Holy Baptism, an ancient practice, is a ritual bath performed during a special ceremony that takes place during the principal public Sunday worship of a congregation. Sometimes, the water is poured over a person’s head at a special basin called a font. Sometimes, a person is fully immersed in a baptismal tank or pool. The rite marks a person’s formal entrance into the congregation and the wider church. 

We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, as the “bond which God establishes in baptism is indissoluble” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 298). This is why baptism is unrepeatable and considered valid across most Christian denominations. When a person is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—whether in The Episcopal Church or another denomination—they are marked as Christ’s own forever, having “clothed [themselves] with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). It would thus be inappropriate to be baptized a second time, even when moving from one denomination to another (there are different rituals for marking that change).

In the waters of baptism, we are lovingly adopted by God into God’s family, which we call the church; given God’s own life to share; and reminded that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ. During the rite, the candidates make a series of vows referred to as the baptismal covenant. For this reason, even though The Episcopal Church baptizes people of all ages, the text of the ritual as contained in the Book of Common Prayer presumes a candidate who is able to speak for themselves.