An Ecumenical Baptismal Liturgy

Some church historians have already labeled the twentieth century as the ecumenical century, noting the wide variety of institutional and attitudinal openness toward ecumenical expression. Similarly, some liturgical scholars have described the twentieth century as a great period of liturgical convergence, noting the significant cross-fertilization of liturgical practices across denominational lines. In line with such descriptions, liturgists have attempted to write sacramental liturgies for ecumenical use. The following is one such liturgy, written by Fr. Max Thurian to illustrate the famous Lima document on baptism, Eucharist, and ministry.

The baptismal liturgy takes place between the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist. THE WELCOME [Names of the parents or of the adult seeking baptism] as a Christian community we welcome you with great joy to celebrate the baptism which you request for [Name, the child's name], a baptism of water and the Spirit, in which the covenant with God, Creator and Father, is renewed in forgiveness, in which Christ makes us pass through his death and resurrection to be born into new life, in which the Holy Spirit is given us, to bring us into the body of the church. THE THANKSGIVING (OFFERED NEAR THE WATER OF BAPTISM) The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise. It is truly right and fitting to give you glory, to offer you our thanksgiving, loving Father, all-powerful Creator, who gives us water, water which gives life, cleanses and satisfies our thirst. Blessed be you, O Lord. By your invisible power, O Lord, you perform wonders in your sacraments, and in the history of salvation you have used water, which you have created, to make known to us the grace of baptism. Blessed be you, O Lord. At the beginning of the world your Spirit hovered over the waters, prepared your work of creation, and planted the seed of life. Blessed be you, O Lord. By the waters of the Flood You declared the death of sin and the birth of a new life. Blessed be you, O Lord. You brought the children of Abraham through the waters of the Red Sea, and the people, freed from slavery, journeyed towards the Promised Land. Blessed be you, O Lord. Your beloved Son was baptized by John in the waters of Jordan, was anointed by the Spirit and appointed prophet, priest and king. Blessed be you, O Lord. Lifted up from the earth on the cross, your Son was immersed in the baptism of suffering; he has cast fire upon the earth to set hearts aflame and draw all people to himself. Blessed be you, O Lord. The risen Christ said to his disciples: "?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.?" Blessed be you, O Lord. And now, O Lord, look in love upon your church, and by your Holy Spirit let the spring of baptism well up among us: may your servant, made in your image, God our Father, be cleansed of all that disfigures that likeness; may he/she be buried with Christ into death and be raised with him to life; may he/she receive the Holy Spirit so as to witness to the Gospel in the Church for the world. Blessed be you, O Lord. THE EXHORTATION [for the baptism of a child] Dear parents and sponsors, the child which you present for baptism is now to be baptized; in his life, God will give him/her a new life; he/she will be born again of water and the Spirit. Be careful to help him/her grow in faith, that this life of new birth may not grow weak through sin or indifference, but that it may grow stronger in him/her day by day. As a sign that you are prepared for this responsibility, I invite you to recall your own baptism and to declare your faith in Jesus Christ, the faith of the universal church into which every Christian is baptized. [for the baptism of an adult] [Name], you are now to be baptized: in his love, God will give you a new life; you will be born again of water and the Spirit. Be careful to grow in faith, that this life of new birth in you may not grow weak through sin or indifference, but that it may grow stronger in you day by day. As a sign that you are ready to commit yourself in faith to the service of Christ and his Church, I invite you to fight against the power of evil, and to declare your faith in Jesus Christ, the faith of the universal church into which every Christian is baptized. THE RENUNCIATION [may be used at the baptism of an adult] So as to live in the liberty of the sons and daughters of God, to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit, do you renounce being ruled by the desires of this world, the snare of pride, the love of money, and the power of violence? I renounce them. THE DECLARATION OF FAITH Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth? I do so believe. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary; who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, and descended to the dead; who rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead? I do so 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 do so believe. [or] THE APOSTLES' CREED At the baptism of a child, the parents and sponsors are asked: Do you wish [Name] to be baptized in the faith of the church which we have just declared? We do. At the baptism of an adult, the candidate is asked: Do you wish to be baptized in the faith of the church which we have just declared? I do. THE BAPTISM [Name], I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS OR CHRISMATION Receive the seal of the gift of the Spirit: may it make you a faithful witness to Christ to the glory of God the Father. [silence] CONCLUSION For you, there is a new act of creation. You have put on Christ. (The person baptized may receive a white garment.) You will be guided by the Spirit of light. (He/she may receive a candle lit from the paschal candle.) You are now part of the body of the Church. You are a member of the royal priesthood, the holy fellowship. (He/she may be given the sign of the cross in oil on the forehead.) You belong to the people chosen to proclaim the praise of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Alleluia! COMMENTARY Perspectives. A striking feature of this baptismal liturgy is the resemblance of its prayer of thanksgiving to many traditional eucharistic liturgies, even to the point of beginning with the sursum corda (the text, "?lift up your hearts … we lift them up to the Lord?"). As in eucharistic liturgies, this prayer traces the complete history of creation and redemption and offers thanksgiving for the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This powerfully suggests that the baptism which will soon follow is rooted in these mighty acts of God. A second striking feature of this liturgy is its balance of historical awareness and simplicity. It retains the essential components of even the earliest Christian liturgies, including the bold renunciation of Satan's works, the use of the Apostles' Creed as a Trinitarian structure for the candidate's declaration of faith, and the laying on of hands or chrismation following the sacrament. Further, these actions, so basic and essential to the meaning of Christian baptism throughout the history of the church, are left unobscured by any other complex of ritual actions or long paragraphs of extraneous texts. Rather, the language is bold and direct, such as the final charge to the baptized, "?For you, there is a new act of creation. You have put on Christ .…?" This ecumenical liturgy certainly evidences a full-orbed view of the nature of baptism. As the language of the welcome summarizes, this baptism is understood as being both "?of water and the Spirit,?" and involving a renewal of covenant in God's forgiveness, a mortification and vivification (dying and rising) with Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and church membership. Whereas various baptismal liturgies tend to emphasize one or another of these aspects of baptism, this simple listing of each aspect suggests that baptism appropriately involves all of them. Suggestions for Appropriation. The act of welcome may be accompanied by a brief introduction of the candidates to the congregation. As a response to this introduction, the congregation may be asked, "?Will you support [Name] in his/her pilgrimage in the Christian faith with encouragement and prayer??" The congregation may respond to this question, "?We promise [Name] our encouragement and prayers.?" This reinforces the communal nature of the sacrament and calls attention to the inclusion of the candidate for baptism within the membership of the church. The opening lines or the entire text of the thanksgiving may be sung. Many musical settings of the eucharistic prayer of thanksgiving can be used with little or no modification because of the similarity of the opening lines of text. In addition, the congregational response, "?Blessed be you, O Lord,?" can be sung by all the people if set to a simple musical refrain. Following the concluding charge to the baptized person, the service can continue with an appropriate acclamation of praise as sung by the entire congregation, the choir, or a soloist. In addition to baptismal hymns, appropriate hymns for baptism are Easter hymns, which highlight the Easter imagery found throughout the liturgy and which are unfortunately most often not sung outside of Easter Sunday.