Baptism of death
The baptism for the dead is a rite which appears as a deputy of action for the dead in different contexts.
Baptism of the dead in the New Testament
The New Testament knows the concept of baptism in the dead in connection with a question from the apostle Paul in 1 Cor 15.29 LUT as a representative act for a dead: “What do they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead do not rise from the dead, what are they baptized for them? ”Paul neither approves nor disapproves of the Corinthian custom of his day that some people were baptized for a dead, but he points out the contradiction when they do at the same time deny the resurrection of the dead. This type of baptism is also known as "vicariate baptism".
Baptism of the dead in the old church
The church fathers such as John Chrysostom report that special Christian communities (e.g. Marcionites , Kerinthians , Montanists ) practiced this representative form of baptism in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The followers of this baptism practice, for example, hid a person under the death bed and then had them answer the baptism question on behalf of the deceased. The baptism of the dead was ultimately forbidden for the Old Church in 397 at the Third Synod of Carthage .
Baptism for dead in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Baptism in the dead also refers to the practice of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which is part of Mormonism , of baptizing the living on behalf of the dead. Mormons perform this baptism exclusively in their temples - in contrast to the baptism of living church members, which takes place in normal meetinghouses.
This baptism in the dead is also based on the statement at 1 Cor. 15:29, which is elaborated in sections 127–128 of the Mormon scripture Doctrine and Covenants . According to the understanding of the members of the church, it serves the “gathering of Israel”, in which the members actively participate. Since eternal life can only be attained by those who have been baptized, but many people who have already died never had the opportunity to be baptized in this church, the way to eternal life should be made possible for them through vicarious baptism. The deceased then decide in the afterlife for himself whether he wants to accept the baptism intended for him in this way. For those who are not recorded at the present time, vicarious baptism will be carried out after the return of Christ .
According to Mormon belief, all that is necessary for a substitute baptism for the deceased (as the baptism in the dead is officially called by the Mormons) is the knowledge of the correct name and the dates of birth and death. Outside the United States , Mormons are therefore best known for their lively activity as genealogists ( family researchers ). Church guidelines do not allow non-family members to be submitted for vicarious baptism, but Church members do not always do this correctly. The baptism may only be carried out if the person concerned has died at least one year or, in the absence of a death date, was born at least 110 years ago. This is very strictly observed. Through its collecting activities, Latter-day Saint Church of Jesus Christ has the largest genealogical database in the world, FamilySearch, with more than 1 billion records.
As a result of the baptism of Nazi victims, such as Jews who perished in the Holocaust , the practice of baptism in death was critically discussed in Germany.
Vicariate baptism in the New Apostolic Church
In the New Apostolic Church , the living are also baptized on behalf of the dead. The deceased should still be able to believe in Christ after their death, since according to the first letter of Peter the gospel is preached to the dead and Christ himself preached in the kingdom of the dead. Three times a year, so-called “services for the departed” take place. At the end of these services, the leading apostles perform the vicarious baptism of two ministers. The substitute baptism is carried out in the New Apostolic Church without knowing or giving a name of the deceased. According to the understanding of the church, this applies to all those who have fallen asleep, who “were drawn from the love of God to faith in Christ”, so often a formulation in the introductory words to the action. From the necessity of baptism for the dead, the Church derives a vicarious act for the dead for its two other sacraments (Lord's Supper and the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit).
literature
- Friedrich Lang : The letters to the Corinthians (= The New Testament German. Vol. 7). 16th edition, (1st edition of this new arrangement). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen et al. 1986, ISBN 3-525-51368-2 , there especially pp. 228-230.
- Heinrich Schauerte : Folklore about baptism. In: Gerhard Heilfurth , Hinrich Siuts (Hrsg.): European cultural entanglements in the area of popular tradition. Festschrift for the 65th birthday of Bruno Schiers. Otto Schwartz, Göttingen 1967, pp. 41–61, here section: II. Die Totentaufe , pp. 52–60
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Schauerte, 1967, p. 52
- ^ Benjamin Schulz: Ritual for Jewish Nazi Victims. Baptism into the dead causes distress for Mormons. Spiegel Online, March 1, 2012