Sect. 251The Nature and Institution of BaptismThe Nature and Institution of Baptism

I. That entry into the Church of Christ was to be effected by means of a distinct rite, consisting of washing, accompanied with certain words, is plain from the New Testament and the teaching of the Fathers.

1. Our Lord’s final charge to the Apostles was to teach all nations, “baptizing them in the Name (εἰς τὸ ὄνομα) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19); “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). And to Nicodemus He said, “Unless a man be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost (ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῆ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Accordingly, we find that when the first converts on Pentecost day asked of St. Peter what they were to do, the answer was, “Do penance (μετανοήσατε), and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins (βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν), and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.… They, therefore, that received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:37–41). So, too, St. Philip’s Samaritan converts were baptized (Acts 8:12, 16) εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ; and the Eunuch (ibid. 38); St. Paul himself (ibid. 9:18), and Cornelius with his household (ibid. 10:48). Though St. Paul said that he was sent “not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 1:17), nevertheless he frequently baptized (Acts 16:33; 18:8; 19:5; 1 Cor. 1:14, 16); and he speaks of baptism in many parts of his Epistles: “All we who are baptized in Christ Jesus (εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν) are baptized in His death (εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ); for we are buried together with Him by baptism unto death, that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in the newness of life” (Rom. 6:3, 4; cf. Col. 2:12); “In one spirit we are all baptized into one body (ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι … εἰς ἓν σῶμα)” (1 Cor. 12:13); “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5); “But when the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared, not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the laver of regeneration (διὰ λουτροῦ παλινγενεσίας) and renovation (ἀνακαινώσεως) of the Holy Ghost, whom He hath poured forth upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace we may be heirs according to hope of life everlasting” (Tit. 3:4–7; cf. Eph. 5:27).

2. It would be superfluous to quote the Fathers at any length. One or two early instances need alone be given. “We will also state in what manner we have dedicated ourselves to God, having been created anew by Christ.… As many as are persuaded that the things which we teach and declare are true, and give assurance that they are able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to fast and to entreat from God the remission of their past sins, we praying and fasting with them. They are then conducted by us where there is water, and are regenerated according to the mode of regeneration, by which we were regenerated. For they are then washed in that water in the Name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. For Christ also said, ‘Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ “ (St. Justin, Apol., i. 61). “Happy the sacrament of our water, whereby, being cleansed from the sins of our former blindness, we are made free unto eternal life.… We poor little fishes, following after our ἸΧΘΥʹΣ, Jesus Christ, are born in water; nor are we safe except by abiding in the water.… What then? Is it not wonderful that death should be washed away by a bath? Yea, but if because it is wonderful it be therefore not believed, it ought on that account the rather to be believed. For what else should the works of God be, but above all wonder?” (Tertull., De Bapt., 1, 2.)

II. We have now to inquire more particularly into the nature of this initiatory rite. Man comes into this world devoid of the grace of God and spiritually dead; or, to put it in another way, he has the stain of Adam’s sin upon his soul (supra, p. 24). Both these metaphors, “death” and “stain,” are used in Scripture to describe the fallen state of man. Hence, when our Lord was instituting the sacrament which was to remove this stain and to give new life to the soul, He naturally chose the act of washing. This act does not at first sight seem to have any connection with regeneration; but in the East it was the custom to wash the child as soon as it was born (Ezech. 16:4); and St. Paul speaks of the “laver of regeneration (λουτροῦ παλινγενεσίας)” (Tit. 3:5; cf. Eph. 5:25). Hence Christ said, “Unless a man be born again of water (as the cleansing element) and the Holy Ghost (as the life-giving principle), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Washing, then, is the “matter” of the sacrament; that is to say, washing is the natural act chosen by our Lord as the sign and cause of the removal of the stain of original sin from the soul. But it is not every washing that is capable of producing this effect. The act must be accompanied by some distinguishing mark, determining it to be a baptism in the technical sense. This mark is found in certain words which indicate this, viz. “I baptize thee (or similar words) in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (St. Thom., 3, q. 66, a. 5, ad. 1; see also a. 1). It may be objected that water is the matter of the sacrament: “Quid est aqua nisi aqua? Accedit verbum ad elementum et fit sacramentum” (St. Aug.). We answer, in the words of the Council of Trent, that water is necesary for baptism: “Aquam veram et naturalem esse de necessitate baptismi” (sess. vii., De Bapt., can. 2). To say that water is the matter, is likely to make people think that the matter of a sacrament is something material and tangible. Water, indeed, may be said to be the “material” or thing used in baptism; but, as we have already observed, many of the sacraments require no material thing, and yet have “matter.”

I. The act of washing with water, which is essential to the validity of the sacrament, may be performed in various ways. The early practice of the Church was to immerse the recipient, after the example of our Lord’s baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10) and the baptism of the eunuch by Philip the deacon (cf. Acts 8:38, 39). This continued to be the common use, even in the West, as late as the end of the thirteenth century (St. Thom., 3, q. 66, a. 7). Nevertheless, circumstances frequently arose when it was not convenient to confer baptism in this way. Dying persons, for example, had to be baptized in their beds. We frequently read, too, of martyrs who baptized their fellow-prisoners or their jailors in the prison itself. Some writers also are of opinion that the first converts on Pentecost day could not have been immersed on account of their great numbers (Acts 2:41). Difficulties, too, would arise in cold countries, and in regard to the immersion of women. Hence baptism by effusion, that is, by pouring water over the body, and especially the head, gradually supplanted the older custom. Immersion, indeed, more fully brings out the meaning of the sacrament. “All we who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in His death; for we are buried together with Him by baptism unto death” (Rom. 6:3, 4; cf. Col. 2:12). It is more like the “bath of regeneration (λουτρόν παλινγενεσίας)” (Tit. 3:5; cf. Eph. 5:27). Nevertheless, inasmuch as effusion and aspersion (sprinkling: “Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed,” Ps. 50:9) are true forms of washing, they are sufficient for validity. As is well known, the Roman Ritual enjoins effusion; and the Council of Trent has defined that there is in the Roman Church true doctrine concerning baptism (sess. vii., De Bapt., can. 3). Threefold washing (whether by immersion, effusion, or aspersion), suggested by the words expressing the doctrine of the Trinity, has at all times been the more common practice, but is not essential. St. Gregory the Great tells Leander that “it cannot be blameworthy to immerse an infant either thrice or once; for the threefold immersion signifies the Trinity of the Persons, and the single immersion the unity of the Divinity” (lib. i., Ep. 43). Hence, at certain times and in certain countries the single immersion has been enjoined, e.g. in order to bring out the unity of baptism against the errors of the various sects of re-baptizers (Fourth Council of Toledo, can. 6). The present discipline of the Church requires threefold washing, though single washing is of course valid.

2. Turning now to the words, “I baptize thee” (or something similar) “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” which are the determining element or form, we have to examine the precise meaning of this formula.

(a) To perform the act, uttering at the same time merely the words, “In the Name of the Father,” etc., is not enough. It must be determined by the words, “I baptize thee,” or “The servant of Christ is baptized,” the latter of which is the Greek formula. “If any one has immersed a child three times in water, ‘In the Name of the Father,’ etc., without saying, ‘I baptize thee,’ the child has not been baptized” (Cap. Si quis 1 Extrav. de Baptismo).

(b) The words, “In the Name of the Father (εἰς τὸ ὅνομα),” etc., do not simply mean that the act is performed by the authority of the Divine Trinity. They signify, rather, that the recipient is consecrated and dedicated to the Trinity as the object of faith, hope, charity, and generally of supernatural worship. “That He might sanctify it (the Church), cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life, that He might present it to Himself (αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ) a glorious Church” (Eph. 5:26, 27); “We are buried together with Him by baptism unto death … So do you also reckon that you are dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God (ζῶντας δὲ τῷ Θεῷ), in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:3, 11); “For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; for as many of you as have been baptized in Christ (εἰς Χριστόν) have put on Christ.… You are all one in Christ Jesus; and if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed of Abraham, the heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:26, 29); “Every one of you saith, I indeed am of Paul, and I am of Apollo.… Was Paul, then, crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul (εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Παύλου)?… I baptized none of you … lest any should say that you were baptized in my name (εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα) … What, then, is Apollo, and what is Paul? The ministers of Him Whom you have believed.… Let no man, therefore, glory in men; for all things are yours, whether it be Paul or Apollo … all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 1:12 sqq.; 3:4, 5, 21–23). See Franzelin, De Trin., p. 20.

(c) In the Acts of the Apostles we read that many were baptized “in the Name of Christ (ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Χριστοῖ)” (2:38; 8:12, 16, etc.). This does not mean that they were baptized under the invocation of Christ, but in the faith and by the authority of Christ, by the baptism instituted by Him. Thus (Acts 19:2–5) baptism “in the Name of Christ” is plainly the baptism of Christ, in opposition to the baptism of John. For, as St. Thomas argues, if anything instituted by Christ be omitted from the administration of the sacraments, such administration is null and void. Now, the invocation of the Three Divine Persons was ordained by Christ, and therefore baptism without this invocation is of no effect. Nevertheless, the Angelic Doctor, moved by the authority of Pope Nicholas I., admits that, when performed according to a special revelation from Christ, the Author and Lord of the sacraments, baptism under the sole invocation of Christ may be valid (q. 66, a. 6). This exception is not now generally recognized. For the answer to the difficulties connected with Nicolas’s decision, see De Augustinis, De Re Sacram., i. p. 352; and Palmieri, De Rom. Pont., p. 638.