Baptism

Baptising by immersion, Odessa.

Baptism is a rite or ceremony performed by most Christian churches and denominations. It is done as a cleansing symbol. It shows that the person being baptized has become a follower of Jesus, and it can represent the joining of the Christian family.

Methods

Roman Catholicism baptize infants to mark their becoming members of the church.^[1] It is a sacrament usually performed by a priest. In most other churches, it is when the person is old enough to decide that they are ready.

Some religious groups practice baptism by sprinkling a small amount of water on the person, usually their head. Other groups put the person inside the water.

Baptism in early Christian art. This is a fresco in the catacombs of Rome.

Bible times

In the Old Testament, a similar washing ceremony was done when priests were ordained.^[2] Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist before he began his ministry.^[3] The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the person to be immersed totally or partially. But sprinkling, or pouring, was also practiced at an early day with sick and dying persons when total or partial immersion was not practical.^[4]

Baptism Media

Catacombs of San Callisto: baptism in a 3rd-century painting
Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River are the location for the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
Excavated mikveh in Qumran, Israel
Baptism of a child solemnized by George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Baptism by submersion in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Sophia Cathedral, 2005)
Men lined up to be baptized by immersion in the River Jordan
Baptism of a child by affusion
Long laced gown worn at a typical Lutheran baptism in Sweden in 1948