I have been traveling in Europe and finding hundreds of immersion fonts dating from the 2nd to the 12th century CE although they are no longer in use and many are found in archaeological excavations.
2007-05-14 05:04:11 · 13 answers · asked by dankeeran 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
some believe total immersion is needed
2007-05-14 05:07:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pastor Billy says: why is this surprising? Europe had been fully Christianized and immersion has always been a valid form of baptism in the Church.
Read the Didache an ancient Christian syrian text which pre-dates some of the New Testament letters I believe. It was also known as the teaching of the Apostles and spells out the valid forms of baptism, immersion, pouring and sprinkling.
2007-05-14 05:13:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Immersion was always one of the modes of Baptism in the Catholic Church. Immersion was formerly the preferred form and there is a revival of immersion in the Latin Rite today. Many Catholic churches now have immersion baptisteries and some are cruciform like some of the ancient Latin North African ones.
Pouring and sprinkling are also accepted modes of Baptism for Catholics and many other Western Christians.
Eastern Catholics prefer immersion and always have.
2007-05-21 09:34:47 · answer #3 · answered by James O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Baptism is required in Christianity. Many believe that immersion(baptism) in water by man's seeing is therefore required. It is authorized but not required. See 1 Cor.10:2 , and the thief on the cross.
2007-05-14 05:24:51 · answer #4 · answered by jefferyspringer57@sbcglobal.net 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was the first form of baptism and it still used by a lot of Protestant churches - the Baptists - especially.
The early church used this form of baptism but later changed to pouring or sprinkling. After the Reformation, the Baptists and several other Protestant denominations changed back to total immersion as their form of baptism.
2007-05-21 23:50:40 · answer #5 · answered by KAT PET 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Nazis never occupied any part of the Middle East. And their stay in North Africa was too short lived for them to go after the Jewish population there.
2016-05-17 22:44:43 · answer #6 · answered by maxine 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because while some churches decided to maintain the Biblical form of baptism, after awhile the convenient and human tradition methodology currently used by the Catholic church, by sprinkling became popular and dominated the scene. I was not around (of course) but I can imagine something from the Vatican must have come down over the years which enforced the churches to follow mans traditions instead of biblical doctrine. It's not so unusual.
2007-05-21 22:47:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
baptism is still of the same essence whether by immersion or of pouring on of water because it is of the same holy Spirit who is at work. But communities sometimes prefer to do it the more traditional way because that's how they want to be more connected to the traditions of the first Christians.
2007-05-18 06:31:37 · answer #8 · answered by Ma_Mikaela 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jesus Christ himself was baptized by John the Baptist.
In Mark 16:15-16,He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
2007-05-22 03:41:33 · answer #9 · answered by M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just out of interest, why are you distinguishing Italy from Europe?
2007-05-14 05:31:35 · answer #10 · answered by garik 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋