One Baptism
St. Paul, in his great hymn of unity in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, lists seven foundations of Christian unity: 'one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.' (Ephesians 4:4-6) Among these seven, Baptism holds a central place: it is the sacrament by which we are incorporated into the one Body of Christ and made partakers of the one Spirit. The unity of the Church is not primarily an organisational or institutional unity; it is a unity of life — the life of the Holy Trinity, shared with humanity through the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, and communicated to each believer through the sacraments. Baptism is the door through which we enter this life; it is the foundation on which all the other sacraments rest.
Baptism as New Birth
Our Lord's words to Nicodemus are the classical statement of the theology of Baptism: 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.' (John 3:5) Baptism is a new birth — not a natural birth, but a supernatural birth by water and the Holy Spirit, by which the baptized person is made a child of God and an heir of eternal life. The Fathers understood this new birth in the light of the distinction between genesis (true natural existence) and gennesis (existence by procreation, marked by original sin). Baptism is the sacrament of genesis — the restoration of man to his true natural existence in Christ. Through Baptism, the baptized person is united with Christ's Death and Resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), freed from the power of sin and death, and incorporated into the Body of Christ. This is why the Fathers called Baptism 'the medicine of immortality' and 'the seal of eternal life.' It is not merely a rite of initiation or a public declaration of faith; it is an objective transformation of the person, wrought by the Holy Spirit through the water and the word.
Baptism and the Church
Baptism is not a private transaction between the individual and God; it is an ecclesial act — an act of the Church, by which the baptized person is incorporated into the Body of Christ. The Church is not a voluntary association of individuals who have each made a personal decision for Christ; she is the Body of Christ, constituted by the sacraments, and Baptism is the sacrament of membership. This ecclesial character of Baptism has important implications for the understanding of Christian unity. All the baptized — regardless of their denominational affiliation — share a common Baptism and are therefore, in some sense, members of the one Body of Christ. The Second Vatican Council spoke of a 'real but imperfect communion' between the Catholic Church and other baptized Christians. The Continuing Anglican tradition, while insisting on the necessity of the full Catholic Faith and Apostolic Order for the fullness of the Church's life, acknowledges this real bond of Baptism. At the same time, Baptism alone is not sufficient for the fullness of Christian life. The baptized person needs Confirmation (the completion of Baptism by the gift of the Holy Spirit), the Eucharist (the food of eternal life), and the other sacraments. The unity of the Church is not fully realised until all the baptized are united in the one Faith, the one Eucharist, and the one Apostolic Order.
Baptism and the Christian Life
Baptism is not merely the beginning of the Christian life; it is its permanent foundation. The Christian life is a continual living-out of the grace of Baptism — a daily dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ. St. Paul's exhortation, 'reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus' (Romans 6:11), is an exhortation to live in the reality of one's Baptism. The traditional Anglican practice of renewing baptismal vows at Easter — when the newly baptized are received into the Church and the whole congregation reaffirms its faith — is a powerful expression of this truth. Baptism is not a past event that we remember; it is a present reality that we inhabit. We are baptized persons, and our whole life is to be lived in the light of that identity. For the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, the recovery of a robust theology of Baptism is essential for the renewal of the Church's life. When Christians understand what they received at Baptism — the gift of the Holy Spirit, incorporation into the Body of Christ, the pledge of eternal life — they will be moved to live worthy of that calling, and the Church will be renewed from within.