Describe and explain the central features of infant and believer s baptism
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Infant Baptism services take place particularly in the denominations of Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican.
At a Roman Catholic Church the ceremony begins with the priest greeting the parents and asking them what they want for their child. Then, once the parents have replied, the priest, parents and godparents make a sign of the cross on the infant's forehead. This shows that the child belongs to Christ. After this, a few readings, suitable for the ceremony, are read from the Bible, for example, Paul's letters to the Romans.
The priest then says a speech, explaining the meaning of baptism. This speech is called a "homily". "Make the lives of his/her parents and godparents examples of faith to inspire this child" is just one example of the possible prayers, which the priest reads out after the homily. Then the child is exorcized and anointed.
Next the parents publicly state that they reject all evil, (also called vows)...