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What is Baptism?

- The Rev. Dr. Ruth A. Meyers

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Our Prayer Book describes baptism as “full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.” What does this mean?

Full initiation
Through baptism, individuals become members of the Church — not just the Episcopal Church, but the universal Church extending throughout the world and over time to include Christians from every age.

By water
Since the time of Jesus, Christians have used water as the sign of entry into Christian life. Water cleanses us from sin, from all that has marred our relationships with God, with others, and with creation. It plunges us into death, drowning our old life so that we can be raised to new life in Christ. From it we are born again, into a community where we are adopted daughters and sons of God. In the Episcopal Church, the candidate may be immersed or have water poured over him or her, while the minister proclaims, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

By the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s active presence in the world, the power that enables our rebirth. The Spirit is active in the baptismal waters, in the laying on of hands that follows, and in the community gathered to celebrate the baptism.

Christ’s Body the Church
The Church is not a human institution or club, but a living body, the community of those who believe in and proclaim Jesus.

The Rev. Dr. Ruth A. Meyers is Professor of Liturgics at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. She is the author of Continuing the Reformation: Re-Visioning Baptism and numerous other books.