Outer Rim Territories

The Baptismal Practice & Theology of the Early Church and Martin Luther

Yes, this is a paper for class... Those of you interested in why our baptismal rite is structured the way it is will find this curious. If you are confused about certain elements (like candle, garment, anointing) it might be useful as well. ------------- The Baptismal Practice & Theology of the Early Church and Martin Luther Christopher Gillespie Dr. Arthur A. Just Theologia I : Baptism IV.28.2006 The aim of this paper is to show Martin Luther as reformer who did not abandon tradition but considered it critically. To do so this paper will reflect on the practice of early church fathers Hippolytus, Cyril and Augustine in contrast to Martin Luther. As practice always reflects theology, theological opinion will be incidentally revealed along the way. This paper will limit its focus to the elements of the baptismal rite and ignore the larger theological comparison as the constraints of the assignment will limit the scope and breadth of our survey. I. Catechesis Common to all the baptismal rites is catechesis, teaching. (See attached “Baptismal Rites Compared”) Under none of the survey rites do the bishop or pastor baptize without first teaching the rudiments of the faith. These bishops approach Baptism with seriousness, reverence, and solemnity. “Baptism...should be honored as the sacrament of regeneration for the recipient and conducted with the appropriate solemnity. Carelessness and disrespect have no place, for these call into question our own commitment to this sacrament as the mysterious working of the Triune God.” (David Scaer, “Baptism,” p. 181) Perhaps the motivation is not simply reverence but a recognition of the reality of the events of baptism. Cyril says “And at the selfsame moment, ye died and were born; and that Water of salvation was at once your grave and your mother.” (Cyril, Mystagogical Catechesis, p. 61) The Fathers and Luther agree; Baptism is death of the old self. As well, such birth comes with responsibility. “Remember, therefore, that it is no joke to take sides against the devil and not only drive him away from this little child, but to burden the child with such a mighty and lifelong enemy.” (Luther, AE 53:102) II. Exorcism The exorcism is present in all the rites except that of Augustine of Hippo. Cyril’s exorcism occurs with the anointing of “exorcized oil” of the newly baptized. Luther saw the value of the exorcism, and its presence remained in both his rites of 1523 and 1526. Luther recognized baptism as an apocalyptic event. This element of exorcismwas notably absent from the rite in “Lutheran Worship.” Perhaps in the Western world the perceptions of Satan and his demons have fallen by the wayside. Regardless its use has been restored in the “Lutheran Service Book.” Its theological import is well described by Dr. Scaer “Exorcism is an answer to synergism, since here God alone acts to release the believer from Satan’s grip. Not only is the use of exorcism in Baptism a statement of the awareness of the supernatural power of Satan and evil, it is also a complete rejection of human righteousness.” (Scaer, 184) III. “Flood” Prayer Luther’s “Flood Prayer” described the death of our sinful nature and extension of the fate of Pharaoh. (AE 53:97,107) Its content is fundamentally teaching in nature, connecting the Old Testament narratives with the events occurring in Baptism. We don’t have evidence of such prayers occurring with the earlier rites of Augustine, Cyril, or Hippolytus. Their inclusion is not a matter of omission but rather assumption. The exegesis of the fathers did connect baptism with the narratives of the Old Testament as well. Luther’s written prayer provides for consistent practice and proper catechesis. His extension of teaching into the rite (also in his explanation of subsequent elements of the rite) is unique. As well it serves to “consecrate” the waters within the context of the rite. The restoration of this prayer in the “Lutheran Service Book” is not following an explicit ancient historical practice but is simply a restoration of Luther’s rite of 1526. IV. Our Father Through Augustine of Hippo the “Our Father” does not exist within the context of the baptismal rite. Rather it is the prayer of the infantes, the newly baptized. This prayer is first prayed after being baptized at the Eucharist. Between Augustine and Luther, the Lord’s Father shifts to being a part of the rite before the baptism itself. The Our Father functionally forms a three part confession of faith of the admitted when joined with the renunciation of Satan and a trinitarian confession. The ancient fathers kept the Our Father reserved for the newly baptized as those who were now children of God. Luther’s form reflects a shift from an adult to infant baptism, with the prayer directed to the to-be-baptized. This is indicated by the addition of laying on hands during the prayer. This might be interpreted as the handing over of the gift of the prayer to admitted. V. Renunciation of Satan The renunciation of Satan, his works, and his ways are consistent from Cyril through the Lutheran Service Book. In the rites before Luther, the catechumens begins by facing west, the land of darkness. Upon his renunciation he turns to face east, the source of light. It is a preparatory act for the believer occurring in the older rites initially. Luther delays its use until later within his rite. These questions are used as a confession of the reality of the world, sandwiched between the Our Father and the trinitarian confession for Luther. VI. Trinitarian Confession Common to all the rites is a trinitarian confession. With Hippolytus, after each statement of confession, first Father, then Son, and finally Holy Spirit the baptized was immersed. By the time of Luther, the confession fits a simplified Apostles’ Creed (the second article is shortened.) For the Lutheran Service Book, after each article of the Creed, the baptized responds “I believe.” This response is consistent to Augustine. No matter what the age, baptism is the confession of the true faith. Dr. Scaer would advocate that the articulation of this faith should be practiced as soon as possible. The historical age of such confession is not explicit in the other rites. “Not every child needs a sponsor to speak for him. A child as young as five or six or even younger might easily answer “yes” to whether he renounces Satan and believes the articles of the Apostles’ Creed. The less than full articulate confession of a child requires no apology.” (Scaer, p. 191) VII. Water All the rites use water. This follows the divinely instituted practice. Typically even through Luther is immersion. Before the surveyed rites the Didache stated, “pour water three times on the head ‘in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’” (Didache, vii:3) Luther immersed infants, and “he saw this as a sign of the child actually dying and rising with Christ.” (Scaer, p. 95) Luther also used the language of Titus 3:5-6 in his Small Catechism; “the washing of regeneration.” VIII. Anointing and Holy Chrism The anointing of the infantes after their baptism is consistent through Luther’s 1523 rite. All saw the value of such a practice. Luther did not see its purpose as useful and so he removes it in his 1526 rite. So it remains absent within the “Lutheran Service Book Agenda” as well. It is not part of the institution of baptism in The New Testament. It does reflect the practice of anointing the dead and kings, both which carry theological weight. (Incidentally at the suggestion of our midwife, we have “bathed” our infants in olive oil after their birth. I am curious if such a practice occurred in the ancient world. Such a practice would correspond to rebirth description by Jesus in John 3.) IX. Laying on of Hands The laying on of hands occurs in both Augustine and Luther’s rites. Augustine connects the “kingly” anointing of the chrism with a priestly blessing. With Luther, the laying on of hands occurs earlier in the rite and is in connection with the Lord’s Prayer. X. White Robe While not part of the explicit institution of baptism, the white robe is present throughout all the surveyed rites. The language of the white garment is found throughout The New Testament, specifically Jesus’s transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13) and the resurrected Lord (Matthew 28). The joining with Christ in baptism is the joining with the transfigured and resurrected Lord. While not explicit within the New Testament institutional texts, this element has the richest symbolism. While no means exhaustive, this paper has demonstrated that Luther did not desire to discard the baby with the bath water. His baptismal theology and consequent practice reflect a critical consideration of the church catholic. Where Luther is in unity with the fathers, we see a reflection in his practice. In Luther’s typical reforming fashion, he sought to remove embellishments which distracted from the proper focus of the rite. Hence, his 1526 revision removed elements which he saw as unnecessary.

“Now remember, too that in baptism the external things are the least important, such as blowing under the eyes, signing with the cross, putting salt into the mouth, putting spittle, or clay into the ears and nose, anointing the breast, and shoulders with oil, signing the crown of the head with the chrism, putting on the christening robe, placing a burning candle in the hand, and whatever else May be added to embellish baptism. For most assuredly baptism can be performed without all these, and they are no the sort of devices and practices from which the devil shrinks or flees. He sneers at greater things than these!” (Luther, AE 53:102)

While Luther criticized the practice of his sources including the Magdeburg Agenda of 1497, he never acted in hasty fashion. Therefore, his critical consideration never resulted in rapid change. He recognized a tension of practice and lay understanding and acted respecting this tension. Later, Luther returned to an emphasis of the elements surrounding baptism of greater validity. As we in the LC-MS consider our baptismal practice because of both Luther and the early church we too learn by Luther’s example to act with caution and begin with instruction of the theology of baptism. The attached chart comparing the rites shows that the “Lutheran Service Book Agenda” short form rite is consistent with the historical Luther. Even so to learn from Luther’s example, significant catechesis must take place to address the perception of innovations such as the exorcism. As with Luther we constantly reconcile our baptismal theology with the historical church with consideration and patience, pruning, molding, and shaping the rite to reflect our orthodox Christianity. Works Cited: Trigg, Jonathan D., “Baptism in the Theology of Martin Luther” St Cyril of Jerusalem, “Lectures on the Christian Sacraments” Harmless, William, “Augustine and the Catechumenate” Baptismal Rites Compared Chart (This is my favorite part! Check it out!)