The Mystery of Baptism: Part 3

Baptism is one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith through which God grants His grace, cleansing, renewal, and communion with Him. While baptism is one in its divine purpose, the Church recognizes different forms through which God’s grace is manifested according to His will. This essay explores the types of baptism, their meanings, biblical foundations, and their role in granting repentance, spiritual rebirth, and sonship in Christ.

Types of Baptism

Baptism of Repentance (የንስሐ ጥምቀት)

Baptism of repentance is administered to those who have already received sonship, for the healing of their weaknesses and the forgiveness of sins into which they have fallen. Unlike the baptism that grants sonship, it may be repeated. The baptism administered by John the Baptist to his followers was of this kind. However, it did not grant sonship; rather, it was a baptism of repentance.

Church scholars explain this type of baptism through analogy: just as unclean clothes are washed with water and cleansed, and the body is washed when it is unclean, so John's baptism symbolized purification from sin. It signified that the baptized were turning away from sin and preparing to receive the Holy Spirit in the baptism of Christ. As John himself testified: “እኔስ ለንስሐ በውኃ አጠምቃችኋለሁ፤ ጫማውን እሸከም ዘንድ የማይገባኝ ከእኔ በኋላ የሚመጣው ግን ከእኔ ይልቅ ይበረታል፤ እርሱ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ በእሳትም ያጠምቃችኋል” (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:4–8; Luke 3:16; Acts 19:4).

Likewise, the prophecy of Ezekiel corresponds to the baptism of repentance:

“ጥሩ ውኃንም እረጭባችኋለሁ እናንተም ትጠራላችሁ፥ ከርኵሰታችሁም ሁሉ ከጣዖቶቻችሁም ሁሉ አጠራችኋለሁ።
አዲስም ልብ እሰጣችኋለሁ አዲስም መንፈስ በውስጣችሁ አኖራለሁ፤ የድንጋዩንም ልብ ከሥጋችሁ አወጣለሁ የሥጋንም ልብ እሰጣችኋለሁ። መንፈሴንም በውስጣችሁ አኖራለሁ በትእዛዜም አስሄዳችኋለሁ፥ ፍርዴንም ትጠብቃላችሁ ታደርጉትማላችሁ። ለአባቶቻችሁም በሰጠኋት ምድር ትኖራላችሁ፤ ሕዝብም ትሆኑኛላችሁ እኔም አምላክ እሆናችኋለሁ።.” (Ezekiel 36:25–28). This prophetic passage points toward the cleansing and renewal that would be fulfilled in Christ and reflected in the mystery of baptism.

Baptism of Sonship (የልጅነት ጥምቀት):

Just as we are born according to the flesh through our earthly parents and receive sonship according to the flesh, so through baptism we are born of the Holy Spirit and receive sonship according to the Spirit. Our Lord proclaims this truth, saying: “ሰው ዳግመኛ ካልተወለደ በቀር የእግዚአብሔርን መንግሥት ሊያይ አይችልም” (John 3:3, 6). He further explains: “ከሥጋ የሚወለድ ሥጋ ነው፥ ከመንፈስ የሚወለድ መንፈስ ነው,” showing that through the mystery of baptism we are spiritually reborn, receiving the grace of sonship (ሀብተ ወልድ) and the Christian name (ስመ ክርስትና).

Saint Paul the Apostle further bears witness to the grace of sonship that we receive through the mystery of baptism, saying: “አባ አባት ብለን የምንጮኽበትን የልጅነት መንፈስ ተቀበላችሁ እንጂ እንደገና ለፍርሃት የባርነትን መንፈስ አልተቀበላችሁምና። የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች መሆናችንን ያ መንፈስ ራሱ ከመንፈሳችን ጋር ይመሰክራል።” (Rom. 8:15–16).

Likewise, our Lord grants all who receive Him and believe in His name the authority to become children of God, as it is written: “ለተቀበሉት ሁሉ ግን፥ በስሙ ለሚያምኑት ለእነርሱ የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች ይሆኑ ዘንድ ሥልጣንን ሰጣቸው፤ እነርሱም ከእግዚአብሔር ተወለዱ እንጂ ከደም ወይም ከሥጋ ፈቃድ ወይም ከወንድ ፈቃድ አልተወለዱም።” (John 1:12–13). Thus, Christians experience two births: the first through their earthly parents and the second through God. Since human beings possess both bodily and spiritual dimensions, they are called to care for their bodily life while growing continually in spiritual maturity. (Galatians 3:26; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23).

How is the Baptism of Sonship Performed?

There is one baptism that grants sonship: “በመጠራታችሁ በአንድ ተስፋ እንደ ተጠራችሁ አንድ አካልና አንድ መንፈስ አለ፤ አንድ ጌታ አንድ ሃይማኖት አንዲት ጥምቀት፤ (Eph 4:4–5). Yet, this one baptism can be performed in three principal ways.

1.     Water Baptism (የውሃ ጥምቀት): Water baptism is the sacramental act through which a person is baptized with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through the prayer of a priest, and is born of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit. “…ኢየሱስም መለሰ፥ እንዲህ ሲል፦ እውነት እውነት እልሃለሁ፥ ሰው ከውኃና ከመንፈስ ካልተወለደ በቀር ወደ እግዚአብሔር መንግሥት ሊገባ አይችልም።” (John 3:3–6).

Baptism is fundamentally administered through water. When water is sanctified through prayer, the Holy Spirit, who grants sonship, works through it; and whoever receives baptism with faith is born of water and the Spirit. Thus, baptism reveals the kindness (ቸርነት) of God, for it is accessible to all—even the poor have access to water. Therefore, all are called to receive water baptism and be born of God by grace.

On the other hand, those martyrs who wholeheartedly embraced the Christian faith in accordance with the Church's teachings and suffered death before receiving water baptism are granted the baptism of sonship by God through the Holy Spirit or through fire, as explained in the following sections.

2.     The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ጥምቀት):  Refers to the spiritual rebirth granted by God through His grace to those who embrace the Christian faith in accordance with the Church’s teachings but suffer martyrdom for their faith before receiving water baptism. A clear example of this is found in the baptism of the holy apostles.

The Scripture testify to this saying: “ዮሐንስ መልሶ፦ እኔስ በውኃ አጠምቃችኋለሁ፤ ነገር ግን የጫማውን ጠፍር መፍታት ከማይገባኝ ከእኔ የሚበረታ ይመጣል፤ እርሱ በመንፈስ ቅዱስና በእሳት ያጠምቃችኋል፤ (Luke 3:16);

Christ also revealed to the Apostles the promise of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, assuring them: “ዮሐንስ በውኃ አጥምቆ ነበርና፥ እናንተ ግን ከጥቂት ቀን በኃላ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ትጠመቃላችሁ አለ።” (Acts 1:5).

Furthermore, St. Paul bears witness to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, stating: “አይሁድ ብንሆን የግሪክ ሰዎችም ብንሆን ባሪያዎችም ብንሆን ጨዋዎችም ብንሆን እኛ ሁላችን በአንድ መንፈስ አንድ አካል እንድንሆን ተጠምቀናልና። ሁላችንም አንዱን መንፈስ ጠጥተናል።1 Corinthians 12:13). See also Acts 2:1–4.

3.     The baptism of blood (የደም ጥምቀት): The baptism of blood is the baptism of martyrs (ሰማዕታት). As the baptism of the Holy Spirit explained above, it grants the grace of sonship, yet differs in the way this grace is received.

Those who, while still learning the Christian faith or after learning it but before receiving water baptism, are inspired by the witness of Christians who suffer for Christ and confess, “Jesus Christ is true God; the Christian faith proclaimed by the Church is true,” and who are martyred for that confession receive the baptism of blood. By the grace of God, their blood and suffering are counted as baptism; they receive the grace of sonship, and their sins are forgiven.

Biblical Evidence for the Baptism of Blood

a.     The Faith of the Repentant Thief (ፈያታዊ ዘየማን):

The thief crucified with our Lord on Good Friday did not receive water baptism. Yet, because of his steadfast faith, repentance, confession of Christ, and his sharing in Christ’s suffering, the Lord promised him: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This is a profound testimony to the mystery of the baptism of blood.

b.     The Piercing of Our Lord’s Side:

While our Lord was on the cross, His side was pierced with a spear, and “blood and water” flowed out (John 19:34). The Fathers and scholars of the Church understand this mystery as pointing to the two forms of baptism: the water represents water baptism, while the blood represents the baptism of blood received by martyrs who give their lives for Christ.

c.     The Martyrdom of the Holy Innocents:

The infants of Bethlehem who were massacred by Herod at the time of our Lord’s birth (Matthew 2:16) are regarded as the first martyrs for Christ. Although they had not received water baptism, they shed their blood because of Him and are regarded by the Church as having received the grace associated with the baptism of blood.

Conclusion

Baptism reveals the boundless grace and mercy of God, calling humanity from purification to new life and communion with Him. Whether through water, the Holy Spirit, or blood, the mystery of baptism demonstrates God’s saving work and His gift of sonship to those who receive Him with faith. Therefore, the Church teaches that baptism is not merely a ritual, but a divine mystery through which believers are united with Christ and receive the promise of eternal life.