Early Christian Worship

An introduction to ideas and practice

Paul F. Bradshaw, Paul Bradshaw

• Publisher: SPCK Publishing
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780281063451
• eBook ISBN: 9780281064885
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

The book should be seen in the context of Paul Bradshaw's earlier works: The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship and Eucharistic Origins. In this book he updates his thinking in this area, focussing on the origins of the Eucharist, Baptism and Daily Prayer. The controversial introductory chapter is entitled: Did Jesus Institute the Eucharist at the Last Supper?

Part 1

CHRISTIAN INITIATION

In this section we shall first examine the roots of Christian baptismal thought and practice in New Testament times, and then see how different elements of this were picked up and developed in various early Christian traditions, concentrating principally on the contrasts between Syria and North Africa, before going on to look at the movement towards a more common baptismal theology and liturgy in the fourth century. We shall end our survey by considering the effects that the later spread of infant baptism had on both the practice and understanding of Christian initiation.

Suggestions for further reading

In addition to works cited in notes, the following are recommended:

Paul F. Bradshaw, Reconstructing Early Christian Worship (SPCK, London 2009), chapters 4–6.

Maxwell E. Johnson, The Rites of Christian Initiation (2nd edn, Liturgical Press, Collegeville 2007), chapters 1–5.

Bryan D. Spinks, Early and Medieval Rituals and Theologies of Baptism (Ashgate, Aldershot 2006), chapters 1–3.

1

Beginnings

Jesus apparently did not leave his followers with a fixed set of doctrines but rather with an experience that changed their lives, which they then tried to articulate in their own ways. As a result, what we find in the New Testament is not one standard theology of baptism or a systematized explanation of what it means to become a Christian, but a variety of ways of speaking about that experience, quite different images and metaphors being employed by different writers in their attempts to communicate it to others.

Antecedents

The New Testament implies that the custom of baptizing those who were converted to the Christian faith was derived from John the Baptist (see, for example, Matthew 3.1–12), but the source of his own practice is uncertain. Some scholars have argued that it was based on the ablutions of the Jewish Essene community at Qumran, but these were repeated washings related to the need for constant ritual purity and do not seem to have included an initiatory baptism. Others have suggested that John was influenced by the practice of baptizing new converts to Judaism, but there is some doubt whether this was being done in his time or whether it was only adopted at a later date. A third possibility is that it arose out of the Israelite traditions of ritual purification (see, for example, Leviticus 15.5–13) and/or of prophetic symbolism, which had spoken of God’s people being cleansed with pure water in preparation for the advent of the messianic age (see, for example, Ezekiel 36.2–8).

Whether the Christian adoption of baptism began with Jesus himself or only in the Church after his resurrection cannot easily be resolved. All three synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ own baptism by John but say nothing of him baptizing his followers. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, does not mention Jesus being baptized but does speak of him baptizing others (John 3.22, 26; 4.1; but cf. 4.2). Matthew 28.19–20 contains a command to baptize all nations, but there are difficulties in accepting this as an authentic saying of the risen Lord.

Baptismal practice

Whatever its origins, however, it appears that at least in certain Christian communities from early times it became the custom to initiate new converts into the Church through a process which included baptism in water. Unfortunately, the New Testament offers very few clues as to the manner in which the baptisms might have been carried out. The preference for the use of ‘living’ (i.e. naturally flowing) water that is found in some later sources (see also John 7.38) suggests that they may at first have usually been performed in a river or pool, where possible, rather than in a domestic bath-house. The image of baptism as participation in the death and resurrection of Christ used by Paul (see Romans 6.3ff.) seems naturally to imply that candidates would have been totally submerged in the water, but such a practice would certainly not have been easily possible in domestic baths, and the custom found later in some places of candidates standing in a shallow font and having water poured all over them may also have existed in the earliest times. Both methods involved total immersion in water – it was only the way of achieving it that differed.

What else besides the actual immersion might have been involved is not made explicit in the New Testament. We would expect there to have been a preliminary period of instruction in the faith, at least in the case of Gentile candidates who lacked the religious background possessed by Jewish converts, but this need not have been the extensive formal catechumenate (from the Greek word catechumen, ‘learner’) found in later centuries. Several New Testament passages speak of baptism being ‘in the name of Jesus’ (see, for example, Acts 2.38), which suggests that his name was invoked in some way during the ceremony. This could have been in the form of a statement made over the candidate (e.g. ‘I baptize you in the name of . . .’), such as we find in later Syrian usage, but it need not necessarily have been restricted to that. It could also have referred to some confession of faith in Jesus made by the candidate at the moment of baptism, such as we find in later Western sources. At the very least, it seems probable that some sort of ritual dialogue would have preceded the immersion. Acts 2.38 refers to the necessity for repentance to accompany baptism, and this would surely have needed to be expressed verbally. Similarly, Acts 8.37, although found only in certain manuscripts of the text, seems to embody the sort of profession of faith that candidates in some places would have made prior to baptism: ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’

‘Confirmation’ in the New Testament?

Some scholars have argued that in New Testament times the immersion in water was regularly followed within the same ceremony by a separate ritual gesture expressing the gift of the Holy Spirit, either in the form of the imposition of hands on the newly baptized or by an anointing with oil, and that this constitutes the biblical foundation of the later practice of ‘confirmation’. They point to such passages as Matthew 3.16, Mark 1.10, and Luke 3.22, where Jesus receives the Holy Spirit immediately after his baptism; to Acts 8.14–17, where Peter and John lay their hands on the Samaritans baptized by Philip and they receive the Holy Spirit; to Acts 19.1–7, where baptism is followed by the imposition of Paul’s hands and the reception of the Holy Spirit; to Hebrews 6.2, which mentions ‘the laying on of hands’ directly after ‘ablutions’; to 2 Corinthians 1.22, Ephesians 1.13 and 4.30, where Christians are spoken of as having been sealed with the Holy Spirit; to Revelation 7.3, which speaks of the servants of God being sealed upon their foreheads; and to 1 John 2.20 and 27, which refer to an anointing by the Holy One that the readers have received.

Other scholars, however, have contested this interpretation of the passages. They argue that the descriptions of Jesus’ baptism do not necessarily mirror the ritual structure of early Christian baptisms, and the two narratives in Acts may not describe the regular form of Christian initiation but instead be accounts of unusual situations: the mission of the Hellenists in Samaria had to be endorsed by the Jerusalem apostles, and the disciples of John needed baptism in the name of Jesus in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We need to remember that Acts also describes the gift of the Spirit as preceding the act of immersion in the case of the baptism of the household of Cornelius (Acts 10.44–48). Since this episode is usually interpreted as being an exceptional situation, symbolizing a Gentile equivalent of the Pentecost experience (Acts 2.1–4), rather than a description of standard initiatory practice, why should the same not be true of the other baptismal accounts? As for the other New Testament references cited above, that in Hebrews is too vague to allow any firm conclusions to be drawn about baptismal practice, and the various allusions to ‘sealing’ and ‘anointing’ may not be reflections of actual liturgical ceremonies but instead merely vivid metaphors for what was thought to have h...

Table of contents

• Cover page
• About the author
• Title page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements and abbreviations
• Introduction
• Part 1: Christian initiation
• Part 2: Eucharist
• Part 3: Liturgical time
• Search terms