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Bishop Roskam presiding over a Baptism at Heavenly Rest in Manhattan.
This page addresses both the meaning of the rites of Holy Baptism and Confirmation (and Reception or Reaffirmation) and the policies and recommendations of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the wider Episcopal Church regarding them. If you are looking for detailed liturgical recommendations regarding Holy Baptism, we recommend that you view the extremely comprehensive paper prepared a few years ago by the Diocesan Liturgical Commission.
To reach a particular section on this page, please click the link below:
Infant Baptism of those who are not Church members
Baptism confers full membership
The church in which Baptism took place is not material
Baptism, not Confirmation, admits a person to Holy Communion
Readers who are not fully communicant members of the Episcopal Church should understand that it is the view of the Episcopal Church that infant and child Baptism is only appropriate when at least one parent is an active member of a congregation and thus willing and able to raise the baptized child as a Christian within the Church and congregation. Historical and cultural affinity or having been baptized as an Episcopalian oneself are not, without an ongoing commitment to a Christian life within the Church, a sufficient justifications for Baptism of a child at an age when that child is incapable of making commitments for him or herself.
In the Episcopal Church, Baptism is the initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into full membership of the Church. Water is its essential visible sign, and the candidate is either immersed in it or has a liberal quantity poured over them. There is no other requirement than Baptism in order to participate in the Holy Eucharist; and equally no person who is not baptized may do so.
Our church recognizes all baptisms performed with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: this means that anyone baptized in a Christian church of any denomination may take communion in an Episcopal Church. For more on the origins and meanings of Baptism, please go here.
Baptism initiates the candidate into the communal life of the congregation. In the Episcopal Church, therefore, Baptisms are normally administered publicly during the Eucharist as the chief service on a Sunday or other feast. Easter, Pentecost, All Saints' Day and the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ are especially appropriate days, as is the day of the bishop's visitation.
Each adult candidate for Baptism must have at least one sponsor who is an active member of the congregation in which the candidate is to be baptized. In the case of infants or younter children, at least one sponsor, called a godparent, will make the baptismal vows on behalf of the child. Such a godparent must, therefore, be a member of the Episcopal Church and of the congregation that the candidate will be joining. In either case, other persons whose presence the family or candidate desires can be witnesses to the baptism, even if they are not members of the Episcopal Church.
Confirmation is the renewal of baptismal vows for those baptized at an early age who desire to make their first adult affirmation of faith. It is a sacrament of mature adulthood.
With the bishop's permission, congregations are encouraged to develop their own rites for adolescents should such rites seem pastorally required.
for those who have made a mature affirmation of faith in any other Christian church and who now wish to join the Episcopal Church.
for those who were baptized as adults without laying on of hands by a bishop, for those who have made a mature affirmation of faith but have returned from a lapse of Christian practice, for those concluding a period of personal or pastoral crisis, and for those who are experiencing a new call from God to grow in faith or to begin a new ministry.
Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows are all performed with laying on of hands.
