Baptism
Information follows on arranging a baptism at the Cathedral. Active membership of the Cathedral community is expected of the parents of children.Adults wishing to explore the possibility of baptism should contact the Cathedral clergy.
Outline of information which follows:
How Christian baptism started
Baptism is about
Baptism is symbolic
Godparents
The Baptismal Service – an introduction
The Order of Service for the Baptism of Children
Arranging a baptism at Belfast Cathedral
1. HOW CHRISTIAN BAPTISM STARTED
Christian Baptism started when Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan over 2,000 years ago. This was a pivotal point in the life of Jesus when he felt the influence of the spirit of God (the Holy Spirit). Jesus later told his followers to invite new disciples (followers/learners) and to baptize them. Christian churches throughout the world have been doing this ever since.
2. BAPTISM IS ABOUT
Baptism is about:
- Thanking God for his gift of life
- A person stating that he/she believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world.
- A person joining the church to express this belief
- A person starting a journey of faith in the company of other believers in Jesus Christ and the Church and asking for the Church’s support
- Parents and Godparents making these statements of belief on behalf of the child being baptized
- Parents and Godparents committing themselves to help a child grow in the Christian faith and within the membership of Christ’s Church. This will be shown by example, through prayer and regular attendance at Church worship
- The Church welcoming the person being baptized.
Baptism is about:
BELIEF – in Jesus Christ as the son of a living God and as the ultimate expression of God’s love for peoples in all ages. In the act of baptism parents and sponsors state their personal belief in Jesus and God.
COMMITMENT – in the act of baptism parents and godparents make serious promises committing themselves to years of concern and responsibilities for the spiritual growth of the child being baptized.
GROWTH – as a member of the human race, as a person deeply loved by God and as a person responsible for the care of others. In this world village, and for the care of the environment which was created and is sustained by God’s power and love.
JOURNEYING – together as people, of all ages, classes, races and abilities in the company of Jesus Christ.
LIFESTYLE – it is about a way of living by individuals within a community of faiths which we call The Church.
STATUS – as a baptized child of God living as an active participant within a group of believers which we call the church. Baptismal status is that of a disciple – a learner with Jesus.
VOCATION - being called by God to live and work in a manner which is personally fulfilling and which furthers God’s wishes and promises to human kind.
WORSHIP - baptised members of the church join at least one a week with each other in public worship to proclaim God’s love for them and their love for God.
3. BAPTISM IS SYMBOLIC OF:
- The death and resurrection (rising again) of Jesus Christ. In the early church those being baptized were totally immersed in the water – symbolic of Christ’s tomb – and raised out of the water – symbolic of Christ’s resurrection (rising again).
- The cross on which Christ died. The sign of the cross is made on the forehead of the person being baptized. It is an invisible badge which unites us with Christ
- The light which Jesus claimed to be, He said “I am the light of the world”. Baptism brings light into the life of the person being baptized, into their family, into the family of the Church and into the world.
- Life and new life. Water is an important symbol of life. Our bodies and our earth need water to live and to survive. In the same way, God’s love revitalised us. Our spiritual lives need refreshment.
4. GODPARENTS
Anyone can be a godparent so long as they have been baptized and confirmed and are sufficiently mature to carry out the responsibilities which the commitments made in baptism involve.
There should be at least three godparents – two of which are the same sex as the child.
Being a godparent does not commit a person as a legal guardian of the child.
Parents choose the godparents. They can be relatives or friends. They should be people who will set a good example of Christian living and who will be a “Faith-friend” of the child.
Godparents are:
1. To be guarantors that the child is ready for baptism. Godparents say – in effect – to the priest, “Here is a baby of Christian parents and you may proceed with the baptism, because we and they will see that it will not end there”.
2. To be the mouthpiece of the infant. The baby cannot make Baptismal promises for itself, and so its Godparents make them until the child is old enough to take them upon itself – at Confirmation.
3. To be the trustees of the spiritual gifts given by God to the baby at Baptism, and to remind it of these gifts spiritual in trust for it, and also to protect the gifts against those forces of evil which would deprive the child of them.
4. To be guarantors that the gifts given at baptism will be developed and used as the child grows, nourished by prayer and Holy Communion.
5. To represent the Church – welcoming the new member into the Family of God.
How can Godparents carry out their duties?
1. By praying daily for the godchildren.
2. By their own example, especially in the matter of regular worship and, when possible, worshipping with their godchildren.
3. By encouraging them, as they grow up, to be faithful and particularly to encourage them towards Confirmation and Holy Communion.
4. By making much of the anniversary of the Baptism.
Godparents should therefore be chosen with great care, and having these duties in mind. It is obviously better to choose practising Christians who will really carry out these duties, even at the risk of upsetting relations or friends.
Godparents ought to show by their own lives that they believe the things set out in this solemn promise to be important. If they do not regard Confirmation and Holy Communion as important for themselves, how can they impress the importance of them on your child as their godchild?
Boys should have two Godfathers and one Godmother. Girls should have two Godmothers and one Godfather. But it is better to have only one of each who will really do the job than the full number of people who will not.
The Dean or the Dean’s Vicar will help you if you do not know anyone who is really suitable for a godparent.
But remember that the parents’ example and encouragement in these things is even more important than that of the Godparents.
5. THE BAPTISMAL SERVICE - AN INTRODUCTION
Baptism at Belfast Cathedral usually takes place during Choral Eucharist on a Sunday morning at 11.00 am. This is the service which is most attended by members of the Cathedral community.
The baptismal party – child, parents, godparents and friends – sit near the font. Before the service, the choir will sing and the parents, godparents and child/children/persons to be baptised come together with the clergy around the font.
Parents and Godparents, will be asked to affirm their faith using the words of the Creed and to declare their belief in God. (See Baptismal Service which follows.)
Baptism is an occasion which involves people in making very serious decisions and declarations to the Church and to God. People who are baptized commit themselves to a life of worship and witness. Parents and Godparents make the same answers on behalf of the child thy bring to baptism.
During the baptism the Cathedral community on behalf of the whole Church of Christ, promises to welcome and support those being baptized, and to pray for them. The congregation also promises that it will be a worshipping community within which everyone may grow in faith.
Towards the conclusion of the baptism, a candle will be lit from a large candle which is burning near the font. This will be presented to each person being baptized – or to their parents or godparents.
This is to remind us that in Jesus Christ, God’s light came into a world darkened by evil, and that each member of Christ’s Church must reflect the light of the Gospel by following a lifestyle that reflects goodness and light.
The baptismal party will then follow the clergy to the front of the Cathedral for the remainder of the Choral Eucharist.
6. THE ORDER OF SERVICE FOR THE BAPTISM OF CHILDREN
THE INTRODUCTION
The priest says to the people
Holy Baptism is administered to infants on the understanding that they will be brought up in the fellowship of Christ's Church; that they will be taught the Christian faith; and that, when they have publicly confessed this faith, they will be confirmed by the bishop and admitted to the Holy Communion.
The priest says to the parents and godparents
I ask therefore
Will you bring up this child as a Christian within the family of the Church?
We will.
Will you help him / her to be regular in public worship and in private prayer, by your teaching, by your example and by your prayers for him?
We will.
Will you encourage him/her to come in due course to Confirmation and Holy Communion?
We will.
Priest
The Lord be with you;
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, who at the baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan declared him to be your only-begotten Son grant that by your Spirit this infant may be born again and made your child by adoption and grace, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Two of the following shall be read
Hear the words of the Epistle written by Saint Paul to Romans, in the sixth chapter, at the third verse:
All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus be baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
or this
Hear the words of the Gospel written by Saint Matthew, in the twenty-eighth chapter, at the eighteenth verse:
Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age'.
or this
Hear the words of the Gospel written by Saint Mark, in the tenth chapter, at the thirteenth verse:
They were bringing children to Jesus, that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.
A sermon may follow.
THE MINISTRY OF THE SACRAMENT
THE DECISION
The priest says to the parents and godparents
Those who are brought to be baptized must affirm through their sponsors their allegiance to Christ and their rejection of all that is evil. Therefore I ask,
Do you turn to Christ?
I do.
Do you then renounce the Devil and all his works?
I do, by God's help.
Will you obey and serve Christ?
I will, by God's help.
AT THE FONT
Water shall now be poured into the font, if this has not already been done.
Then being at the font with the sponsors and the children to be baptized the priest shall say
We give you thanks, almighty Father, everlasting God, through your most dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord;
Because by his death and resurrection you have broken the power of evil, and by your sending of the Spirit you have made us partakers of eternal life;
We ask you to bless this water, that he who is to be baptized in it may be born again in Christ; that being baptized into Christ's death he may receive forgiveness of sins, and that knowing the power of Christ's resurrection he may walk in newness of life;
And grant that being cleansed by the washing of regeneration and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he may so faithfully serve you in this world that finally with all your people he may inherit the kingdom of your glory;
Through the same your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
THE BAPTISM
The priest says to the parents and godparents
You have brought this child to be baptized, and now standing in the presence of God and his Church, you must confess Christian faith in which she is to be baptized.
Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
I believe.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
and that he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary;
that he suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
that he descended to the dead,
and on the third day rose again;
that he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
and that he will come again
to judge the living and the dead?
I believe.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting?
I believe.
The priest takes the child in his arms or by the hand and says to the parents and godparents
Name this child.
Then the priest shall pour water on the child saying
Name - I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THE PRAYERS
The priest makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the child, saying
Now that you have entered upon the Christian life, I sign you with the sign of the cross, to show that you must not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world and the devil; and so continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant to your life's end.
All say
God has adopted you by baptism into his Church.
We therefore receive you into the household of faith,
As a member of the body of Christ,
As the child of the same heavenly Father,
And as an inheritor with us of the kingdom of God.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The following prayers are said
Father, we thank you that this child has now been born again of water and the Holy Spirit, and has become your own child by adoption, and a member of your Church.
Grant that she may grow in the faith in which she has been baptized
Grant that she herself may profess it when she comes to be confirmed
Grant that she may bear witness to it by a life of service to her fellow men
And that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in her;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, bless the home of this child, and give such grace and wisdom to all who have the care of her, that by their word and good example they may teach her to know and love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Priest
May almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us new life by water and the Holy Spirit, and has forgiven us all our sins, guard us by his grace now and for evermore. Amen.
The names of those who have been baptized, with the other particulars required, shall be entered in the Parish Register of Baptisms immediately after the service.
7. ARRANGING BAPTISM AT BELFAST CATHEDRAL
(a) Complete the form included here and return it to the Cathedral Office.
(b) If you do not know the Dean or the Dean’s Vicar, please introduce yourselves after the Sunday Eucharist or Evensong.
(C) One of the clergy will make arrangements to meet with you
