HOLY
BAPTISM
(
I
) THE
BAPTISM OF PERSONS ABLE
TO ANSWER FOR THEMSELVES |
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CSI LITURGY
Baptism of Adults
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THE OFFICE FOR MAKING A
CATECHUMEN
The
admission of a person as a catechumen should normally be at a service of public
worship, and may take place after the Lessons.
Suitable lessons may be read. After
the Lessons, the candidate is led forward by his sponsors, and the presbyter
says: N,
who is present here, desires
to be received as a catechumen.
He has promised to undergo
regular instruction. Let us
therefore pray for him and welcome him with brotherly love. Let
us pray ALMIGHTY
and most merciful God, we pray thee to look favorably upon this person who
desires to be brought out of darkness into the clear light of thy truth and the
glorious liberty of thy children. Grant
that he may now make a sincere profession of his purpose, and may receive of
thee grace to continue steadfast in the path he has chosen, through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. He
then asks:
N, what do you desire? Answer:
I ask of you Christian teaching and Holy Baptism. Do
you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Answer:
I do. Are
you willing to place yourself under our guidance and instruction that you may be
prepared for admission into the Church by baptism? Answer:
I am willing. Do
you renounce all those customs and practices and teachings which you know to be
contrary to Christ’s will? Answer:
I do. Do
you promise to be diligent in prayer, regular at public worship of the Church,
faithful in receiving instruction and in witnessing to others? Answer:
I promise. The people stand.
The presbyter greets the candidate(s) according to the custom of the
place, and says: We
receive you as a catechumen of the Church of Christ, in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May
the almighty God, who has put these good desires into your heart, bring the same
good effect. Amen. Let
us pray
All
kneel. ¶
ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look upon this thy servant,
the catechumen; give him a new heart and renew within him a right spirit to know
and to do thy will with a ready heart and willing soul.
Make him worthy of the holy initiation of baptism, unite him to thy holy
Church, and give him a share in thy diving mysteries, through Jesus Christ our
Hope. Amen. Or ¶
O LORD Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, who didst lay down thy life for the sheep;
mercifully receive this brother into thy fold.
Join him with thine flock, and lead him to thee pleasant pastures of
everlasting life; for thy mercy’s sake. Amen. Or ¶
The minister may pray extempore.
THE
BAPTISM
The minister ascertains beforehand that the candidates have not already been
baptized.
THE DECLARATION
OF THE
WORD
When the people are gathered at, or proceeding to, the
place of baptism, a hymn may be sung, after which the minister says: Our
help is in the name of thee Lord: Who
hath made heaven and earth. *
Let us pray * ALMIGHTY God, thou Shepherd of Israel, who didst deliver thy chosen people from bondage of Egypt, and didst establish with them a sure covenant: Have mercy, we beseech thee, on thy flock, and grant that these persons, who are by baptism to be received into thy heritage, may be delivered from the bondage of sin through thy covenant of grace, and attain the promise of eternal life which thou hast given us in thy Son our Savoir Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen. The
people may sit. Dearly
beloved, we are met together to administer holy baptism to these persons, that
according to Christ’s command they may be sealed as members of Christ,
children of God, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven. *
Passages so marked may be omitted. Hear
therefore the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Mathew: 28:19
Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and thee Spirit, he cannot
enter thee kingdom of God.
John:3:5
Hear
also the word of God declared by the Apostles concerning baptism: Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for thee
forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts: 2:38 All
of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as
Christ raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in
newness of life.
Romans. 6:3,4 By
one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or
free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
1 Corinthians: 12:13 The
minister expounds the teaching of Scripture concerning baptism in his own words. ¶ Or he says:
You have heard the call to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
Profess therefore your faith and be baptized in Christ’s name; for God
is faithful who calls you and, having begun a good work in you, He will bring it
to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
THE RENUNCIATION
You have presented yourselves here for baptism.
You must therefore answer sincerely before God and his Church the
questions, which I now put to you.
Do you renounce [idolatry and] all the works of the devil? Answer:
I renounce them.
Do you renounce the pride and vanity of this world? Answer:
I renounce them.
Do you renounce impurity, strife, covetousness, and all other works of
the flesh? Answer:
I renounce them.
THE
PROFESSION OF FAITH
Do you believe in one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Answer:
I believe. Let
us therefore profess our faith. The
Apostles’ Creed is said or sung by all: I
believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was
crucified, dead, and buried, He descended into hell; The third day he rose again
from the dead, He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the
Father almighty; From thence he
shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I 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. Amen.
THE
PROMISES
Do
you desire to be baptized in this faith? Answer:
I do.
Will you keep God’s holy will and commandment and walk in them all the
days of your life?
Answer:
By God’s grace, I will. If
the candidates are husband and wife, the minister says to them:
Will you, in obedience to Christ’s teaching, continue together in love,
and nurture your children in the Christian faith? Husband
and wife answer together:
By God’s grace, we will. The minister says to all the candidates: May
almighty God grant the evil spirit of pride, faction, and sinful desire, may
never hereafter have dominion over you: for Christ has brought you with his
precious blood, and in your baptism delivers you from the power of darkness and
accepts you as children of light. May
your ears be open to hear God’s voice, and your mouth to declare the glory of
his name, who liveth and reigneth one God, father, Son, and Holy Spirit, ever
world, without end. Amen.
THE
BAPTISM
The minister says:
Let us pray in silence for those about to be baptized, that they may
receive the fullness of God’s grace. The
people may kneel. Silence
is kept for a space. Then the
minister says:
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit. The
minister prays in his own words. ¶
Or the following litany is said or sung:
Blessed art thou, O Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast created all
things and given us the element of water:
Blessed art thou, O Lord. Blessed
art thou, O Lord Jesus Christ, the only- begotten Son of God, who wast baptized
in the Jordan and didst die and rise again: Blessed
art thou, O Lord. Blessed
art thou, O Lord, the Holy Spirit,
who didst descend upon Jesus Christ and upon the Church:
Blessed art thou, O Lord. Be
present, O God, with us who call upon thy threefold name, and bless this water,
that it may signify the washing away of sin, and that those who are baptized
therein may be born again to eternal life:
Hear us, we beseech thee. Grant
them thy Holy Spirit, that they may be baptized into the one body, and ever
remain in the number of thy faithful and elect people:
Hear us, we beseech thee. Grant
that, being united with Christ in his death and resurrection. They may die unto
sin and live unto righteousness: Hear
us, we beseech thee. Grant
that they may put off the old man and become a new creation in Christ Jesus:
Hear us, we beseech thee. From
darkness lead them to light; from death lead them to everlasting life:
Hear us, we beseech thee. All stand; and the minister, having asked the
Christian name, dips each candidate in the water, or pours water upon him,
saying:
N, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen. The minister says over each person baptized: We have received this person into the congregation of Christ’s flock [
†
and
do sign him with the sign of the cross]. 1 1
Here the minister may make a cross upon the person’s forehead. Then he says for all together: May
these persons never be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, but
continue Christ’s faithful servants unto their lives’ end. Amen. Then may be said or sung: The
Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be
gracious to you: the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Amen.
Num. 6:24-26 A hymn of praise is sung. A procession may be made from the place of baptism into the body of the
church
*
THE
PUTTING ON
OF A WHITE GARMENT
The newly baptized may now put on white garments. When they have assembled, the minister says to them:
We will rejoice in the Lord:
Our souls shall be joyful in our God. For
he hath clothed us with the garments of salvation: He
hath covered us with the robes of righteousness. Put off your old nature, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds: We will put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God.
*
THE
LIGHT
The newly baptized may be given lighted lamps or tapers. When they have received them, the minister says:
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works:
And give glory to our Father who is in heaven.
Matt. 5:16 ¶ Or some other brief forms of words may be used. THE
THANKSGIVING
The minister says: Let
us pray Our Father, who art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come; Thy will be done; In earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we
forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But
deliver us from evil. For thine is
the kingdom, The power, and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.
The minister says, or the minister and people say
together:
We
yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it pleased thee to receive
these thy servants for thine own children by adoption and to incorporate them
into thy holy Church. And we humbly
beseech thee to grant that they may more and more show forth in their lives that
which they now are by thy calling; so that thy are made partakers of the death
of thy Son, they may also be partakers of his resurrection, and finally, with
all thy Church, inherit thine everlasting kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
A
CHARGE
The minister exhorts the congregation and the newly
baptized briefly in his own words. ¶ Or he may say to the congregation: These
our brothers and sisters in
Christ have, after profession of their repentance and faith, been
received into the household of God. I
charge you, and especially the elders among you, to befriend them, and to
remind them what solemn promises they have made before this congregation.
Support them therefore with your prayers, and encourage them
to attend to right instruction in God’s holy word, and so to prepare themselves
for Confirmation, that, being established in faith by the Holy Spirit, they
may come with due preparation to receive the Lord’s Supper, and may go forth
into the world to serve God faithfully in the fellowship of his Church.
Will you endeavor to do all these things? We
will, God being our helper; and we receive them into our fellowship. And then, speaking to thee newly baptized, he says: And
you, beloved, have now by baptism put off your old nature and put on Christ.
Your are accepted as children of God and of the light by faith in Jesus
Christ, and should walk as becomes children of light.
Remember always that baptism unites us with Christ in the likeness of his
death and resurrection. We who are
baptized must reckon ourselves dead unto sin and no longer in bondage to it.
We have been raised together with Christ, so that we may overcome all
evil desires and walk in newness of life. Let
us therefore bear witness to the world that Christ is in our life, knowing that
when he is manifested, then they that are his shall also be manifested with him
in glory. A hymn may be sung here, and the thanks offering are
taken. If the baptism is administered otherwise then at the
Lord’s Supper or at Morning or Evening Worship, the minister dismisses those
that are gathered together with this blessing: MAY
God almighty, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant you to be strengthened
with might through his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith, and that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen. ----- End ---- |