There are actually three main forms of baptism: aspersion, affusion, and immersion.
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Unlike affusion or aspersion, immersion is intended to mimic the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus directly.
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Where immersion baptisms see individuals being, well, immersed in water, affusion baptisms require that people have water poured over their heads.
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Affusion of the infant Affusion (la. affusio) is a method of baptism where water is poured on the head of the person being baptized. The word "affusion" comes from the Latin affusio, meaning "to pour on"."Affusion" Dictionary.
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The Moravian Church teaches that baptism is a sign and a seal, recognizing three modes of baptism as being valid: immersion, aspersion, and affusion.
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Baptism of a child by affusion. There are different modes of baptism in Christianity, these include immersion, affusion (pouring), and aspersion (sprinkling). The way in which a person is baptized depends on the denomination one enters. Almost all baptisms share in common the use of the Trinitarian formula (in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) by the minister while baptizing the convert.
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Scholars "generally agree that the early church baptized by immersion", but sometimes used other forms. Howard Marshall says that immersion was the general rule, but affusion and even sprinkling were also practised. His presentation of this view has been described by Porter and Cross as "a compelling argument". Laurie Guy says immersion was probably the norm, but that at various times and places full immersion, partial immersion and affusion were probably in use.
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The Lord's Prayer is included in full. Baptism is by immersion, or by affusion if immersion is not practical. Fasting is ordered for Wednesdays and Fridays. Two primitive Eucharistic prayers are given.
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AD 100), the seventh chapter of which gives instructions on how to baptize, which include affusion: This text implies that early Christians saw affusion as a viable alternative to immersion when no living water (i.e. running water like a river or spring) or cold water is available. Acts of various martyrs show that many were baptized in prison, while awaiting martyrdom; immersion would have been impossible. The most common use, however, was for ill or dying people who could not rise from their beds.
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In the West, baptism by aspersion and affusion slowly became the common practice in later centuries. In aspersion, an aspergilium may be used to place the water on the skin. The Roman Catholic Church regards baptism by aspersion as valid only if the water actually flows on the person's skin and is thus equivalent to pouring ("affusion")."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" (s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Baptism) If there is doubt about this, conditional baptism is administered.
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Such is the practice in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Coptic and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheran Churches, Anglican and Episcopal Churches, and others. Baptisms are carried out in various ways: believer's baptism is typically only by immersion or pouring (also called affusion) and infant baptism by either immersion, affusion, and aspersion (sprinkling). Believer's baptism is often referred to as adult baptism due to the belief that faith cannot exist prior to the age of accountability. Believer's baptism is also often extended to children so long as they are old enough to earnestly profess their faith.
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While the root of the word "baptize" can mean "to immerse", the word is used in the New Testament also of a mere partial washing (). Nevertheless, some Christian denominations have taught that baptism not only by aspersion but even by affusion is invalid.
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Barclay observes the Didache shows that baptism in the early church was by total immersion, if possible, Barton describes the immersion of the Didache as "ideally by total immersion", and Welch says it was by "complete immersion". James V. Brownson notes that the Didache does not specify either immersion or pouring when using running water, and Sinclair B. Ferguson argues that really the only mode that the Didache mentions is affusion. Martin and Davids say the Didache envisages "some form of immersion", and the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church refers its readers to its entry on immersion, which it distinguishes from submersion and affusion.
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A revision of the catechism was prepared by the Baptist minister, Hercules Collins. Published in 1680, under the title 'An Orthodox Catechism', it was identical in content to the Heidelberg catechism, with exception to questions regarding baptism, where adult immersion was defended against infant baptism and the other modes of affusion and aspersion.
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Aspersion (la. aspergere/aspersio), in a religious context, is the act of sprinkling with water, especially holy water. Aspersion is a method used in baptism as an alternative to immersion or affusion. The word is formed of the Latin aspergere, 'to sprinkle', of ad, 'to', and spargo, 'I scatter' (, 1 Corinthians 10:2, cf.
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Baptism by immersion is not necessary; affusion and aspersion are acceptable modes. The confession approves of infant baptism if one or both parents are Christians. While it teaches that neglecting baptism is a "great sin", the confession does not endorse baptismal regeneration. It states that it is possible to be regenerated without baptism, and unregenerated with baptism.
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The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non- immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). The simplest of these fonts has a pedestal (about 1.5 metres tall) with a holder for a basin of water. The materials vary greatly consisting of carved and sculpted marble, wood, or metal. The shape can vary.
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Anglicans baptize by immersion or affusion. According to evidence which can be traced back to about the year 200, 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 originally meant "to immerse". They interpret some Biblical passages concerning baptism as requiring submersion of the body in water.
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He further rejected the Catholic doctrine of baptism insofar as it was ex opere operato and viewed the rite as a symbol of entrance into and accountability to the community of faith. It is not entirely clear what mode of baptism Hubmaier practiced, but it seems as though he continued practicing affusion as he had himself been baptized and that the mode of immersion among Anabaptists was a somewhat later development.
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If the water is insufficient for immersion, it may be poured three times on the head (affusion). The baptized and the baptizer, and, if possible, anyone else attending the ritual should fast for one or two days beforehand. The New Testament is rich in metaphors for baptism but offers few details about the practice itself, not even whether the candidates professed their faith in a formula.The Oxford History of Christian Worship.
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" (See pp. 44–47.)', W.A. McKay, Immersion proved not to be a Scriptural Mode of Baptism but a Romish Invention (Toronto: The Canada Publishing Company, 1881), page preceding preface'Dr. Ditzler, in his recent work on Baptism, after a most thorough examination of no less than thirty-one of the best Greek lexicons and authors, says (p. 161), "every one of the thirty-one authorities sustains affusion as baptism.
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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.
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The Roman Catholic Church primarily baptizes with affusion but occasionally does so with immersion.Can.854 Baptism is to be conferred either by immersion or by pouring; the prescripts of the conference of bishops are to be observed. Orthodox Christians and some Eastern Catholics baptize by triple immersion upon invocation of the Trinity;We are commanded to baptize by threefold immersion in water, in the name of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures and the writings of the church affirm this.
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In 1641, the Baptist movements began adopting immersion. Some of them may have insisted on credobaptism by affusion a few decades earlier.Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, page 56 The book Martyrs Mirror documents the history of credobaptists through 1660. Another argument posed by some advocates of believer's baptism focuses on the fact that most churches that practice infant baptism were heavily intertwined with the state in medieval and Reformation-era Europe.
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The publishing of the Banns of marriage on the three Sundays that precede a wedding is another common practice that has its origins in the Church of England. The practice of Infant Baptism is becoming less significant among Telugu Protestants being replaced by Child dedication or christening. It is however indispensable among the Telugu Catholics given the Catholic belief in the saving grace of baptism. Adult baptisms are often by means of immersion as opposed to the alternative methods of aspersion and affusion (Didache).
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A baptistry in a Methodist church The Methodist Articles of Religion, with regard to baptism, teach: While baptism imparts regenerating grace, its permanence is contingent upon repentance and a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Wesleyan theology holds that baptism is a sacrament of initiation into the visible Church. Wesleyan covenant theology further teaches that baptism is a sign and a seal of the covenant of grace: Methodists recognize three modes of baptism as being valid—immersion, aspersion or affusion—in the name of the Holy Trinity.
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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" 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.
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If this is right, affusionists contend, then water baptism should be, or, at least, can be, by pouring, because the baptism with the Holy Spirit of which it is a picture occurs by pouring. Also noteworthy to affusionists is that, in Luke 11:38, the word ἐβαπτίσθη [ebaptisthē]ebaptisthē is used in the Greek and baptizatusbaptizatus is used in the Latin.Luke 11:38 Greek InterlinearNew Advent: Luke 11 Both words are used, in other passages, to mean baptism. But in that verse of Luke, the "washing" referred to is partial, like affusion.
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In the West, Affusion became the normal mode of baptism between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, though immersion was still practiced into the sixteenth. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther retained baptism as a sacrament, but Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli considered baptism and the Lord's supper to be symbolic. Anabaptists denied the validity of infant baptism, which was the normal practice when their movement started and practiced believer's baptism instead. Several groups related to Anabaptism, notably the Baptists and Dunkards, soon practiced baptism by immersion as following the Biblical example.
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A Vichy shower, also known as an affusion shower, is a kind of shower used in spas, featuring a horizontal bar with five to seven shower heads, or holes. Large quantities of warm water are poured over a spa patron while he or she lies in a shallow wet bed, similar to a massage table, but with drainage for the water. The patron typically lies on their back first, and then is rolled onto their stomach. The Vichy shower originated in Vichy, France, which contains natural mineral springs.
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The normal form of baptism for the first centuries--until at least the twelfth century--was immersion. However, when a person could not be immersed, baptism by aspersion or affusion was performed. There are records of people receiving baptism in prison, awaiting martyrdom, where immersion would be difficult or impossible, but the most common use was for a person who was ill and could not be removed from the bed; it therefore received the name "baptism of the sick." Because of its rarity, doubts arose about its validity, as is shown by St. Cyprian's affirming it in the face of questioning.
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New Bern, North Carolina river at the turn of the 20th century. 15th-century painting by Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, Florence Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is total or partial,."Baptism. The practice of sprinkling with, pouring on or immersing in water as an act of Christian initiation and obedience to Christ’s own command." – Grenz, Guretzki & Nordling (eds.), Pocket dictionary of theological terms (Intervarsity Press 1999), p. 18.
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Probably immersion was the norm.… The church most likely practiced full immersion, partial immersion and affusion at various times and places in the early centuries, with sprinkling being practiced rarely (and probably only for medical reasons) during that time period" (Laurie Guy, Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs, and Practices (2004), pp. 224–25. Tischler says that total immersion seems to have been most commonly used."In the early days of the Church, total immersion, often in streams or rivers, seems to have been most commonly used (Mark 1:9; Acts 8:3).
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To answer this question, he examines the negative evidence of ancient baptismal fonts, especially those found in archaeological sites, providing on pp. 347–49 a Synoptic Table of Fonts, with date, shape, diameter and depth, showing that some of them could not have been intended for full immersion. In his "Churches Separated from Rome" (1907), Louis Duchesne responded to accusations by Eastern Orthodox that the Roman Catholic was corrupted because of "the Filioque, baptism by affusion, unleavened bread, &c.;", by pointing to the absence of any ancient representation of baptism that showed the neophyte actually being immersed totally.
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Faiths that incorporate ritual washing (ablution) include Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, Shinto, Taoism, and the Rastafari movement. Immersion (or aspersion or affusion) of a person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity (where it is called baptism); it is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Judaism (mikvah) and Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar). In addition, a ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in many religions including Judaism and Islam. In Islam, the five daily prayers can be done in most cases (see Tayammum) after completing washing certain parts of the body using clean water (wudu).
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Baptism by affusion (pouring) was certainly in practice in Apostolic times, being prescribed by the Didache :And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. but there are no accounts that clearly show sprinkling rather than pouring or immersion was used.
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52 Others speak of early Christians as baptizing either by submersion or by immersion."Archaeological evidence from the early centuries shows that baptism was sometimes administered by submersion or immersion… but also by affusion from a vessel when water was poured on the candidate's head". In one form of early Christian baptism, the candidate stood in water and water was poured over the upper body, and the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church says that at least from the 2nd century baptism was administered by a method "whereby part of the candidate's body was submerged in the baptismal water which was poured over the remainder".
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5, reproduced from New Horizons, July–August 2000, In the nineteenth century, anti-immersionist Rev. W. A. McKay wrote a polemic work against immersion baptism, arguing that it was a theological invention of the Roman Catholic Church.W.A. McKay, Immersion proved not to be a Scriptural Mode of Baptism but a Romish Invention (Toronto: The Canada Publishing Company, 1881). Differentiating between immersion and affusion,"When a servant washes the floor she does not immerse it in water, but pours water on it" W.A. McKay, Immersion proved not to be a Scriptural Mode of Baptism but a Romish Invention (Toronto: The Canada Publishing Company, 1881), p.
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168), in medicine (Effect of immersion, submersion, and scuba diving on heart rate variability), and language learning (Immersion in a Second Language in School). 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.
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Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism, as opposed to infant baptism), and doing so by complete immersion (as opposed to affusion or aspersion). Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency (the responsibility and accountability of every person before God), sola fide (salvation by faith alone), sola scriptura (scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice) and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion. Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.
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It is disputed where immersion was necessarily total. Tischler and the Encyclopedia of Catholicism say that the immersion was total. The same encyclopedia of Roman Catholicism notes that the preference of the Early Church was total immersion in a stream or the sea or, if these were not available, in a fountain or bath-sized tank, and Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity says that baptism was normally by immersion, without specifying whether total or partial. The Dictionary of the Bible (2004) says "Archaeological evidence from the early centuries shows that baptism was sometimes administered by submersion or immersion... but also by affusion from a vessel when water was poured on the candidate's head...".
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Dr Currie used cold water treatments in the successful treatment of a contagious fever in Liverpool "and in 1797 made public his views and experiences, with a list of cures effected by his measures". This pamphlet, Medical Reports on the Effects of Water, Cold and Warm, as a Remedy in Fevers and Other Diseases (1797), had some influence in promoting the use of cold water affusion, and contains the first systematic record in English of clinical observations with the thermometer. A fourth edition was published in July 1805, the month before his death. In the 1840s, there was a strong revival of interest in cold water cures, or hydropathy, following the promotion of Vincent Priessnitz's methods by Captain R. T. Claridge and others.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church: THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Catholics are baptized in water, by submersion, immersion or affusion, or aspersion (sprinkling), in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy SpiritOrdo 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.—not three gods, but 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.
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Laurie Guy says: "The church most likely practiced full immersion, partial immersion and affusion at various times and places in the early centuries, with sprinkling being practiced rarely (and probably only for medical reasons) during that time period.". Robin M. Jensen describes the early Christian baptismal ritual as having for basis "immersion in water (or a thorough soaking by pouring)", and describes the primitive, first-century ritual as having encompassed both "application of water (whether by immersion or by some other means) and an imposition of hands", adding that "'Baptism' originally conveyed the sense of water's application (if not also immersion) in its very definition". Other recent studies that see total immersion (submersion) as not the only form of baptism utilized by early Christians include Steven J. Schloeder,. Charles Thomas,.
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The Old Catholic churches reject the universal jurisdiction of the pope, as well as the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility (1870), which was used to proclaim the Roman Catholic dogmas of the Assumption of Mary (1950). While Old Catholics affirm the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they do not emphasize transubstantiation as the sole dogmatic explanation for this presence. Old Catholics generally refrain from using the ' and ' clauses in the Nicene Creed and also reject a dogmatic understanding of Purgatory; however, they generally do recognize a purification by Christ's grace after death and include prayers for the dead in their liturgy and devotions. They maintain such basic western Catholic practices as baptism by affusion (pouring of water) and the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist.
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But the word that invariably means 'to dip' is not baptízein but báptein; baptízein has a wider signification; and its use to denote the Jewish ceremonial of pouring water on the hands (Lk. 11:38; Mk. 7:4), as has already been said, shows that it is impossible to conclude from the word itself that immersion is the only valid method of performing the rite… When immersion was used the head of the recipient was plunged thrice beneath the surface at the mention of each name of the trinity; when the mode was by affusion the same reference to the trinity was kept by pouring water thrice upon the head. The two usages that were recognized and prescribed by the beginning of the 2nd cent. may have been in use throughout the apostolic period, although definitive information is lacking.
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The 12th century saw the meaning of the word "sacrament" narrowed down and restricted to seven rites, among them that of baptism, while other symbolic rites came to be called "sacramentals". In the period between the 12th and the 14th centuries, affusion became the usual manner of administering baptism in Western Europe, though immersion continued to be found in some places even as late as the 16th century. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was therefore considerable variation in the kind of facility required for baptism, from the baptismal pool large enough to immerse several adults simultaneously of the 13th century Baptistery at Pisa, to the half-metre deep basin in the 6th century baptistery of the old Cologne Cathedral. Both East and West considered washing with water and the Trinitarian baptismal formula necessary for administering the rite.
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In areas where those who practice believer's baptism are the physical or cultural majority, the ritual may function as a rite of passage by which the child is granted the status of an adult. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 131Most denominations who practice believer's baptism also specify the mode of baptism, generally preferring immersion (in which the baptisand is lowered completely beneath the surface of a body of water) over affusion (in which water or holy water is sprinkled or poured over the baptisand). In the case of physical disability or inability to be totally submerged under water, as with the elderly, bedridden, and nearly dead, the pouring of water upon the baptismal candidate is acceptable to some despite the usual contention of credobaptists that unless there is immersion, the act cannot, by definition, be a baptism.
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" – Douglas, & Tenney (eds.), New International Bible Dictionary (Zondervan 1987), p. 124"According to the rules of by far the largest portion of the Christian Church the water may be used in any one of three ways: immersion, where the recipient enters bodily into the water, and where, during the action, the head is plunged either once or three times beneath the surface; affusion, where water is poured upon the head of the recipient who stands either in water or on dry ground; and aspersion, where water is sprinkled on the head or on the face. 1\. Immersion It has frequently been argued that the word baptízein invariably means 'to dip' or 'immerse' and that therefore Christian baptism must have been performed originally by immersion only, and that the other two forms, infusion and aspersion, are invalid – that there can be no real baptism unless the method of immersion be used.
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As criticism of the claim that, in , which is the only reference in the New Testament to Christian baptism being administered in the open, the actions of "going down into the water" and "coming up out of the water" indicate that this baptism was by immersion, it is pointed out that "going down into" and "coming up out of" a river or a store of still water, actions there ascribed to both the baptizer and the baptized, do not necessarily involve immersion in the water.That it was affusion baptism is admitted as possible by Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch and taken as certain in John R. W. Stott, The Spirit, the Church, and the World 1990, referred to in the preceding. See also William Shishko, "Is Immersion Necessary for Baptism" in IIIM Magazine Online. Volume 4, Number 28, July 17 to July 24, 2002, p.
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In the close of his comprehensive 2009 study, Baptism in the Early Church, Everett Ferguson devoted four pages (457–60) to summarizing his position on the mode of baptism, expressed also in his The Church of Christ of 1996, that the normal early-Christian mode of baptism was by full immersion. He observed that "those who approach the study of baptism from the standpoint of archaeology tend to find greater probability that affusion, or perfusion was a normal practice; those who come from the literary evidence see a greater likelihood of immersion, or submersion, being the normal practice"; but he intended his own comprehensive survey to give coherence to the evidence (p. 857). Ferguson dismissed Rogers' 1903 study as dated with regard to both the depictions of baptism and his survey of the baptismal fonts. Like Rice, whom he did not mention, Ferguson said that the size of the baptismal fonts was progressively reduced in connection with the prevalence of infant baptism, although there are a few cases where larger fonts are later than the smaller ones.
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