Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy. Those who practice this rite view baptism as an indispensable requirement to enter the Kingdom of God, and thus practice Baptism for the Dead to give those who have died without ever having had the opportunity to receive baptism the opportunity to receive it by proxy if they wish. Baptism for the Dead is best known as a doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, where it has been practiced since 1840. It is currently practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), where it is performed only in dedicated temples, as well as in several (but not all) other current factions of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Advocates of this practice believe it is referred to in The New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15:29. The practice was forbidden by the Catholic Church in the 4th century as an aberrant practice of heretical groups, and is not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity, whether Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant.
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In the practice of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or "Mormons"), a living person, acting as proxy, is baptized by immersion on behalf of a deceased person. After giving a short prayer that includes the name of the deceased individual, the proxy is immersed briefly in the water, then brought up again. Baptism for the dead is a distinctive ordinance of the church and is based on the belief that baptism is a required ordinance for entry into the Kingdom of God.
Some members of the early Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now known as the Community of Christ) also believed in baptism for the dead,[1] but it was never officially sanctioned by that organization, and was considered highly controversial.[2]
A revelation and two letters written by Joseph Smith, Jr. appertaining to baptism for the dead were removed from the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants by a church general conference in 1970.
In the Restoration Branches movement, which broke from the RLDS Church in the 1980s, the question of Baptism for the Dead is at best unsettled, reflecting their RLDS origin. Many adherents reject the validity of this ordinance completely.[3]
Other Latter Day Saint denominations that accept baptism for the dead include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) and The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite). The Strangite Church performed baptisms for the dead during the 1840s in Voree, Wisconsin and later during the 1850s on Beaver Island, Michigan. In each case, the practice was authorized by revelation given by James J. Strang. The question of whether the Strangite Church still practices proxy baptism is an open one, but belief is considered orthodox.[4]
Cutlerite practice permits baptisms for the dead to be performed in baptismal fonts in Cutlerite meetinghouses (of which only two exist today, one in Clitherall, Minnesota and the other in Independence, Missouri). Though Cutlerites believe in the concept of temples, it is not required that baptisms for the dead be performed in one. The meetinghouse baptismal fonts are used for baptism of the living and for the dead. Cutlerites have practiced baptisms for the dead sporadically throughout their history (including during the early 1990s), but it is not known if they still do so. As with the LDS Church and the Strangite Church, belief in this doctrine is considered orthodox.
As part of their Sacraments, the New Apostolic Church and Old Apostolic Church also practices Baptism for the Dead, as well as Communion and Sealing to the Departed. In this practice a proxy or substitute is baptised in the place of an unknown number of deceased person. According to NAC and OAC doctrine the deceased do not enter the body of the substitute.
In the Reformed Old Apostolic Church it is believed that all deceased persons that are baptised reside within the body of the substitute.
Outside of Christianity, proxy baptisms are practiced by the Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,.[5]
A deprecated fourth-century custom of baptizing dead bodies (baptism of the dead and giving the Eucharist to them [6] has sometimes been interpreted as baptism for the dead. Thus John A. Tvedtnes, a Hebrew and early Christian scholar at Brigham Young University writes:
| “ | That baptism for the dead was indeed practiced in some orthodox Christian circles is indicated by the decisions of two late fourth century councils. The fourth canon of the Synod of Hippo, held in 393, declares, "The Eucharist shall not be given to dead bodies, nor baptism conferred upon them." The ruling was confirmed four years later in the sixth canon of the Third Council of Carthage.[7] | ” |
John Chrysostom describes a similar practice among the Marcionites of the same century: if one of their followers who was being prepared for baptism died before receiving baptism, the dead person's corpse was addressed with the question whether he wished to be baptized, whereupon another answered affirmatively and was baptized for the dead person.[8]
In the same passage, Chrysostom, a speaker of the language (Koine Greek) in which Paul the Apostle wrote, explained Paul's mention of people being "baptized for the dead" as a reference to the profession of faith in their own future resurrection that Christians made before being baptized.
In the context of insisting that "in Christ shall all be made alive .. Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's",[9] Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:29: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" Different views have been expressed on the meaning of the phrase "baptized for the dead", and on whether Paul gave his approval to the practice.
The Greek verb in Paul's phrase "baptized for the dead" is baptizein, which in Jewish Greek has a wider reference than "baptism", applying primarily to the masculine noun baptismos "ritual washing"[10] The verb occurs four times in the Septuagint in the context of ritual washing, baptismos: Judith cleansing herself from menstrual impurity, Naaman washing seven times to be cleansed from leprosy, etc.[11] In the New Testament only, the verb baptizein can also relate to the neuter noun baptisma "baptism", a neologism unknown in the Septuagint and other pre-Christian Jewish texts.[12] This broadness in the meaning of baptizein is reflected in English Bibles rendering "wash," where Jewish ritual washing is meant, for example in Mark 7:4, which states that the Pharisees "except they wash (Greek "baptize"), they do not eat",[13] and "baptize" where baptisma, the new Christian rite, is intended. The older ritual washing use of baptizein is relevant in the context of funerals since any Jew coming into contact with the dead body must undertake ritual washing.[14] During the Second Temple and early Rabbinical period the regulations on "ritual washing" (Greek masculine noun baptismos) expanded and multiplied. This is documented in the Halakhah Tractate Yadayim[15] and Dead Sea Scrolls[16] Peter Leithart (2007) suggests that Paul's comment "why do they.." is an analogy between baptism (i.e. neuter concept noun baptisma) with Jewish ritual washing (i.e. masculine concrete noun baptismos) for contact with the dead following the Mosaic regulations in Numbers 19.[17] The phrase "ritually washed for the dead" does not occur in intertestamental literature, but a possibly related idea of prayer for the dead occurs in 2 Maccabees. Since the New Testament idea of "baptism" (Greek baptisma), the rite of baptism, is not mentioned in the verse, it is open to interpretation whether the verb baptizein refers to "ritual washing" (Greek baptismos) or "the rite of baptism" (Greek baptisma) or is an analogy between both.[18]
Some interpret "baptized for the dead" as a metaphor for martyrdom, as in Mark 10:38 and Luke 12:50 baptism is a metaphor for suffering or martyrdom; accordingly they would translate it as "being baptized with a view to death".[19] In this interpretation, the phrase is closely linked with what Paul says immediately afterwards[20] of the suffering that he himself faces and is enabled to endure precisely because of his faith in his resurrection.[21][22] This interpretation is similar to that of John Chrysostom.
Others interpret the phrase as referring to simple baptism of an individual. For Martin Luther it regarded a practice of being baptized above (the first of the meanings of the preposition ὑπέρ, generally translated in this passage as for)[23] the tombs of the dead. John Calvin saw it as a reference to being baptized when close to death.[19]
The third interpretation sees the phrase as referring to vicarious baptism on behalf of dead people performed in the belief that the dead were thereby benefitted in some way. This belief is put forward as the reason why, when Paul compares the Corinthians' experience to that of the Israelites in crossing the Red Sea and being fed on manna, he insists that the Israelites were not thereby prevented from sinning.[19]
The Tyndale Bible Dictionary concludes that Paul probably did not approve the practice of baptism for the dead. He refers to its practitioners as "they", not as "you" (the Corinthian Christians to whom he wrote). The note in the Catholic New American Bible is more cautious: "Baptized for the dead: this practice is not further explained here, nor is it necessarily mentioned with approval, but Paul cites it as something in their experience that attests in one more way to belief in the resurrection."[24] In this, it stays close to what Tertullian wrote in the year 207 or 208, when he said that Paul's only aim in alluding to the practice of baptism for the dead, "whatever it may have been", was "that he might all the more firmly insist upon the resurrection of the body, in proportion as they who were vainly baptized for the dead resorted to the practice from their belief of such a resurrection."[25]
The concept of baptism for the dead, according to Elaine Pagels, was easily explained by gnostics. Since the gnostics argued that the text was allegory, their stance was that baptism for the dead refers to pneumatics (i.e. gnostics) taking the place of psychics (i.e. literalists), who were dead to gnosis. (See: Gnosticism and the New Testament.) Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, wrote about the gnostics as being heretical in his work On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis. The doctrines of Marcion were so similar to the gnostics that the church father Irenaeus in the 180s regarded Marcion as one of them. Eventually Marcion was excommunicated for his views. Tertullian wrote about gnostics in his work Against Marcion indicating that there was another aberrant Christian sect who believed in baptism for the dead. Clement of Alexandria warned in his writings Excerpta ex Theodoto against paganism and deviations from Christianity, mentioning baptism for the dead as a doctrine particular to gnostics.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that baptism is a prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of God as stated by Jesus in John 3:5: "Except that a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (KJV).
The LDS Church teaches that performing baptisms for the dead allows this saving ordinance to be offered to those who have died without accepting or knowing Jesus Christ or his teachings during their mortal lives. It is taught that this is the method by which all who have lived upon the earth will have the opportunity to receive baptism and to thereby enter the Kingdom of God.
The LDS Church teaches that those in the afterlife who have been baptized by proxy are free to accept or reject the ordinance done on their behalf. Baptism on behalf of a deceased individual is not binding if that individual chooses to reject it in the afterlife.[26][27]
Any member of the LDS Church, male or female, who is at least 12 years old and holds a current temple recommend may act as a proxy in this ordinance. Men must also hold the Aaronic Priesthood prior to entering the temple. A man must act as proxy for a deceased man, and a woman must act as proxy for a deceased woman. The concept of a spiritual proxy is compared by some in the LDS Church to the belief that Jesus acted as proxy for every human when he atoned for the sins of the world.[28]
Only an adult male holder of the Melchizedek priesthood who has undergone the Endowment ordinance may baptize others as proxies for the dead.
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the practice of baptism for the dead is based on a revelation received by the prophet Joseph Smith. He first taught the doctrine at the funeral sermon of a deceased member of the Church, Seymour Brunson.[29] In a letter written on October 19, 1840, to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church (who were on a mission in the United Kingdom at the time), Smith refers to the passage in 1 Corinthians 15:29 (KJV):
| “ | I presume the doctrine of "baptism for the dead" has ere this reached your ears, and may have raised some inquiries in your minds respecting the same. I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may desire on the subject; but aside from knowledge independent of the Bible, I would say that it was certainly practiced by the ancient churches; and Saint Paul endeavors to prove the doctrine of the resurrection from the same, and says, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?"[30] | ” |
LDS Church scripture expands further upon this doctrine and states that such baptisms are to be performed in temples.[31] Vicarious baptism is performed in connection with other vicarious ordinances in temples of the LDS Church, such as the Endowment and celestial marriage.
Initially, women could be baptized for dead men, and vice versa; this, however, was changed in order to ensure that the person being baptized for a dead man could also be ordained on their behalf to the priesthood.[32]
The LDS Church holds that deceased persons who have not accepted or had the opportunity to accept the gospel of Christ in this life will have the opportunity to accept the gospel in the afterlife. As all must follow Jesus Christ, they must also receive all the ordinances that a living person is expected to receive, including baptism. For this reason, members of the LDS Church are encouraged to research their genealogy. This research is then used as the basis for Church performing temple ordinances for as many deceased persons as possible. As a part of these efforts, Mormons have performed temple ordinances on behalf of a number of high profile people. Of particular interest are: the Founding Fathers of the U.S., Presidents of the U.S., Pope John Paul II, John Wesley, Christopher Columbus, Adolf Hitler,[33] and others.
While members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider it a great service to perform vicarious ordinances for the deceased, some non-members have taken offense. To be sensitive to the issue of proxy baptizing for non-Mormons that are not related to Church members, the Church in recent years has published a general policy of performing temple ordinances only for direct ancestors of Church members. For example, the Church is in the process of removing sensitive names (such as Jewish Holocaust victims) from its International Genealogical Index (IGI). D. Todd Christofferson of the Church's Presidency of the Seventy stated that removing the names is an "ongoing, labor intensive process requiring name-by-name research ... When the Church is made aware of documented concerns, action is taken ... Plans are underway to refine this process."
In 2008, a directive from the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy directed Catholic dioceses to prevent the LDS Church from "microfilming and digitizing information" contained in Catholic sacramental registers so that those whose names were contained therein would not be subjected to vicarious Mormon baptism,[34][35] even though the Vatican had previously declared that Mormon baptism was invalid.[36]
Other Christian denominations generally do not accept the Latter-day Saints interpretation of "baptism for the dead", mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29, though a few other contemporary Christian churches do practice such an ordinance. For the various interpretations that have been put forward of what Saint Paul meant by the phrase, see the discussion above.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performs vicarious baptisms for individuals regardless of their race, sex, creed, or morality. It has baptized both victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust, including Anne Frank and Adolf Hitler. Some Jewish Holocaust survivors and some Jewish organizations have strenuously objected to this practice.
The LDS Church has urged members to submit the names of only their own ancestors for ordinances, and to request permission of surviving family members of people who have died within the past 75 years, and has enforced these guidelines to the best of its abilities, erasing hundreds of thousands of improperly submitted names.[37] Latter-day Saint apostle Boyd K. Packer has stated the LDS Church is clear that it uses the public records it collects for temple ordinance work.[38]
Despite the guidelines, some members of the Church have submitted the names of Holocaust victims, and prominent Nazis, such as Heinrich Himmler, for vicarious baptism without adequate permission. In December 2002, independent researcher Helen Radkey published a report showing that, following a 1995 promise from the church to remove Jewish Nazi victims from its International Genealogical Index, the Church's database included the names of about 19,000 who had a 40 to 50 percent chance "to be Holocaust victims ... in Russia, Poland, France, and Austria."[39][40] Genealogist Bernard Kouchel conducted a search of the International Genealogical Index, and discovered that many well known Jews had been vicariously baptized, including Maimonides, Albert Einstein, and Irving Berlin, without family permission.
Church official D. Todd Christofferson told the New York Times that the church expends massive amounts of resources attempting to purge improperly submitted names, but that it is not feasible to expect the Church to find each and every last one, and that the agreement in 1995 did not place this type of responsibility on the centralized church leadership.[41]
Jewish groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center spoke out against the vicarious baptism of Holocaust perpetrators and victims in the mid-1990s and again in the 2000s when they discovered the practice, which they consider insensitive to the living and the dead, was continuing.[42][43] The associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Abraham Cooper, complained that infamous figures such as Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun appeared on LDS genealogical records: "Whether official or not, the fact remains that this is exactly the kind of activity that enraged and hurt, really, so many victims of the Holocaust and caused alarm in the Jewish community."[44][45]
In 2008, the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, announced that, since the Church had repeatedly violated previous agreements, it would no longer negotiate with the Church to try to prevent vicarious baptism.[46] Michel called the practice a revision of history that plays into the hands of Holocaust deniers, stating: "They tell me, that my parents' Jewishness has not been altered but ... 100 years from now, how will they be able to guarantee that my mother and father of blessed memory who lived as Jews and were slaughtered by Hitler for no other reason than they were Jews, will someday not be identified as Mormon victims of the Holocaust?"[47]
Church officials, in response, stated that the Church does not teach that vicarious baptisms coerce deceased persons to become Mormons, nor does the Church add those names to its list of Church members.[48][49] Church officials have also stated that, in accordance with the 1995 agreement, it has removed more than 300,000 names of Jewish Holocaust victims from its databases, as well as subsequently removing names later identified by Jewish groups. Church officials have also stated that a new version of the database, New FamilySearch, has been developed and is currently being implemented that would help prevent the submission of Holocaust victim names for temple ordinances.[50]
In May 2009, it was discovered that President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, "who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day [sic] Saints last year during her son's campaign. ... It is not yet clear whether Obama is troubled by the practice. The White House declined to comment Tuesday [May 5, 2009]."[51] The June 4, 2008 baptism was performed in the Provo Utah Temple, and a week later the ritual of endowment was performed on behalf of Dunham. LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter confirmed that someone did perform a proxy baptism for Dunham, but said it was "counter to [LDS] Church policy for a church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related."[51]