‘The World Hath Not the Like’: The Sacrament of Baptism in the Church of England, Its Development, Purpose, and Its Future by Alana Alexandra Harton Morgan McCord A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Trinity College and the Historical Department of the Toronto School of Theology In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theology awarded by the University of St. Michael’s College © Copyright by Alana Alexandra Harton Morgan McCord 2012 ‘The World Hath Not the Like’: The Sacrament of Baptism in the Church of England, Its Development, Purpose, and Its Future Alana Alexandra Harton Morgan McCord Master of Arts Department of History Toronto School of Theology University of Toronto 2012 Abstract The sacrament of baptism, as it exists in the Anglican Communion, is the result of both its historical legacy, and the twentieth century occupation with ecumenical and inter-religious inclusiveness. In particular, the internal conflicts in the Church of England during the nineteenth century, which included the debate between High and Low Church factions regarding the theological and pastoral purpose of baptism, laid the groundwork for the changing public perception of the Anglican Church. The twentieth century, with its external conflicts, likewise affected public awareness of the dichotomy between the historical remnants of the Augustinian concept of Original Sin, and the pastoral need for acceptance and comprehensiveness. It is therefore possible to trace the evolution of the sacrament of baptism in the Church of England, and, implementing the examples present in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to predict its future development. ii Table of Contents Prologue: Fulfilling Righteousness 1 Chapter 1: Et Baptizati Sumus 6 Chapter 2: Sacred Waters and Heavenly Regions 10 Chapter 3: Mystery and Mystification 18 Chapter 4: Changeable Weather 31 Chapter 5: The Implications of the Original 42 Chapter 6: No Mere Mundane Society 55 Epilogue: The Uncontrollable Process and the Unknowable Outcome 64 Bibliography 70 iii …God is thanked for calling us to the knowleg of his grace, Baptisme being a blessing, that the world hath not the like. - George Herbert iv Prologue: Fulfilling Righteousness John would have prevented him saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” - Matthew 3:14-15 On the day of Pentecost, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, and after Peter had addressed the assembled crowd of devout Jews from every nation under heaven’,1 the author of the book of Acts states that three thousand people repented of their sins and were baptized, becoming new members of the movement which would be known as Christianity. This is certainly not the first mention of baptism in the New Testament, if one is reading in chronological order as opposed to the order in which these books were written, but it is the first instance of a mass baptism, implemented not only for the forgiveness of sins, but also as an act of initiation for newcomers to the Christian community. In the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles, baptism was variously described as a rebirth, a cleansing, or an act of saving grace. It was a literal act – that is, something which people performed or accepted – and a metaphorical term – something which was used to describe the Christian life and commitment. It was also a rite that Jesus Himself had undergone, and this compelled the earliest Christians to regard baptism as something of great importance. 1 Acts 2:5. 1 2 The figure of John the Baptist is mentioned in all four Gospels, but only the Synoptic Gospels describe the baptism of Jesus itself. The baptism by John reflected the Jewish practice of ritualistic bathing, and the spiritual power found in the symbol of water was one which could be found throughout Jewish culture and history, from the rivers running out of Eden to the ritual pools in the city of Jerusalem.2 John stated that his baptism was one of repentance, an image of cleansing which would have been familiar to his Jewish listeners. Therefore, when Jesus of Nazareth presented Himself to John to accept this same baptism of repentance, John was quick to object, but Jesus insisted, saying ‘it is proper in this way to fulfill all righteousness’.3 Just what is intended by these words is not easy to interpret. Some, perhaps including the author of the Gospel of John, have been made uneasy by the implication that Jesus required such an act of repentance. Others have believed that Jesus’ acceptance of this baptism was an act of ‘submission and humiliation…in obedience to the Father’s will’.4 Still others, including Paul, appear to have no difficulty with the concept that the sinless Son of God accepted baptism. It is clear that, whatever the meaning, the incident involves Jesus’ acceptance of His vocation as the Messiah, in all the richness of that concept, as the accompanying heavenly voices make clear especially in the Gospel of Luke.5 2 Donald Bridge and David Phypers, The Water that Divides: The Baptism Debate, 2d ed. (Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor, 1998), 17. 3 Matt 3:15. 4 Bridge and Phypers, The Water that Divides, 19. 5 Luke 3:22. 3 Almost from the very beginning, however, there has been dispute about baptism; what is its meaning, and what does it accomplish. Certainly, the baptism of the New Testament was an act of both repentance, and initiation or inclusion in Christ and Christ’s new community. Paul, in particular, compared the moment when a new Christian went into, and then emerged from the water, with the death and resurrection of Christ.6 Moreover, the authors of the New Testament were frustratingly vague about who was included in the act of Baptism. The meaning of the infamous word “household” has been bandied back and forth by advocates of believer’s baptism, and infant baptism alike. Did this term include children or infants – or indeed, women and slaves - as well as adults? The paedo-baptist (the advocate of infant baptism) would say yes, a household includes every person under its roof, including infants. The credo-baptist (the advocate of believer’s baptism) would say no, there is no such indication of the inclusion of infants, or very young children in the rite of baptism. The contemporary assumption was that the head of the household held an inclusive authority over the whole family, but whether this meant that his family were somehow enclosed in his baptism, regardless of their actual baptismal status, is equally vague. In any case, by very early in its history, the Church had adopted the practice of infant baptism alongside believer’s baptism, which declined in frequency, and the rationale behind such a practice would have great theological consequences. When defining their own theology and methodology, the reformed Church of England incorporated early Christian, and Medieval Latin, and Continental Protestant practices into their own model for baptism, in opposition to 6 Rom 6:3-5. 4 “Anabaptist” primitivism. This mixture of theologies and practices would be the Anglican Church’s strength, and its weakness. In the nineteenth century, conflict between High and Low Church factions would centre on several topics, including that of Baptism, and it may be argued that it was in this period of history, when the differing viewpoints became commonly known to the general public, that the Anglican Church’s capacity for internal conflict and upholding comprehensiveness was truly recognized. Internal conflict was quickly followed by the external conflict of the twentieth century. A combination of social factors, an apparent decline in a devotion to organized religion, and an increasing interest in ecumenism, led to a close examination of most – if not all – aspects of the Christian Church, not least Christian initiation. For almost two thousand years, the Church has quibbled over the minutiae involved in the office of baptism, but has been unable conclusively define what baptism is, and what its role is in the life of a Christian. Moreover, the doctrine of Original Sin possesses a long shadow in public culture, as well as in the historical and theological culture of the Western Church in general, and the Church of England specifically. Historical evidence points to an increasingly inclusive rite of baptism. A review of the rites and practices of the past and present would suggest that inclusive and diverse pastoral practice is gaining an even greater influence. Moreover, pastoral practice must acknowledge that many un-churched persons may be approaching baptism as adults, and many who were baptized 5 as infants may be returning years later, wishing there to be some public sacramental recognition of that return. In this way, public perception coupled with congregational reality has had a perceivable influence upon baptism’s past, and present, developments. The Church of England has recognized a need to adapt to the social and spiritual changes inherent in the twenty-first century. How, then, did John’s act of repentance develop to become the act of Christian Initiation which Anglicans celebrate today? How did the conflicts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries affect the development of baptismal practices in England? In what way is the baptism of the early Christians reasserting itself into modern Anglican practices? In what way can the future development of the sacrament of baptism be predicted, given both its historical development, and its apparent modern development as well? 6 Chapter 1: Et Baptizati Sumus …and we were baptized, and anxiety for our past life vanished from us.