The Church of England is accused of “dumbing down” the sacrament of baptism as it introduces new wording to the service. The Church is introducing a christening ceremony that removes the requirement on parents and godparents to “repent sins” and “reject the devil”. Critics claimed the new wording, designed as an alternative to the current Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Baptism’
Full Immersion Baptism – Full of pitfalls
Friday, September 20th, 2013Some congregations practice full immersion baptism. The symbolism has a lot to recommend it…but preparation is necessary if you don’t want to experience minor disasters. When full immersion baptisms go wrong – they go really go wrong. Have a look at a selection of “interesting” examples. Have a look
Ordinations, marriages, baptisms tumble in UK
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013Ordinations of new Catholic priests in Britain have fallen to one tenth of the number in 1965, and marriages and baptisms have also dropped significantly. Details of the declines have been revealed for the first time by the compilation of statistics for these sacraments over the past century. The figures were compiled by the Latin Read more
Catholics and Protestants recognise each other’s baptisms
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Representatives of the Catholic Church and four Protestant churches in the United States have begun to discuss the Church’s mission and identity after formally agreeing to recognise each other’s baptisms. The discussion will include “unity and diversity in the Church, and the origins and current interpretations of ministry and ordination, and the nature and role Read more
Judge decides Jewish girl may be baptised
Tuesday, August 7th, 2012
An English judge has ruled that a 10-year-old Jewish girl may choose to be baptised a Christian despite her mother’s opposition. The Romford County Court in Essex was told that the girl’s parents divorced in 2010 and her father subsequently converted to Christianity. After attending an evangelical Christian festival with her father, the girl said Read more
Over 22,000 baptisms in China on Easter Sunday
Thursday, April 26th, 2012More than 22,104 people were baptised in China on Easter Sunday, Fides news agency reports. The statistics were collected by the Study Centre of Faith in the Chinese province of He Bei. The newly-baptised Catholics, 75 per cent of whom are adults, belong to 101 dioceses. In He Bei itself 4,410 people were baptised on Read more
Over 3,500 adults received into the Church in England and Wales
Thursday, April 12th, 2012More than 3,500 adults were received into the Catholic Church in England and Wales last week. They included 1,397 catechumens, who had prepared to be baptised, and 1,843 candidates, who had already baptised in another Christian tradition. The largest numbers were in the dioceses of Westminster (734), Southwark (481), Brentwood (333), Birmingham (255) and Portsmouth Read more
3,500 new Catholics enter Church in Hong Kong
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Evangelisation is one of Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong’s key pastoral concerns, and fruit of his initiative saw 3,500 adult catechumens baptised as Catholics the Hong Kong diocese on Easter Saturday night. In his Easter letter, Tong thanked all those involved in bringing these people to baptism. In particular, he highlighted the important role catechists. Read more
Baptism, not bishops or pope, unites the church
Friday, June 17th, 2011
“Baptism unites the church, not ordination,” theologian and author Anthony T. Padovano told more than 1,800 reform-minded Catholics gathered June 10-12 at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. Addressing the inaugural national meeting of the American Catholic Council on June 11, he said, “The pope does not unify or sanctify the church and make it catholic or apostolic. Read more