Conditional baptism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Mainline Christian theology (Roman Catholic and Protestant) has traditionally held that only one Baptism is valid to confer the benefits of this sacrament. Therefore, in cases where the validity of a baptism is questioned (possibly due to uncertainty about the use of the Triune name of God, for example) a "conditional" baptism may be performed.
Such uncertainty may result from questions about whether a church from which someone is converting baptizes in a valid manner. For example, the Catholic Church has said that the validity of baptisms in Mormon churches and those of some other communions is doubtful. Another example of a case requiring conditional baptism would be where an emergency baptism has been performed, if impure water was used the validity of the baptism may be in question. In that case a conditional baptism is later performed by an ordinary minister of the sacrament with certainly valid matter.
In a typical baptism, the minister of the sacrament (usually a deacon or a priest, but sometimes, especially when the baptized is in imminent danger of death, a lay person) says
or words to that effect, explicitly naming the three Persons of the Trinity, while pouring or sprinkling water upon the head of the baptized, or immersing them in water. In a conditional baptism, the minister of the sacrament says
- If you are not yet baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
