Rites of Passage – Introduction
http://www.reonline.org.uk/allre/tt_nframe.php?http://www.gcsere.org.uk/
There are only two "fixed" points in out life. We can be sure that we have all been born
and we can be sure that we are all going to die. Between these we have other liminal or
life changing points. For a non religious person these will be coming of age, marriage,
having children, (divorce), getting old, death. For a religious person this is quite similar
but these liminal points all have ceremonies attached to them. These are:




Baptism - being made a part of the
Christian family.
Confirmation - Taking on the
responsibilities of being a Christian for
yourself.
Marriage - joining with another for the
purposes of love, commitment and
having children.
Death - the end of the early life and the
beginning of the heavenly or spiritual
one.
Nearly all the Christian denominations agree that Baptism is important (the exceptions
being the Salvation Army and the Quakers). It comes from the biblical stories of Jesus
being baptised (Matthew 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, Mark 1:9-11). There is some
disagreement among the churches about WHEN a person should be baptised. The
Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches all agree that babies can be baptised
but the Baptist, Pentecostal and some Methodist churches argue that only adults should
be baptised as you need to take a personal pledge of commitment at your baptism and this
is only possible for an adult.
Infant Baptism
Each of the churches that have infant baptism have a different service (of course!). The
Anglican (C of E) service is sometimes called a Christening. It usually takes place during
the Sunday service as the child is becoming a member of the church family and so it is
important the the family is present. Godparents are chosen by the family to help with the
child's spiritual and religious upbringing. At the service the parents and godparents all
gather around the font with the vicar. Usually the mother or father hold the baby. The
water in the font is blessed by the vicar. The vicar prays for the child giving thanks for
this new life. He reminds the parents and the godparents of their own faith and beliefs.
The parents are asked to name the child. He repeats the name. He lifts the baby over the
font and pours a little water over the baby's head saying "I baptise you in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". The vicar then takes some holy oil and
makes the sign of the cross on the child's forehead saying "I sign you with the cross the
sign of Christ" The parents and the Godparents are given a candle to hold and they are
asked to confirm their belief in God and their commitment as Christians. The promise to
bring the child up in the Christian faith.
The service in the Roman Catholic church is similar to the Anglican service.
In the Orthodox Church the baby can be baptised anytime between infanthood and
adulthood. It would be highly unusual for a baby to be baptised when it was very young,
unless it was mortally sick. It is more common for a baby to be baptised after the fortieth
day (when its mother has been churched and can attend the ceremony). Many babies in
Greece are not baptised until they are toddlers (more for sociological than religious
reasons).
At eight days old a separate ceremony takes place. At this ceremony the child is given a
name (it correlates to the circumcision of Jesus). This service could be viewed as
something parallel to a Methodist 'dedication' service. Baptism is not seen as a naming
ceremony, it is the entrance of the child into the family of the Church.
Some churches (Methodist) have a simple Dedication service which celebrates the birth
of the baby and the infant is given a Christian name but not baptised. The parents
promised to bring the child up in the Christian faith. Later on when they are old enough
to make a commitment for themselves the child may be baptised.
Believer's Baptism / Adult Baptism
Some churches (Baptist / Adventists) they believe that you should wait to be Baptised
until you are old enough to make a choice for yourself. This is an important step for the
believer as it shows that they are ray to make a strong personal commitment to their
faith (cf confirmation). Believer's baptism is nearly always a full immersion, often in a
lake or river - like the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. The baptism is usually held as
part of the Sunday service again to welcome the person into the Christian family. The
person being baptised will often dress in white and will talk about how they came to be a
Christian and what being a Christian means to them.
What does Baptism mean ?



Death to the old life: Water suggests the washing away of sin. Going down into
the water expresses dying to the old sinful way of living. Coming up out of the
water suggests a new life with new ways.
The gift of the Holy Spirit (cf Acts 2:1-13): Through his Spirit God comes to
live with his people, after his "death". A Christian is a new person.
Entry into the church: Because they belong to Jesus. A Christian is a member of
the Church (the body of Christ). A Christian is part of the wider family of the
whole Christian church.

A new covenant (agreement) with God: In the old covenant the sign of the
covenant was circumcision. In Baptism God makes a sign of the new covenant.
Some symbols of Baptism ?
Water - symbolises the washing away or
"drowning" to the old life
Oil - symbolises the church, a cross is made
in oil on the baptisee's forehead
Light - A lighted candle is given to the
baptisee to symbolise the light of Christ
(good) against the darkness (evil) of the
world
The Baptism service - important points
The parents and godparents (or the person being baptised) have to make three
declarations:



That they turn to Christ
That they repent of their sins
That they renounce evil
They must answer each of these "I turn to Christ / repent of my sins / renounce evil"
They are then asked three questions



Do you believe and trust in God the Father who made Heaven and Earth ?
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ who redeemed mankind ?
Do you believe and trust in his Holy Spirit who gives life to the people of God ?
They must answer each of these "I believe and trust in Him"
The baby has water poured over his / her head - this is the moment of Baptism and the
priest / minister says "I baptise you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
The person being baptised, or if it is a baby the parents and godparents are given a lighted
candle to represent Jesus as the light of the world. The priest or minister says "Shine as a
light in the world to fight against sin and the devil"
When a baby is baptised it is a full member of the church. However, in the Anglican
tradition the child will not normally receive communion until confirmation and in the
Roman Catholic until after the first communion service usually at the age of seven / eight.
What if you're not baptised ?
There are confusions and disagreements about what happens if a person dies without
being baptised. Some people say that the person still has all their sins and so they go to
"hell". Others say that they will be judged by God.
Historically some people waited until the last possible moment before being Baptised so
that all their sins would be washed away and they would gain automatic entry in
"heaven". Most churches now teach that baptism is important as an entry rite into the
church family but that God will judge on the state of a person's soul.