[[Christian Worship]] / Baptism > [!note] New - 2026-03-26 ![[assets/covers/baptism.jpg]] Baptism is the sacrament of Christian initiation: the entrance to the church and the beginning of the Christian life. In traditional English churches, the baptismal font is positioned near the entrance to the nave, a physical placement that signifies this threshold. Through baptism, the believer is incorporated into Christ Jesus, receiving the right to address God as ‘Our Father’ through adoption into God’s family.[^bray-common-prayer-p67] ## Baptism and [[Salvation]] History The [[Book of Common Prayer]] establishes baptism within the great arc of salvation history. The [[Flood Prayer]], which opens the baptism service, ties water baptism into the significant moments of salvation through water in the Old Testament and the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament. This liturgical connection is not unique to Anglican practice; the Flood Prayer draws on the earliest German Reformation liturgies from Wittenberg and Zurich, establishing a continuity with the reforming churches’ understanding of baptism’s theological depth.[^bray-common-prayer-p65] ## Grace, Faith, and the Appropriation of Baptismal Gifts The Prayer Book closely ties baptism and its benefits to [[Faith and Trust|personal faith]]. James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, expressed this paradox precisely: ‘All the promises of grace were in my baptism given to me as an estate, and sealed to me on God’s part, but then I come to have their profit and benefit when I come to understand the gift that God has sealed to me in baptism, and actually lay hold of it by faith.’[^bray-common-prayer-p71] This formulation safeguards the reality of grace conferred in the sacrament while requiring the conscious appropriation of that grace through faith. ## [[Infant Baptism]] The Prayer Book explicitly approves infant baptism, not only through its dedicated services but also in the catechism and the Articles of Religion, which declare it ‘most agreeable with the institution of Christ’.[^bray-common-prayer-p64] This approval, when read alongside the emphasis on personal faith, suggests that infants receive real grace in baptism, even as the exercise of that grace awaits the development of faith. ## Selected passages > ‘But what the prayer book does do is **closely** **tie** **baptism** **and** **its** **benefits** **to** **personal** **faith.**’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 64 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p64.jpg|🖼️]]) > ‘There is symbolism to that placement: **baptism** **is** **the** **entrance** **to** **the** **church,** **the** **beginning** **of** **the** **Christian** **life.**’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 63 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p63.jpg|🖼️]]) ## Appearances - *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, Samuel L. Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane - BAPTISM, pp. 63–67 - BETWEEN THE SACRAMENTS: THE CHRISTIAN ABCS, p. 71 ## Related [[Sacramental Theology]] . [[Infant Baptism]] . [[Confirmation]] . [[Union with Christ]] . [[Faith and Sacraments]] . [[Christian Formation]] . [[Adoption into God's Family]] . [[Flood Prayer]] . [[Scripture and Liturgical Worship]] . [[Spiritual Formation]] [^bray-common-prayer-p67]: [[How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy]], p. 67 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p67.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘**baptism** **into** **Christ** **Jesus** **gives** **us** **the** **right** **to** **address** **God** **as** **”Our** **Father”** **(Galatians** **3:26-** **27).**’ [^bray-common-prayer-p65]: Ibid., p. 65 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p65.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘signs. The service begins with prayers and vows. **At** **the** **very** **start** **is** **the** **soaring** **Flood** **Prayer,** **which** **ties** **baptism** **into** **the** **great** **events** **of** **salvation** **through** **water** **in** **the** **Old** **Testament** **and** **the** […]’ [^bray-common-prayer-p71]: Ibid., p. 71 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p71.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘James Ussher, a learned theologian and Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland (1625- 1656), once wrote, **”All the promises of grace were in my baptism given to me as an estate, and sealed to me on God’s part, but then I come to have their profit and benefit when I come to understand the gift that God has […]’ [^bray-common-prayer-p64]: Ibid., p. 64 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p64.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘**Infant** **baptism** is approved by the prayer book, not only in the services for infant baptism but also in the catechism (p. 305); and the Articles of Religion call it **”most** **agreeable** **with** **the** **insti-** **tution** **of** **Christ”** (Article 27, p. 639).’