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John the Baptist, who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. The earliest Christian baptisms seem to have been done either by immersion or by pouring water on the head three times. [1]
[130] [131] 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, [132] and Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity says that baptism was normally by immersion, without specifying whether ...
Early Christian beliefs regarding baptism probably predate the New Testament writings. It seems certain that numerous Jewish sects and certainly Jesus's disciples practised baptism. John the Baptist had baptized many people, before baptisms took place in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul likened baptism to being buried with Christ in his death.
Martyrdom was identified early in Christian church history as "baptism by blood", enabling the salvation of martyrs who had not been baptized by water. Later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved. [30]
The baptism of Cornelius is an important event in the history of the early Christian church, along with the conversion and baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. The Christian church was first formed around the original disciples and followers of Jesus, all of whom—including Jesus—were Galilean, except for Judas who was Judean.
The terms "conversion" and "Christianisation" are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the adoption of Christianity; however, Lesley Abrams proposed that it is useful to use "conversion" to refer to the first transition, marked by a formal acceptance of Christianity such as baptism, and "Christianisation" to refer to the penetration of ...
One of the earliest of the Church Fathers to enunciate clearly and unambiguously the doctrine of baptismal regeneration ("the idea that salvation happens at and by water baptism duly administered") was Cyprian (c. 200 – 258): "While he attributed all the saving energy to the grace of God, he considered the 'laver of saving water' the instrument of God that makes a person 'born again ...
The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). [ a ] It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bethany Beyond the Jordan), today located in Jordan .