
| Yes
| Yes, the outward means by which the Holy Spirit inwardly accomplishes regeneration and remission of sins<ref>{{Cite book|title = Theologie reformierter Bekenntnisschriften|last = Rohls|first = Jan|publisher = [[Westminster John Knox Press]]|year = 1998|isbn = 0-664-22078-9|location = Louisville, Kentucky|pages = 211|language = de|trans-title = Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to Barmen|others = Translated by John Hoffmeyer}}</ref>
| Trinity
|-
| [[Quakers]] (Religious Society of Friends)
| Only an external symbol that is no longer to be practiced<ref name="John Wilhelm Rowntree 1902">John Wilhelm Rowntree, 1902, Quaker Faith and Practice, Fourth Edition ch 27.37</ref>
| Do not believe in Baptism of water, but only in an inward, ongoing purification of the human spirit in a life of discipline led by the Holy Spirit.<ref name="John Wilhelm Rowntree 1902"/>
| –
| –
| –
|-
! Denomination (continued)
! Beliefs about baptism
! Type of baptism
! Baptize infants?
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
! Standard
|-
| [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| Necessary for salvation. It erases the original and all personal sins. The sanctifying grace, the grace of justification is given by God through baptism.<ref name="vatican" />
| Usually by pouring in the West, by submersion or immersion in the East; sprinkling admitted only if the water then flows on the head.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zao8kBL7CYC |first1=Scott |last1=Hahn |first2=Leon J. |last2=Suprenant |title=Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God |publisher=Emmaus Road Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-9663223-0-9 |page=135}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7uO9JPD17jwC |first=Paul |last=Haffner |title=The Sacramental Mystery |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-85244-476-4 |page=36}}</ref>
| Yes
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
| [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]]
| Not stated as the prerequisite to salvation, but a prerequisite for becoming a member of the church, although nonmembers are still accepted in the church. It symbolizes death to sin and new birth in Jesus Christ.<ref name="Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook 1997">Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook, ed. Ministerial Association, The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Silver Spring, Maryland, 1997), 199.</ref> "It affirms joining the family of God and sets on apart for a life of ministry."<ref name="Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook 1997" />
| By Immersion.<ref>Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual: Revised 2015 and Updated 2016 19th Edition, ed. The Secretariat of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Hagerstown, Marylend: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2016), p.44</ref>
| No
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[United Church of Christ]] ([[Evangelical and Reformed Church]]es and the [[Congregational church|Congregational Christian Churches]])
| One of two sacraments. Baptism is an outward sign of God's inward grace. It may or may not be necessary for membership in a local congregation. However, it is a common practice for both infants and adults.<ref>United Church of Christ, [http://www.ucc.org/worship_baptism About Baptism], Official Website, USA, retrieved September 9, 2016</ref>
| By sprinkling, pouring, immersion or submersion.
| Yes
| No
| Trinity
|-
| [[United Church of God]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucg.org/fundamental-beliefs-info/ |title=Fundamental Beliefs | United Church of God |publisher=Ucg.org |accessdate=April 13, 2014}}</ref>
| Through the laying on hands with prayer, the baptized believer receives the [[Holy Spirit]] and becomes a part of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ.
| Immersion only
| No
| No
| Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (although members of the United Church of God doctrinally believe in Binitarianism believing that the Holy Spirit is a power of God and Jesus Christ rather than a separate person)
|-
| [[Association of Vineyard Churches|Vineyard Churches]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thevineyardchurch.us/connect/kingdom/baptism/ |title=Welcome to The Vineyard Church |publisher=Thevineyardchurch.us |accessdate=April 13, 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526060521/http://www.thevineyardchurch.us/connect/kingdom/baptism/ |archivedate=May 26, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| A public expression of faith for a person who has committed to follow Jesus. It also symbolizes a person's cleansing of sin and gives a person a chance to openly profess their faith in front of the church, friends, and family.
| Immersion only
| No (at least six years old)
| Yes
| Trinity
|-
! Denomination
! Beliefs about baptism
! Type of baptism
! Baptize infants?
! Baptism regenerates / gives spiritual life
! Standard
|-
|}

==Other initiation ceremonies==
{{Main|Initiation}}
Many cultures practice or have practiced initiation rites, with or without the use of water, including the [[ancient Egyptian]], the [[Hebrews|Hebraic]]/Jewish, the [[Babylonia]]n, the [[Maya civilization|Mayan]], and the [[Norsemen|Norse]] cultures. The modern Japanese practice of [[Miyamairi]] is such as ceremony that does not use water. In some, such evidence may be [[archaeology|archaeological]] and descriptive in nature, rather than a modern practice.

===Mystery religion initiation rites===
[[Apuleius]], a 2nd-century [[Roman Empire|Roman]] writer, described an initiation into the [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mysteries]] of [[Isis]]. The initiation was preceded by a normal bathing in the public baths and a ceremonial sprinkling by the priest of Isis, after which the candidate was given secret instructions in the temple of the goddess. The candidate then fasted for ten days from meat and wine, after which he was dressed in linen and led at night into the innermost part of the sanctuary, where the actual initiation, the details of which were secret, took place. On the next two days, dressed in the robes of his consecration, he participated in feasting.<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[Apuleius]] |others=trans. E. J. Kenney |chapter=11.23|chapterurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=EF44Zv5yFUcC&pg=PA208 |title=The golden ass or Metamorphoses|publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=New York City |year=1998 |pages=208–210 |isbn=0-14-043590-5 |oclc=41174027}}</ref> Apuleius describes also an initiation into the cult of [[Osiris]] and yet a third initiation, of the same pattern as the initiation into the cult of Isis, without mention of a preliminary bathing.<ref>Apuleius, ''The Golden Ass'' (Penguin Books), pp. 211–214</ref>

The water-less initiations of Lucius, the character in Apuleius's story who had been turned into an ass and changed back by Isis into human form, into the successive degrees of the rites of the goddess was accomplished only after a significant period of study to demonstrate his loyalty and trustworthiness, akin to [[catechumen]]al practices preceding baptism in Christianity.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Lars |last=Hartman |title=Into the Name of the Lord Jesus: Baptism in the Early Church |publisher=[[T&T Clark]]|location=[[Edinburgh]] |year=1997 |page=4 |isbn=0-567-08589-9 |oclc=38189287}}</ref>

===Gnostic Catholicism and Thelema===
The [[Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica]], or Gnostic Catholic Church (the ecclesiastical arm of [[Ordo Templi Orientis]]), offers its Rite of Baptism to any person at least 11 years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oto-usa.org/egc.html |title=US Grand Lodge, OTO: Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica |publisher=Oto-usa.org |date=March 19, 1933 |accessdate=February 25, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090305021017/http://oto-usa.org/egc.html| archivedate= March 5, 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The ceremony is performed before a [[Gnostic Mass]] and represents a symbolic birth into the [[Thelemic]] community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/bapadult.htm |title=Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica: Baptism: Adult |publisher=Hermetic.com |accessdate=February 25, 2009}}</ref>

===Baptism of objects===
[[File:USS Dewey christening.jpg|upright=1.15|right|thumb|Christening of {{USS|Dewey|DDG-105|6}}]]
The word "baptism" or "christening" is sometimes used to describe the inauguration of certain objects for use.

====Boats and ships====
{{see also|Ceremonial ship launching}}
''Baptism of Ships'': at least since the time of the [[Crusades]], rituals have contained a blessing for ships. The priest begs God to bless the vessel and protect those who sail in. The ship is usually sprinkled with [[holy water]].<ref name="cathen" />

====Church bells====
The name ''Baptism of Bells'' has been given to the blessing of ([[bell (instrument)|musical]], especially [[Church bell|church]]) bells, at least in France, since the 11th century. It is derived from the washing of the bell with [[holy water]] by the bishop, before he anoints it with the oil of the infirm without and with chrism within; a fuming [[censer]] is placed under it and the bishop prays that these [[sacramentals]] of the Church may, at the sound of the bell, put the demons to flight, protect from storms, and call the faithful to prayer.

====Dolls====
"Baptism of Dolls": the custom of 'dolly dunking' was once a common practice in parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in [[Cornwall]] where it has been revived in recent years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cornishman.co.uk/pictures/PICTURES-Good-Friday-dolly-dunking-Fenton/pictures-26301254-detail/pictures.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-06-17 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216153107/http://www.cornishman.co.uk/pictures/PICTURES-Good-Friday-dolly-dunking-Fenton/pictures-26301254-detail/pictures.html |archivedate=December 16, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Mandaean baptism==
[[Mandaeanism|Mandaeans]] revere [[John the Baptist]] and practice frequent baptism as a ritual of purification, not of initiation.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/030609/9mandeans_2.htm |title=Mandeans |newspaper=US News |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021205653/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/030609/9mandeans_2.htm |archivedate=October 21, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins | first = Edwin M | last = Yamauchi | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bBccilWD5n0C&pg=PA20 | publisher = Gorgias Press | year=2004 | isbn = 978-1-931956-85-7 | page = 20}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.mandaeanunion.org/History/EN_History_007.htm |title=History |publisher=Mandean union |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317051057/http://mandaeanunion.org/History/EN_History_007.htm |archivedate=March 17, 2013}}</ref>

==See also==

===Related articles and subjects===
* [[Baptism by fire]]
* [[Baptism of desire]]
* [[Baptism of Jesus]]
* [[Baptismal clothing]]
* [[Baptismal vows]]
* [[Baptistery]]
* [[Believer's baptism]]
* [[Catechumen]]
* [[Anointing|Christening]]
* [[Chrismation]]
* [[Christifideles]]
* [[Conditional baptism]]
* [[Consolamentum]]
* [[Disciple (Christianity)]]
* [[Divine filiation]]
* [[Emergency baptism]]
* [[Infant baptism]]
* [[Jesus-Name doctrine]]
* [[Prevenient Grace]]
* [[Ritual purification]]
* [[Sacrament]]
* [[Theophany]]
* [[Water and religion]]

===People and ritual objects===
* [[Baptismal font]]
* [[Baptistery]]
* [[Chrism]]
* [[Ghusl]]
* [[Godparent]]
* [[Holy water]]
* [[Holy water in Eastern Christianity]]
* [[John the Baptist]]
* [[Mikvah]]
* [[Misogi]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author=Canadian Council of Churches, Commission on Faith and Witness |year=1992 |title=Initiation into Christ: Ecumenical Reflections and Common Teaching on Preparation for Baptism |location=Winfield, B.C. |publisher=Wood Lake Books |isbn=2-89088-527-5}}
* {{Cite book | last=Chaney |first=James M. |authorlink=James McDonald Chaney |title=William the Baptist |url=http://www.doulosresources.org/books/william/william.html |publisher=[[Doulos Resources]] |location=Oakland, TN |year=2009 |page=160 |isbn=978-1-4421-8560-9 |oclc=642906193 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708014704/http://www.doulosresources.org/books/william/william.html |archivedate=July 8, 2009 }}
* {{Cite book| last=Dallmann |first=Robert| title=Baptisms - One? Many? Or Both?| publisher=ChristLife, Inc.| year=2014| isbn=9780991489107| url=http://www.christ-like.net/baptisms.html}}
* {{cite book |last=Gerfen, |first=Ernst |year=1897 |title="Baptizein": the Voice of the Scriptures and Church History Concerning Baptism |location= Columbus, Ohio |publisher=Press of F.J. Heer}}
* {{Cite book |last=Guelzo |first=Allen C |year=1985 |title=Who Should Be Baptized?: a Case for the Baptism of Infants |series=Reformed Episcopal Pamphlets |number=4 |place=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=Reformed Episcopal Publication Society}}. 26 pp. N.B.: States the Evangelical Anglican position of the Reformed Episcopal Church.
* {{Citation |last=Guelzo | first=Allen C | year=1985 |title=What Does Baptism Mean?: a Brief Lesson in the Spiritual Use of Our Baptisms |series=Reformed Episcopal Pamphlets |number=5 |place=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=Reformed Episcopal Publication Society}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jungkuntz |first=Richard |title=The Gospel of Baptism |location=St. Louis |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1968 |oclc=444126}}
* {{Cite book| last=Kolb| first=Robert W.|title=Make Disciples, baptizing: God's gift of new life and Christian witness |publisher=Concordia Seminary |location=St. Louis |year=1997 |isbn=0-911770-66-6 |oclc= 41473438}}
* {{Cite book |last= Linderman |first=Jim |title=Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography 1890–1950 |publisher=Dust to Digital |location=Atlanta |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-9817342-1-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Matzat |first=Don |date=Spring 1997 |title=In Defense of Infant Baptism |url = http://www.issuesetcarchive.org/issues_site/resource/journals/v2n3.htm |accessdate=February 26, 2009 |journal= Issues, Etc. Journal |volume=2 |issue=3}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Root |editor-first1=Michael |editor-first2=Risto |editor-last2=Saarinen |year=1998 |title=Baptism and the Unity of the Church |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=W.B. Eerdmans; Geneva: W.C.C. [''i.e.'' World Council of Churches] Publications. Also mentioned on t.p.: "Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France" |isbn=2-8254-1250-3}}
* {{Cite book |last= Scaer |first=David P. |title=Baptism |location=St. Louis |publisher= The Luther Academy |year=1999 | oclc=41004868}}
* {{Cite book| last=Schlink | first=Edmund |title=The Doctrine of Baptism |publisher=Concordia Publishing House | location=St. Louis, Mo |year=1972 |isbn=0-570-03726-3 |oclc= 228096375}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Slade|first1=Darren M.|title=The Early Church's Inconsequential View of the Mode of Baptism|journal=American Theological Inquiry|date=August 15, 2014|volume=7|issue=2|pages=21–34|url=https://www.academia.edu/8008124/The_Early_Churchs_Inconsequential_View_of_the_Mode_of_Baptism|deadurl=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903085434/http://atijournal.org/ATI_Vol7_No2.pdf|archivedate=September 3, 2014|via=|df=mdy-all}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stookey |first=Laurence Hull |title=Baptism, Christ's act in the church |publisher=Abingdon |location=Nashville, TN |year=1982 |isbn=0-687-02364-5 |oclc= 7924841}}
* {{Cite book |last=Torrell |first=Jean-Pierre |title=A Priestly People: Baptismal Priesthood and Priestly Ministry |publisher=Paulist Press |location=New York/ Mahwah, NJ |year=2011 |isbn= 978-0-8091-4815-8}}
* {{Cite book |last= Ware |first=Kallistos |authorlink=Timothy Ware |title=The Orthodox Church |publisher= Penguin Books | location =New York |year=1993 |pages=277–278 |isbn=0-14-014656-3 |oclc=263544700}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Weigel |first1=George |title=The Most Important Day of Your Life |journal=FirstThings | year=2016 |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/04/the-most-important-day-of-your-life}}
* {{Cite book |last=Willimon |first=William H. |authorlink=William Willimon |title=Remember who you are: baptism, a model for Christian life |publisher=Upper Room |location=Nashville |year=1980 |isbn=0-8358-0399-6 |oclc=6485882}}
* {{Cite book|title=Baptism, Eucharist, and ministry |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |location=Geneva |year = 1982 |isbn=2-8254-0709-7 |oclc=9918640 |author=World Council of Churches}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|βαπτίζω}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|Summa Theologiae/Third Part/Question 66|Thomas Aquinas on Baptism}}
* [http://www.churchfathers.org/category/sacraments/infant-baptism/ "Writings of the Early Church Fathers on Baptism"]
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52311/Baptism "Baptism."] Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Baptism|short=x}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Baptism |short=x}}

{{Personal names}}
{{Christian Soteriology}}
{{Christianity footer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptism In Christianity}}
[[Category:Baptism| ]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Conversion to Christianity]]
[[Category:Rites of passage]]
[[Category:Ritual purity in Christianity]]
[[Category:Sacraments]]

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