Christians have always viewed baptism...
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Christians have always viewed baptism as a dramatic portrayal of what the Christian faith is about. Hippolytus (A.D. 215) and others have detailed how converts were baptized. The season of Lent was a time when novices would prepare themselves for baptism and reception into the church. This was a time of intense training when the candidate would learn such statements of faith as the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. The day before Easter was given to prayer and fasting. During the pre-dawn hours of Easter the converts would parade to the baptismal site. When the candidate arrived, he or she would turn to the west and renounce Satan and to the east and confess Christ. The person would remove all their clothing to symbolize the shedding of sin and the former way of life. The individual was anointed with oil as a symbol of Christ's strength. The person would then say the Apostles' Creed and receive baptism as a sign of dying to sin and rising with Christ to a new life. The convert would come out of the water where they would immediately be clothed in a white robe symbolizing the putting on of the new life in Christ. The new Christian would have hands laid on him or her and the mark of the cross made with oil on the forehead. This represented the believers' reception into the priesthood of all believers. Finally, it was time for the Easter communion to be celebrated. -- Angus
