Dear Radu
Most Christians worldwide, both Eastern and Western use the
Trinitarian formula of baptism commanded by Jesus in Matt.
28:19. Now I want to look at the witness of the early Church.
The most ancient Christian worship ritual now extant is the
Didache or Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, which scholars now
date between A.D. 90 and A.D. 100. (It may, therefore,
antedate the scriptural Book of Revelation.) The Didache,
chapter 7, so instructs the minister: "Regarding baptism,
baptize thus. After giving the foregoing instructions,
'baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit' (Mat. 28:19) in running water. But if you have
no running water, baptize in any other; and if you cannot in
cold water, then in warm. But if the one is lacking, pour the
other three times on the head 'in the name of the Father and
Son and Holy Spirit.'"
Justin Martyr (d A.D. 163) in his First Apology, chapter 61,
wrote: "As many as are persuaded and believe ... are brought
by us where there is water ... in the name of God the Father
and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and
of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water
... The reason for this we have received from the Apostles."
Tertullian (d. A.D. 222), in his treatise "On Baptism", wrote:
"For the law of baptizing has been imposed and the formula
prescribed: `Go', says Christ, `teach the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit'" (Mt. 19).
Cyprian of Carthage (d. A.D. 258) in Letter #730 wrote:
"Finally, when after the resurrection, the apostles are sent
by the Lord to the heathen, they are bidden to baptize the
Gentiles `in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit.' How then do some say that a Gentile
baptized outside the Church and in opposition to the Church,
so that it be only in the name of Jesus Christ, everywhere and
in whatever manner, can obtain remission of sin, when Christ
Himself commands the heathen to be baptized in the full and
united Trinity?"
Gregory Nazianzen (d. A.D. 389), in his Speeches, 33:17, said:
"In whose name were you baptized? The Father? Good, but that
is Jewish. The Son? but Jewish still. The Holy Spirit. Fine.
That is perfect!"
Ambrose of Milan (d A.D. 397), in his treatise "On the Holy
Spirit", wrote: "Baptism is complete if one confesses the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If you deny One, you
overthrow the whole" (Book 1, chapter 3).
The phrase "in the name", as used by Luke in Acts, emphasizes
the truth that Jesus is the giver of all graces and therefore
it is He who is the principal agent in baptism as in all the
other sacraments. As John Chrysostom of Constantinople (d.
A.D. 407) wrote in his 86th homily on St. John's Gospel:
"Neither Angel nor Archangel can do anything with regard to
what is given from God; but the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit dispenses all, while the priest lends his tongue and
affords his hand."
Matt. 28:19 imposes the Trinitarian FORMULA of baptism. Texts
reporting baptism "in the name of Jesus " do not refer to the
baptismal formula but to the theology of sacramental causality
as exemplified in baptism. Reading these Lucan texts as
baptismal formulas introduces unwarranted contradiction in the
Word of God between Matthew and Luke. The failure to use the
Trinitarian formula results in invalid baptisms.
In the Trinitarian formula, Matthew and the majority of
Christians following him use the singular noun "name" followed
by the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. The plural "names"
is not used for theological reasons namely, with reference to
the doctrine of the Trinity. God is ONE in NATURE (hence the
singular "name"); God is THREE in PERSONS (hence, "the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit"). Just as our minds cannot
cope with the mystery of the inner life of God, so also our
grammar stumbles. Nothing in Matt. 28:19 is either
self-contradictory nor does anything there clash with the Book
of Acts. One is apples, the other is oranges.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
-- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit --
-- | Catholic Information Network (619-449-6030) | Fido: (1:202/1613) Internet: http://www.cin.org/cin