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Article: Ecclesiological and Ecumenical Implications of Baptism.
- Article from:
- The Ecumenical Review
- Article date:
- October 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 World Council of Churches. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I. The ecumenical problem at present
Church and baptism belong together from the very beginning. In the New Testament the account of the event of Pentecost, which definitively established the church, moves directly into the report of the baptism of the first Christians (Acts 2:41). In all churches baptism has since been the gateway to church membership. In all churches and in almost all church communities we find the practice of baptism in the name of the triune God, the Quakers and the Salvation Army being the only exceptions among the ecumenically active church communities. Hence the ecumenical movement from the start has sought to make our common baptism the ...