Following the ancient tradition of the first christians, the priest greets the parents and child at the door of the church (the unbaptized were not allowed into the main body of the church), and began with a Prayer Over The Mother, acknowledging the presentation of her son and asking the Holy Spirit to descend upon her. He then prays over the candidate. He lays his right hand on his head, saying:
O Lord and mighty God, Lord of lords and God of gods, I beseech You on behalf of Your creature, the work of Your hands, this little child who comes to Your holy temple, in order to show forth the mystery You have revealed to us, through the human body You took from our nature as old Semeon held You in his arms;] O Jesus Christ, our Lord, now extend Your divine right hand along with my own hand as Your humble servant and priest, and bless this child. By Your invisible power, sign him with the glorious mark of Your holy cross. Accompany him with Your grace all the days of his life. Enable him to enter Your holy temple and to receive the glorious seal of the holy myron, the pleasant aroma, through which, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and according to Your true promises to us, we become children of God and heirs of His kingdom. For You are our God, to whom we offer glory, now and forever.
The priest then invites the mother to enter the church; he takes the child from her and carrying the child in his arms, enters the church. At this point, Father, with child in arms, knelt before the altar. He then stood up and placed the child on the altar.
The service continues with prayers, hymns, the Trisagion, and readings. Following the reading of the Gospel, the priest seals the candidate with the hand cross, as the Godfather carries him and faces the East.
+ In the great fearsome name of God "I am who I am" who creates and provides for all, + in the wonderful, ever-reigning name of God Almighty, who became man and vanquished the dominion of Satan, who humbled Himself by His own will, embraced death on the wooden cross and redeemed Adam and his children from the slavery of sin, I sign and seal this lamb, who came to be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Then, the celebrant asks the candidate and sponsors to face West and to renounce Satan. After this, the congregation is then asked to face East, as the profess their faith. Following this ceremony, the child is then anointed with the Oil of Catechumens. After this. the child is then baptized "a lamb in the flock of Christ."
Lastly, the child receives the Mystery of Anointing (Confirmation).
With the myron of Christ our God,
sweet fragrance of the true faith,
seal and fullness of the grace
of the heavenly Spirit.
N., the servant of God, is sealed
in the name of the + Father,
and of the + Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
AmenIn the Concluding Prayer, the priest asks God to enlighten the heart of His servant who has just been received in baptism. He also asks the Lord to "show compassion, to redeem and save all those who turn to You."In his homily, the priest admonished the parents and godparents, reminding them that on the day of Judgement, they will not be asked to which school they sent their child or what brand of car was gifted to him but rather, how they upheld and instructed the child in his faith.
Baptist(because we are mentioned) ping
As my 9 year old taught me, the thief on the cross was never baptized and yet He went to paradise that day with Jesus.
All my children have been baptised as infants, and my 2 oldest so far have chosen to be baptised again. This is their public display of faith and obedience to God thru Christ.
There is no biblical instance of child baptism. All the baptisms that were done were done for willing believers. The author quotes Luke chapter 18 to claim that Jesus was baptizing babies, but let’s quote it and also passages from the other gospels regarding the same incident.
Luk 18:15-16 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:13-14 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Luk 18:15-16 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
It was a practice of the Jews to have their children touched and blessed by the Rabbi. Jesus was not baptizing babies like the Catholics do. He was touching and blessing them.
Now, as for the claim that baptism is required for salvation, the first thing that comes to mind is the Thief on the cross. The statement by Christ over and over again is that one must have faith in Him in order to be saved. This is a message reinforced constantly, from prayer to healings to even raising men from the dead. “Your faith has made thee whole.” Comparatively, there is no emphasis on Baptism as a means to salvation. One would think if it was absolutely necessary, it would be mentioned every time Christ brought the subject of salvation up. Instead, the emphasis is always on the inner man, the heart, and while baptism is a physical act and a sign, it does not spiritually cleanse you from sin. Salvation is an instantaneous act, and obedience a sign of that new born fruit within you.
John 11
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Rom. 3:22, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”
Rom. 3:26, “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Rom. 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
Rom. 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.”
Rom. 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Gal. 3:8, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.”
Gal. 3:24 , “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.”
Eph. 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
1Co 1:17-18 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (18) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Catholics make everything mechanical, as if by performing these rituals they are somehow making themselves holy. They ignore the core of the message and the real spirit of Christ which demands worshipers in spirit and in truth, not men who are obsessed with the outward appearance. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.”
Repent and be baptized. Not the other way around.
Ugh. Could you not have requested that this be a Roman Catholic caucus?
RCs are so divisive, always trying to divide the Body of Christ. It’s probably best that you keep your doctrinally divisive posts sequestered. That way you can sprinkle babies all you want, without any biblical challenge.
This Scripture is often quoted to support infant baptism. It, however, is an argument against the practice. Jesus is saying those of such character or disposition of young children would enter the kingdom.
Jesus himself set the pattern when he said to first make a disciple and then baptize them and teach them. An infant could hardly become a disciple.
And so it is in the rest of the Scriptures: No infants are baptized. But rather they followed the pattern Jesus himself set, Become a disciple, get baptized, be taught.