Baptism of blood

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In Christian theology, baptism of blood (Latin : baptismus sanguinis [1] [2] ) or baptism by blood, also called martyred baptism, [3] is a doctrine which holds that a Christian is able to attain through martyrdom the grace of justification normally attained through baptism by water, without needing to receive baptism by water.

Contents

Patristic period

Based on passages from the New Testament, many early Christian authors distinguished between water baptism and the second baptism, which was sometimes called blood baptism (e.g., by Cyprian of Carthage), but usually called martyrium (literally “testimony”; translated by “martyrdom”). In water baptism, man was purified on a conscious level. By the second baptism, the Christian was also delivered from his own “demons” (earthly attachments) on an unconscious level. Then the resurrection of the soul takes place: the 'old man' (man with the old consciousness) is changed into the 'new man' who receives the promise of eternal life in paradise after death. To endure the second baptism, it was common for Christians to submit to horrific forms of torture in which they could lose their lives. They could also survive. It did not matter, because Christians were concerned with the life of the soul and not the life of the body. The soul received the guarantee of eternal life in paradise. From this perspective, the deaths of Christian martyrs were probably not the result of the persecutions of Roman emperors. [4]

Cyprian of Carthage in a letter of 256 regarding the question of whether a catechumen seized and killed due to his belief in Jesus Christ "would lose the hope of salvation and the reward of confession, because he had not previously been born again of water", answers that "they certainly are not deprived of the sacrament of baptism who are baptized with the most glorious and greatest baptism of blood". [5]

Cyril of Jerusalem states in his Catechetical Lectures delivered in Lent of 348 that "if any man receive not Baptism, he hath not salvation; except only Martyrs, who even without the water receive the kingdom". [6]

Denominations' opinions

Overview

The baptism of blood doctrine is held by the Catholic Church, [7] the Oriental Orthodox Churches, [8] [9] [10] [11] the Eastern Orthodox Church, [3] and the American Association of Lutheran Churches. [12]

Lutheranism

Those who die as Christian martyrs in a persecution of Christians are judged by Anabaptists and Lutherans as having acquired the benefits of baptism without actually undergoing the ritual. [13]

The Augsburg Confession of Lutheranism affirms that "Baptism is normally necessary for salvation". Citing the teaching of the early Church Fathers, Lutherans acknowledge a baptism of blood in "the circumstances of persecution". [14] [ verification needed ]

Anabaptists

Those who die as Christian martyrs in a persecution of Christians are judged by Anabaptists as having received the benefits of baptism without actually undergoing the ritual. [13]

Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, baptism of blood "replace[s] Sacramental Baptism in so far as the communication of grace is concerned, but do[es] not effect incorporation into the Church, as [it] do[es] not bestow the sacramental character by which a person becomes attached formally to the Church". [15]

Feeneyism

Feeneyism denies baptism of blood as well as baptism of desire. [16]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Baptism". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "Topical Bible: Lutheran". biblehub.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 Mastrantonis, George (1969). "Section one – On Faith - The Sacrament of Baptism". A new-style catechism on the Eastern Orthodox faith for adults. Internet Archive. St. Louis: The Ologos Mission. p. 118.
  4. ↑ Koppius, Adeline (4 November 2022). Martyrium and Persecution. A study of the primary sources on martyrdom and persecution during the emperors Decius and Valerian (PDF). UvA Dare (Thesis). Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "CHURCH FATHERS: Epistle 72 (Cyprian of Carthage)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "CHURCH FATHERS: Catechetical Lecture 3 (Cyril of Jerusalem)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1258.
  8. ↑ "Holy Baptism". Malankara Archdiocese of The Syrian Orthodox Church in North America (Under the Holy See of Antioch & All the East). 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Sacrament of Baptism". CopticChurch.net. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "The history of the Armenian Church". CHIESA APOSTOLICA ARMENA D'ITALIA. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH - PART-II, The Seven Sacraments - CHAPTER 1". The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Necessity of Holy Baptism". The American Assoc. of Lutheran Churches. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  13. 1 2 Hill, Kat (2015). Baptism, Brotherhood, and Belief in Reformation Germany: Anabaptism and Lutheranism, 1525-1585. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN   9780198733546.
  14. ↑ Larson-Miller, Lizette; Knowles, Walter (26 June 2013). Drenched in Grace: Essays in Baptismal Ecclesiology Inspired by the Work and Ministry of Louis Weil. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 55. ISBN   9781621897538.
  15. ↑ Ott, Ludwig (n.d.) [195X]. "Book four — Part 2 – Chapter 5 – §19 - 3.". In Bastible, James (ed.). Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Translated by Lynch, Patrick. Fort Collins, Colorado: Roman Catholic Books. p. 311. ISBN   978-1-929291-85-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  16. ↑ "Why is the Vatican taking action against the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?". Catholic Herald. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
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