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Baptism is such an important part of a person’s life. The sacrament of baptism goes back to 200 year old tradition. I will be focusing on community for the sacrament of baptism; there are different views, practices and significance of baptism for the individuals across many Christian churches such as Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic Church, and Anglican Church.

For Orthodox Christians the significance of the sacrament of baptism is in the entry into the church as members of body of Christ.It is the ‘new birth ‘by which we die to the world, and are raised with Christ to external life. It is through baptism that we are mystically born into spiritual life. The holy sacrament of baptism serves as the door leading into the kingdom of grace, and grants access to participation in the other sacraments of the church In the Armenian Orthodox Church the practice of baptism is different to any other Christian churches. The baptism starts off by standing in front of the church door and waiting till the priest has come and asked the god mother and father on behalf of the baby being baptised.The priest will ask the God mother and father “on behalf of the baby (name of the baby) do you reject Satan, do you believe Jesus is the son of God and do you follow Jesus teachings in life (commandments etc). Once that has been done the God Father and God mother will take the baby towards the priest.

The God mother will undress the baby and the God father will hand the baby to the priest. When the priest has got the baby the priest puts the baby into the font with water from head to toe, the priest repeats this for three times.After this has been done the Godfather will hold the baby in a towel and the priest will put the holy oil all over the baby’s body ( forehead ,eyes ,mouth ,ears ,hands ,legs ,tummy ,chest, back). After this is done the God mother will dress up the baby in white clothes and give it to the God Father. The God father will then give it to the priest where the priest will give the baby holy communion and take the baby around the church three times and then gives the baby back to the Godfather to put the cross that the Godfather and Godmother has provided for the baby.The next day the priest will come to the babies’ home and shower the baby in a small font and pray with the family for the blessing of the baby. The water that the baby has been showered with it cannot be dropped in drains because of it has holy oil in it from the baby’s body so it is usually used to water the plants.

The significant symbols that are important for baptism are baptismal font, water, oil, candle, new clothes, and movement around the church. Catholics see baptism as a sacrament ‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace’.The rite of baptism is a means by which God communicated grace. The baptised infant becomes free from the chains of sin and is joined to the body of Christ. In the Catholic Church the baptism starts off by the priest greeting the community in the church and goes on to ask questions to the parents and confirms the parents wish for baptism. After the priest has questioned the parents the priest, parents and God Parents draw the sign of the cross on the Childs body following this is the liturgy where all the church pray for the child and sing homilies.Then the time has come to anoint the child with the holy oil and baptism water has been blessed as well with the blessed water the child is baptised.

When this has been done the child is clothed in white cloth representing new and clean life when the baby is clothed the parents and God parents are given a candle to light up to represent the child has been anointed as Gods Property and rejecting Satan. They pray the prayers of the faithful and the Lord’s Prayer. After this has done the priest will give his final blessing to the parents, God parents, baby and also family.The significant symbols that are important for baptism are baptismal font , water , oil , candle and white cloth. For Anglicans Baptism can be a source of great joy for family, friends and priest as well as for the person being baptised. When someone is baptised they are incorporated into the body of Christ, the Church. Coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a real relationship through baptism, prayerfully and sincerely entered into, is the only way to a fulfilled and joyful life.

In the Anglican Church baptism starts off by gathering hymns, pslam or anthem depending on the priest.After that is done the priest greets the community as respect. The Collect of the day is prayed and other prayers as well. After this the priest talks about the lesson from the scriptures which most often are from the bible , then they will be a presentation and examination of the candidate then the baptismal covenant is prayed to bless the baby towards the end they also pray prayers of thanksgiving and the priest will bless the baby over the water. When the baby is washed with the water the prayers of consecration over oils is prayed after this the baptism is done and the Lord’s Prayer is recited (our father) and then the concluding prayer.