115
Does the
Theology
and Practice
Church Confirm the Classical Understanding
of
Baptism
in the
of the
Early Pentecostal
Holy Spirit?
Kilian
McDonnell,
O.S.B.
The Classical Pentecostals and the Charismatic Renewal in the his- toric sacramental
churches,
Catholic and
Protestant,
share a common
vocabulary
and a common
experience
of what is called
“baptism
in the Holy Spirit,” though
the
theologies
differ. Given the connection between Spirit baptism
and
glossolalia
within classical
Pentecostalism, Pentecostal researchers have examined the
writings
of the
early
church to isolate the texts which mention
speaking
in
tongues.’
The
early church did not enter into the
question
of
tongues
as initial
evidence, and does not seem to understand
tongues by itself, although certainly
a charism,
as the
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit.
What does the earliest
post- biblical texts
say
about
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit?
Does not
only
the theology
but the
practice
of the
early
church
support
some Classical Pentecostal
understanding(s)
of the
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit?
And of some central Classical Pentecostal concerns?
In this
article,
I will be
looking
at the rites of Christian initiation in which the charisms were
imparted
from three
perspectives
in the
post- biblical church. First the
catechumenate, second,
church architecture as giving
a
theological
clue to the
meaning
of Christian
initiation,
and thirdly,
what we call
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
as
forming
an
integral part
of the initiation
process. Finally,
I will draw some
theological
con- clusions.
The Catechumenate
_
Enrollment
We know that the core of the
gospel
is Jesus died and rose for our sins, offering
us salvation as a free
gift through
the
power
of the
Holy
1 G. H. Williams and E.
Waldvogel [Blumhofer], “A History of Speaking
in Tongues
and Related Gifts,” in The Charismatic Movement, ed. M. P. Hamilton (Grand Rapids,
MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975), 61-113; Stanley M. Burgess,
The Spirit and the Church:
M. “Evidence of the Antiquity
(Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984); Stanley Burgess, Spirit: The Ancient and Eastern
Churches,” in Initial Evidence: Historical and Biblical Perspectives on the Pentecostal Doctrine
of Spirit Baptism,
ed.
Gary
B. McGee MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 3-19. This does not consider the (Peabody, texts which mention charisms
present paper many
apart from the issue of when they are received. The concern here is with the context of
receiving the charisms.
1
116
Spirit,
a share in the
mystery
of God’s
life, leading
us back to the Father from whom we had become alienated
through
sin. How did the
post- biblical
church,
which believed it was
being
faithful to the
scriptural witness,
hand on these sacred
mysteries. They joined
a community of conversion,
were instructed in the
mysteries,
and were led to share them.
They began
this
process by enrolling
in the
catechumenate,
a period
of conversion and formation
prior
to the actual
baptismal
cele- bration. The
aspirants
or
candidates,
recommended
by
a
sponsor,
first had to
go
“before the
learned,” according
to the
Apostolic
Tradition of Hippolytus (c 170-c236),
who examined them on their
personal motives,
their
family,
and their
professional
situation.2 The catechume- nate
was, therefore,
not the absolute start in Christian initiation. Previous to entrance to the catechumenate the candidate would have had some contact with
Christianity,
some minimal
knowledge
of the gospel
at
least,
and some Christian friends. Persons
entering
the cate- chumenate were
already
on the
way
to full faith. The
catechumenate, whose
length varied, might
last as
long
as two or three
years (and
was sometimes much
shorter), culminating
in the celebration of Christian initiation, namely, 1 ) baptism, 2) anointing
or
confirmation,
and
3)
the Eucharist,
all celebrated
together
on one
night.
These three elements together
were considered as one
integral
celebration. The rite
itself,
as well as the
period
of
preparation leading up
to
it,
was
highly diverse, with
many
local variations.3 I am
going
to indicate elements in the rite of initiation found in the various
geographical
areas without
suggesting that
they
were
everywhere obligatory.4
Without a profound faith, these rites are
empty gestures.
In the New Testament,
faith is a corollary of
baptism,
and the two cannot be
sepa- rated. The
sponsor
who
brought
the candidate
to enroll
in the catechu- menate
process
assured the Christian
community
that the catechumen had the
capacity
to hear the
word,
and was
prepared
to
change
his or her life. At
Jerusalem,
there was another examination of the lives and morals of catechumens
by
the
bishop
at the end of the
period
of prepa- ration, just
before the
night
of the celebration of the initiation. The cat- echumens were about to join a
community
of
conversion,
those who had heard the word of God and were
living
a converted life
according to the
Gospel.
Their formation was
thoroughly
biblical.
Cyril
of
2There was a tradition in the early church which did not consider the military pro- fession compatible with the Christian faith. See L. J. Swift, The Early Fathers on War and Military Service (Wilmington: Glazier,
does not mean mere external
1983).
3″Rite”
ceremony. It encompasses the faith of the believer, the scriptural texts,
the involvement of the community, and the sacred actions.
4Paul F. Bradshaw, The Search for the Origins of Christian
Worship (New York, NY: Oxford
University Press, 1992), 161-184.
2
117
Jerusalem
(c315-387)
and
Augustine (354-430)
undertook to
explain all the
Scriptures, though
one can doubt that such an ambitious
project was
fully
carried out.
What ever the extent of the biblical
teaching, already
in the second century
there was the conviction that the
process
contained common elements. In the words of Justin
Martyr (c 100-c 165)
“As
many
as are persuaded
and believe that the
things
we teach
[instruction]
and
say
are true
[faith],
and undertake to live
accordingly [conversion]…are brought by
us where there is water, and are bom
again [baptism]….”5 The
early
church had the
sequence
correct. Jesus did not send the dis- ciples
out to administer the sacrament of
baptism.
He sent them out to proclaim
Jesus as Lord and
Savior,
thus
making disciples
of those who wanted to
change
their lives. Because
they
had become
disciples
and had
converted, they
were
baptized. Baptism
is a
sign
of
discipleship and conversion. So important was conversion that both the
sponsor
and bishop
were often involved in
attesting
that the
on-going process
of conversion was
being
demonstrated in the lives of the catechumens.
The
Community
of Conversion
But the
community
of
conversion,
the local
Christians,
were also
involved in this
process.
Justin
says
that the catechumens “are
taught
to pray
to God and ask
God,
while
fasting,
for the
forgiveness
of sins, and we
pray
and fast with them.”6 The Christian
community
fasts and
prays with the catechumens. Here we have an
ecclesiological
view of con- version effected
by grace,
bom out of a personal
religious experience, the entire
community manifesting
a new
turning
toward
God,
a new way
of thinking, a new
way
of living,
touching
the whole of existence. The converted
community
continues its own conversion
catechumens.
‘
along
with the
Two
things
are clear. No initiation is possible without
personal
faith and
deep conversion,
examined at various
points along
the
process. Without a profound re-orientation of life and
morals,
the
liturgy
of ini- tiation is mere ritualism. If there is no conversion the result of the rite of initiation will be baptized
pagans.
From the Father to the Father
In some traditions there was a handing over of the Lord’s
Prayer, which was much commented on in
early
church
by
Tertullian
(c 160- c225), Origen (c185-c254), Cyprian (d258), Augustine, Gregory
of Nyssa (c330-c395),
and Maximus the Confessor
(c580-662).
The prayer
which Jesus
taught
us had a broad trinitarian context. As
5Justin Martyr, First Apology, 61. .. 6Justin Martyr, First Apology, 61. ..
3
118
witnessed to
by
Basil of Caesarea
(c330-379)
the whole
plan
of salva- tion is
caught up
in the
rhythm
of life from the Father to the Father: “The
way
to the
knowledge
of God leads from the
Spirit
in
unity, through
the Son in
unity,
to the Father in
unity,
and in the
opposite direction,
the fullness and the holiness of the divine
essence,
its
royal dignity,
comes from the Father
by
means of the Son to the
Holy Spirit
The Father is both
point
of
departure
and
goal,
and the
Holy Spirit
is the Father’s
point
of contact with the world and
history.
Put somewhat
crudely
the trinitarian scheme of Irenaeus is
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Son,
Father. In Irenaeus’
(c 130-c200) words,
the
Spirit
is “the ladder of our ascent to God To be touched
by
the
Spirit
is to change, according
to
Cyril
of Jerusalem: “Whatever the
Holy Spirit touches is hallowed and
changed.”9
Handing
Over the Creed
In some areas there was a handing over of the Creed. The
early bap-
tismal creeds,
going
back to the second
century,
took over from the
reg-
zrlae fidei (short
summaries of the chief
doctrines)
a trinitarian struc-
ture. The creed is a short
teaching
on the three names and their involve-
ment in salvation
history, showing
that the “two hands of the
Father,”
the Son and the
Spirit,
to use Irenaeus’s
formulation,
were active in
history.
But
baptismal
creeds were not just doctrinal summaries of the
faith to be
believed,
but
were,
from the
beginning,
directed to
praise,
saying,
in effect, `look what the three names have done for us. Come,
let us bow down in worship and
praise.’
Creeds were not
just
academ-
ic doctrinal
summaries,
but were directed to
praise.
A Christian who
has not been
taught
to
praise
is only a half a Christian.
In the
early development
of the
creed,
as well as in
theological
exposition,
the trinitarian
argument
was
generally
carried on in binary
terms,
with reference
only
to the Father and the Son. The
Spirit
was
appended,
but without
elaboration,
as in the
original
form of the Nicene
creed. In the Nicene creed belief in the Father and the Son were stated .
expansively.
Of the
Spirit
was said
only: “[We believe]…in
the
Holy
Spirit.”
But
gradually
the awareness
grew
that the three
persons,
if
equal,
must be
granted equal
status in the creed. The mission of the
Spirit
must be of
equal importance
to that of the Son, and cannot be a junior grade
mission. If the mission of the
Spirit
is not as
important
as
that of the
Son,
then the doctrine of the
trinity collapses.
Both missions
are
central,
but
they
are central in different
ways.
So if
you
confess a
‘
7Basil of Caeserea, On the Holy Spirit, 18. 8Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3, 24, 15. 9Cyril
of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Lectures, 5:7.
‘
.
4
119
trinitarian
faith, you
must
necessarily
confess the
equality
of the Spirit’s
mission.10
One further
point
on the creed. The creed is an
expression
of the faith of the church: “We believe in one
God,
the Father
Almighty….” Christian initiation is an introduction into the faith of the
believing church,
and
evangelization
is guided by that
ecclesiological
awareness. It is the faith of the church which is imparted in evangelization, not just the
private
belief
system
of the
evangelizer.
The undoubted
personal dimensions of faith are realized within the
body
of Christ.
We note that the in the
Constantinopolitan
form of the Creed
(381 ) the
expansion
of
“[We believe]
in the
Holy Spirit”
contains the eccle- siological
elements: “…and in the
one, holy,
catholic and
apostolic church. We confess one
baptism
for the remission of sins.” Ecclesiology
is an extension of pneumatology,.
The Two
‘
VVays: the Moral Demands
The Didache is a document from the late first or
early
second cen- tury,
so an
important
witness to the catechumate
process
in the
post- biblical church. In this
period
before
baptism
the Didache
imparted
the ecclesial
morality,
even when it borrowed its forms from Judaism. It began:
“There are two
ways:
a way of life and a way of death, and the difference between these two
ways
is great.” The
beginning
of the
way is “You shall love first the Lord
your creator,
and
secondly your neigh- bor as
yourself.”12
One notes the
lofty
moral
goals:
“Love those who hate
you,
and
you
will have no
enemy.”13
But there is also a healthy realism: “Let
your
alms sweat into
your
hands until
you
know to whom
you
are
giving
it.1114 At the conclusion the catechumens are told: “If you
can bear the whole
yoke
of the Lord
you
will be
perfect;
but if that is too much for you, do as much as you can.”15 The Didache is not
sug- gesting
the the moral
precepts
are
negotiable.
The text is not
saying:
‘If you
are
given
to
stealing,
see to it that
you
do not steal too much.’ Rather the text is saying “Be
perfect
as your
heavenly
Father is perfect; but if that
highest perfection
is too
much,
do what is in you to do.’ One is struck with the combination of
high
idealism and
compassion
in these instructions.
10 Kilian McDonnell, “A Trinitarian Theology of the
Studies 46
Holy Spirit?” Theological
(June 1985): 207, 208; See also Kilian McDonnell, “The Determinative Doctrine of the Holy Spirit,” Theology Today 39 (July 1982): 142-161.
11 The formulation is Ralph Del Colle’s.
12Didache, 1. ..
l3Didache,
1..
14Didache,
1.
15Didache, 6.
5
120
From the
Kingdom
of Darkness to the
Kingdom
of
Light
The
period leading up
to the
night
of
baptism
contained
teachings on the main
points
of biblical
history,
the chief articles of
faith,
the mirabilia
(the
wonderful works of
God),
the
baptismal creed,
exor- cisms, exsufflations, anointings,
and
signings
with the cross. Also there was a series of scrutinies, sometimes to the number of seven, where the catechumens were examined on their
understanding
of the faith.
A word about exorcisms. The
liturgy
of initiation was built
up
on the
passage
from the
kingdom
of darkness to the
kingdom
of
light. Though
we
give
less
prominence
to the role of the demonic than did the early church,16
the
passage
out of the
kingdom
of darkness cannot be dismissed as a primitivism best left behind.
Judging by
biblical norms one can
recognize
that excessive attention was sometimes
given
to the demonic in the
early
church because of its
cosmological
and
anthropo- logical views, yet
the
frequent
mention of Satan in the
Scriptures
rec- ommends a nuanced
judgment.
These exorcisms were
generic
in nature-having
to do with the
general reign
of the
prince
of darkness- and did not
suppose
that each candidate was
literally possessed by
the devil.
We see the
great
seriousness with which candidates for
baptism enrolled in the
catechumenate, having
demonstrated the
purity
of their intentions,
their
eagerness
to hear the
Word,
their
willingness
to change their lives in accordance with the Christian status as daughters and sons of the
Father,
to embrace the faith of the church and to live a life of praise.
Church Architecture
The Architecture of Initiation
I pass from the
period
of conversion, instruction, and
formation,
to the actual
liturgy
of initiation. A knowledge of the architectural
setting is
helpful
to
grasp
the
teaching
on the
liturgy
of
baptism.
Here
again there is no
universally
valid architectural
pattern. Though
the
arrange- ment was different in various
parts
of the West and in Syria, a floor
plan widely
used had the church divided into three basic rooms
(see figure on next
page).
l6However we should not exaggerate the diminished role of exorcisms in our rites of initiation: “…it is an error to claim that exorcisms have been eliminated from the
new ritual for baptism. The error is, in fact, perfect obvious, since the new rite for the catechumenate has even introduced hitherto unknown ‘minor’ exorcisms the period of the catechumenate, before the ‘major’ exorcisms.” Sacred
throughout
Congregation for Divine Worship, “Les formes multiples de la superstition,” 6, 26 June 1975, in Vatican Council 11: More Post conciliar Documents, ed. Austin
Flannery (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1982), 474.
6
121
In the first
room,
the
baptistery,
there is a pit filled with water so that if an adult stood
up
in it, the water
might
come to about the waist. There were three
steps going
down into the water, and three
steps
on the oppo- site side of the
pit ascending
on the other side. In the second room was a chair for the
bishop.
The
third,
much
larger room,
was the eucharistic room,
which contained an altar and am ambo for the
reading
of the Scriptures.
The
process
of initiation is basically sacramental
7
17In 1975 Donald Gelpi wrote that the most serious doctrinal differences dividing Catholic charismatics and Protestant Pentecostals lay in the area of sacramental the- ology ;
“Ecumenical Problems and Possibilities,” in The Holv Spirit and Power: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal, ed. Kilian McDonnell (Garden City, NY: 1975),
180. One is accustomed to contrast the sacramental churches Doubleday, (Anglican,
7
122
In
many places
the celebration of the rites of initiation was restrict- ed to two feasts: Easter and
Pentecost,
both of these
belonging
to the Easter
cycle,
the celebration of the
death, resurrection,
ascension of Jesus
Christ,
and the
sending
of the
Spirit.
How
appropriate
these feasts are for the initiation of new Christians will be clearer in the rites them- selves.
The First Room:
°
Baptistery
On the
vigil
of Easter or Pentecost those who were
already Christians,
that
is,
the local
community,
would
gather
in the eucharis- tic room to await the arrival of the catechumens.
They,
the catechu- mens, gathered
outside of the church
building.
At the
beginning
of the initiatory liturgy,
the deacon would
go
out to the catechumens and invite the men of the
group
to come into the
baptistery;
the first room. The door would be
closed,
and
they
would be invited to take off all other their clothes. This was an appropriate symbol of stripping the for- mer life
(Col 3:9).
Then the
minister, possibly
the
deacon,
would lead each catechumen
individually
down into the water.
They
would be asked if they believe first in the
Father,
then in the
Son,
and third in the Spirit,
and after each affirmative
response they
would be either immersed or water would be
poured
over their heads.
Baptism
is a sharing
in trinitarian life.
The descent into the water is the descent into the death of Jesus (“we
have been buried with him
by baptism
into death” Romans
6:4). One cannot be a Christian if one did not share in the death of
Jesus,
a dying
which is carried over into the
pain
and
discipline
of the Christian life. The catechumen comes
up
out of the water and
up
the three
steps on the other
side,
which is a
symbol
of
rising
with Christ
(“For
if we have been united with him in a death like
his,
we will
certainly
be unit- ed with him in a resurrection like his”
(Romans 6:5).
An individual cannot be a Christian if the
person
did not share in the resurrection of Jesus.
When the catechumens arrive on the other side of the
pool
or
pit, they
are
anointed,
and
they
receive a
pure
white robe as a
sign
that through grace
the catechumen now lives the life of the Risen Christ. Remember that on Mount
Tabor, where,
in anticipation of his resurrec- tion,
Jesus was
transfigured
before
Peter,
James and John. The text says,
“And his
garments
became
shining, exceedingly
white as
snow, as no
dyer
of cloth on earth can make them white”
(Mark 9:2).
The dea- con then leads the male catechumens into the second room, while the deaconess exits the
church, requesting
the female catechumens to enter the
baptistery. Although
the
bishop
or deacon administered the sacra- ment of baptism,
calling
on the three names in the
baptismal
invocation
8
123
and
anointing
the head of each candidate
(the arrangements assuring modesty),
it was the deaconess who led the women catechumens into the water and
completed
the
anointing.
When all the men and women candidates have been immersed and clothed with the white
garment- which
they
will wear
continuously
until the next
Sunday-they
are led into the second room.
The Second Room:
Laying
on of Hands and/or
Anointing
The
bishop
awaits the catechumens in the second room. He
lays hands on
them,
and/or anoints their
heads, signing
them on the fore- head with the
sign
of the
cross,
and
giving
them a kiss. The
significance of these rites after the water bath is a matter of some
dispute,
the area of contention
being
whether
they
are the locus for the
imparting
of the Spirit. l
Whatever the
original intent, they
were often understood as bestowing
the
Spirit.
Whether one attaches the bestowal of the
Spirit
to one element or to another is of minor
significance.
In
antiquity they viewed the
liturgy
as a whole. No one
disputed
that the
Spirit
was imparted during
the rite of
initiation,
on the model of Jesus’
baptism
in the Jordan. Philoxenus of
Mabbug (c440-523) says
that after his own baptism
in the
Jordan, Jesus “immediately gave
it
(Jesus’ baptism)
to us.”19 In other
words,
the
baptism
of Jesus is the source and cause of our
baptism.2°
Our
baptism
is conformed to his.
Reflecting
the central role the descent of the
Spirit played
in the
baptism
of Jesus, Philoxenus, using poetic exaggeration, says
“our
baptism
is the
Holy Spirit.1121 –
.
Lutheran, Orthodox, Roman Catholic) as over against the non-sacramental churches (Baptist,
Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal). But Cecil M. Robeck Jr. and Jerry L. Sandidge
have demonstrated the
pluralism within
Classical Pentecostalism, for instance, the Elim Fellowship of Lima, New York, and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, both of which
of sacraments. See their “The of koinonia and Baptism: A Pentecostal speak
Ecclesiology
Perspective,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 27 (1990): 520-524. They encourage Pentecostals “to investigate fully for themselves the true meaning
of these acts (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) as sacraments” (p. 533). See also Walter Hollenweger, Pentecostalism:
Origins and Developments Worldwide MA: Hendrickson
(Peabody, Publishers, 1997).
Bradshaw, Origins of Christian
176-178.
19Philoxenus of
Worship,
Mabbug, Fragments of the Commentary on Matthew and Luke, Fragment 13, CSCO 393:17.
in relation to the
2 Up
until the fourth
century
the
theology
of
baptism
was worked out
principally
baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. The one exception to this is who with some Origen
frequency mentions Romans 6:4. But after Origen there is again silence the relation of Romans 6:4 to initiation until into the fourth cen- tury.
Kilian concerning McDonnell, The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan: The Trinitarian and Cosmic Order 2 ‘
of Salvation (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996), 190-200.
Philoxenus of On the
Indwelling of
the
Nolv Spirit;
Sebastian Brock, The Syriac Fathers on Mabbug,
Prayer
and the Spiritual L!fe (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1987), 112.
9
124
At the
baptism
of Jesus the descent of the
Spirit
and the voice of the Father declare that Jesus is the Son of the Father. If the
baptism
of Jesus is our
baptism,
then at our
baptism
we become
adopted daughters
and sons of the Father. Philoxenus
says
that “we are
quite
unable to…call God
‘Father,’ except through
the
authority
of the
Holy Spirit
who is within
us,
for it is well known that those who have not
yet
become God’s children
by the holy
rebirth of baptism are not authorized to use this
term,
and
they
are not
permitted
to
say
‘Our
Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be
thy
name.’ The manifest reason for this is that the Holy Spirit
is not
yet
within
them,
to
give
them this authorization.”22 The
early
Christians were in
great
wonder that God had taken us as adopted
children at
baptism.
To none of the
angels
had such a dignity been
given.
The Third Room: The Eucharistic Celebration
All the
catechumens,
women and
men,
are then led into the third room,
the eucharistic
room,
where the local Christian
community
is waiting,
and
together they
celebrate the Eucharist.
Through
the whole rite of initiation the catechumens become one
body.
John
Chrysostom (c347-407) says:
“Let us learn the wonder of this sacrament…. We become a single
body, according
to the
Scripture,
members of his flesh and bone of his bones. That is what is
brought
about
by
the food that he
gives
us. He blends himself with us so that we
may
all become one single entity
in the
way
the
body
is joined to the head.”23
It should be clear that one is
evangelized
into the
body
of Christ. The
only way
one can become a Christian is to become a member of the
body.
There are no isolated
Christians,
no Christians
apart.
Those who are Christian are so because
they
are members of the
body
of Christ,
and that
body
is the church.
Cyprian
is eloquent on this
point: “When the Lord calls his
body bread,
made from the collection of a large
number of
grains,
he is pointing to the
unity
of our
people.
And when he calls his blood
wine,
which is pressed from a large number of clusters of
grapes
to form a single liquid, he
signifies
that our flock is made
up
of a multitude
gathered
into
unity.”24
But the eucharistic
gathering
is also a source of social outreach to the
poor
and
needy. Referring
to the
offerings
which the faithful have made at the
Eucharist,
Justin
Martyr says:
“The whole of what has been collected is handed over to the
president
and he
gives help
to
orphans, widows,
those who are in need because of illness or for some other rea- son, prisoners, strangers passing through;
in
short,
he
gives
succor to
22Brock, Syriac Fathers, 108, 109. 23 John Chrysostom, Homilies on John, 46. 24Cyprian, Letter, 69,5.2.
”
10
125
all who are in need.”25 The social outreach flows from the church’s eucharistic
worship.
John
Chrysostom
identifies the eucharistic
body with the
suffering poor:
“Do
you
wish to honor the
body
of the Savior? Do not honor it in church with silk
vestments,
while outside
you
are leaving
it numb with cold and naked…For what God needs is not
gold- en
chalices,
but
golden
souls.”26
Worship
lacks
authenticity,
and is even
vitiated,
if the honor
given
to the eucharistic
body
of Christ is denied to the
body
of Christ which
hungers
and is homeless.27
The
liturgy just
described was
variously
called
“illumination,” “Christian
initiation,” “charism,” “baptism” (the
whole rite not just the water-bath),
and
“baptism
in the
Holy Spirit.”
Once
again,
that
process varied
greatly,
but there was much
commonality
in the
major
elements. They
tell us what is determinative of Christian
identity
and awareness. Justin
Martyr.28 Origen,29 Didymus
the
Blind,3?
and
Cyril
of Jerusalem,3 ?
all
equivalently
call Christian initiation
“baptism
in the Holy Spirit.”32
It is a synonym for
baptism.
What is
primary
is the
on-going
conversion where one
accepts grace (created participation
in the life of
God)
and salvation as a free gift
made
possible by
the death of Jesus,
receiving
the
gift
of the
Spirit so that one lives as a daughter or son of
God,
children of the resurrec- tion,
on the
way
back to our Father’s house.
.
Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
as
Integral
to Christian Initiation
in the
Thought of
the
Early
Church Fathers
.
The use of “baptism in the
Holy Spirit”
for the whole rite seems to have included what we in recent
years
more
narrowly
call
“baptism
in the
Holy Spirit.”
In referring to this
topic
I want to make clear that I am not
talking
about Charismatic Renewal or even Classical Pentecostalism,
but about
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit. They
are
separa- ble. To
accept baptism
in the
Spirit
as
integral
to Christian initiation does not mean that one
thereby joins
a movement.
25 Justin Martyr, First Apology, 67.
26John Chrysostom, On Matthew, 50:3.
27″The Church, as the Bishops repeated, has the duty to the liberation of millions of human
beings, many
of whom are her own children-the proclaim
duty of assist- the birth of this
This is not
ing liberation, of giving witness to it, of ensuring
that it is
complete.
foreign to evangelization.” Paul VI, On 30. Evangelization in the Modern World,
28 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 29:1.
290rigen,
On Jeremiah, 2:3.
30pidymus
the Blind, On the Trinity, 2:12.
‘ 3 ‘ Cyril
32
of
Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 16:6.
Kilian McDonnell and George Montague, Christian Initiation and Baptism in the
Holy Spirit:
Evidence from the First
Eight
Centuries
(Collegeville,
MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), 216.
11
126
Up
to more recent times
“baptism
in the
Holy Spirit”
was based on New Testament
texts,
whose
interpretation
was
disputed.
But a series of post-biblical
texts have been
identified,
which indicate how the
early church
interpreted
those
disputed
texts.33 I will treat
only enough
of the texts to demonstrate the broad
pattern.
Tertullian
When Tertullian
(c160-c225)
wrote his small treatise On
Baptism, probably
around
197,
he
lays
out the view on
baptism
of the church of North Africa-not
just
his
personal opinion-against
the heretics who reject baptism.
His audience are the catechumens and
neophytes,
as well as those who believe in
baptism
without
having
examined the roots of the
baptismal
tradition but were
apparently
convinced from the purity
of Christians’ lives.34 Tertullian was
preoccupied
with the
apos- tolic
ministry
in the
church,
the
uninterrupted
series of
bishops
who were a sign of apostolicity.35 To this
degree
he wanted to retain the tra- ditional doctrine. He wrote in Latin in a situation where the
baptism
of adults was the
general
norm.36
At the end of the
treatise,
when he envisages the catechumens com- ing up
from the
water-bath, passing through
the rites of anointing, sign- ing,
and
imposition
of hands, and
walking
into the eucharistic room. He addresses the
catechumens,
or more
precisely,
the
neophytes: “Therefore, you
blessed
ones,
for whom the
grace
of God is
waiting, when
you
come
up
from the most sacred bath of the new
birth,
when you spread
out
your
hands for the first time in
your
mother’s house with
your brethren,
ask
your Father,
ask
your Lord,
for the
special gift of his
inheritance,
the distributed
charisms,
which form an
additional, underlying
feature
[of baptism]. ‘Ask,’ he says,
‘and
you
shall receive.’ In
fact, you
have
sought,
and
you
have found:
you
have
knocked,
and it has been
opened
to
you.”37
33 McDonnell and Montague, Christian Initiation, 93-349. I am not entering into
the material, but refer the reader to the first section of the book, 3-80,
where the biblical witness is laid out. exegetical A popular presentation of the same material is
found in Kilian McDonnell and George Montague, eds., Fanning the Flame: What
Does Baptism in the Holy Spirit Have to Do with Christian Initiation?
review of this research is found in Paul (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991). A very critical
Turner, “Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” Worship 70 and
see “A
(September
1996):
446-452. For the response of McDonnell
Montague Response to
Paul Turner on Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” Worship 71
(January 1997):
51-62.
34Tertullian, On Baptism, 1:1.
35Tertullian, The Prescription of Heretics, 32: l; Against Marcion, IV.5, 3; IV:29.
36He protests against infant baptism, Tertullian, On Baptism, 18.
.
37Tertullian, On Baptism, 20.
12
127
The
spreading
out of the hands refers to the
posture
of
standing with outstretched arms and
palms open customary
when
entering
the prayer
of
praise.
The
expression “your
mother’s house” refers first to the Christian
community,
and
secondly
to the church
building. Tertullian
encourages
the catechumens to ask God the
Father,
and their Lord Jesus
Christ,
for the
“special gift
of his
inheritance,”
which he names as the charisms which are found in the
community.
The
impart- ing
of the charisms form “an
underlying
feature” of
baptism.
Tertullian, therefore,
sees the
imparting
of the charisms as an inte- gral part
of the
process
of becoming a Christian, ‘ as
part
of the normal Christian
equipment.38
Origen
.
Like
Tertullian, Origen (c 185-c254) presupposes
his converts are adults; he, too,
comes out of a Greek culture. At the
beginning
of a pas- sage
on Christian initiation
Origen
writes of the
great
wonders Jesus performed,
themselves
“symbols
of those delivered
by the word
of God in all
ages
from
every
kind of sickness and weakness.”39 These mira- cles are an appeal to faith. “This
[appeal
to faith] is true of the water of baptism, symbol
of the
purification
of the soul washed
of every
stain of sin,
and it
[baptism]
is in itself the
principle
and source of the divine charisms for
anyone
who offers one’s self to the
divinity through
the power
invocation
(epiclesis)
of the adorable
trinity.1140 So baptism
is the
“principle”
and “source” of the divine charisms. These two
adjec- tives have almost identical
meanings
of essential
basis, origin, begin- ning,
fountain head. Placed next to one another
they
are an intensive formulation. This concentration of force is itself the
object
of a further intensive. The immediate context indicates that the charisms are those
manifested in the Acts after the Pentecost
experience.4
For
Origen,
as for
Tertullian, baptism-that is, water bath,
imparting
of the
Spirit, Eucharist-is the normal locus for
imparting
the charisms.
Origen’s
witness is reinforced
by
the
authority
of Basil the
Great, an
important
fourth
century witness,
and a doctor of the
church,
who quotes Origen’s passage
with
approval,
the
only
time in the whole of Basil’s
writings
that he names and
quotes Origen.42
38Tertullian writes as a
Catholic; this treatise contains no hint of his later Montanism.
390rigen, On John, 6:33. On
40origen, John, 6:33.
41 Origen,
42
On John, 6:33.
Basil of Caeserea, On the Holy Spirit, 29:73.
his but after his
Origen’s speculations, unchal- lenged during lifetime, dogmatized death, brought down condemna- tions, largely unjustified. His doctrine of baptism was never challenged.
13
128
Hilary
of Poitiers
This
important theologian, Hilary
of Poitiers
(c314-367), apparent- ly
an adult convert to
Christianity,
who was named
bishop
soon after his
conversion,
writes in Latin in a situation where adults are the usual candidates for baptism. Reflecting on his initiation late in life he writes: “We who have been reborn
through
the sacrament of
baptism experi- ence intense
joy (maximum gaudium)
when we feel within us the first stirrings (initia sentimus)
of the
Holy Spirit.
We
begin
to have
insight into the
mysteries
of
faith,
we are able to prophesy and to
speak
with wisdom. We become steadfast in hope and receive the
gifts (plural)
of healing.”43
He further
specifies
the nature of the water in which we are immersed: “The
Holy Spirit
is called a river. When we receive the
Holy Spirit,
we are made drunk. Because out of
us,
as a
source,
various streams of grace
flow,
the
prophet prays
that the Lord will inebriate us. The
prophet
wants the same
persons
to be made
drunk,
and filled to all fullness with the divine
gifts….”44
So
Hilary
writes of the intense
joy
when he felt within the first movements of the
Spirit during
the rite of initiation as an adult. In another context
Hilary
returns to the theme of
experience: “Among
us there is no one
who,
from time to
time,
does not feel the
gift
of the grace
of the
Spirit.”45
Care must be taken not to
press
the
text,
as though Hilary
were
saying
that
only
what is felt is real, or that the
pres- ence of the
Spirit
is
always perceivable
to the senses. Nonetheless Hilary
links the
coming
of the
Spirit
to
experience.
He too
specifically
mentions the
prophetic
charisms which were imparted during
initiation: word of knowledge, prophecy, word of wis- dom, enduring hope, gifts
of
healing.
Elsewhere he insists that the charisms “are
profitable gifts.”46
If the charisms are
effective,
then “let us make use of such
generous gifts.”47
Charisms are for the
up
build- ing
of the church and should not be allowed to remain dormant.
‘
Cyril
of Jerusalem
From
Cyril
of Jerusalem
(c315-386)
we have the text of nineteen instructions for catechumens before the rites of
initiation,
and five for the week after initiation. So we have
good knowledge
of how the cate- chumens were instructed.
Fortunately
we have the exact text of these instructions,
as we have for John
Chrysostom
and Theodore of Mopsuestia. Cyril
wrote in Greek for a group of adult catechumens.
43Hilary of Poitiers, Tract on the Psalms, 64:14. of
44Hilary Poitiers, Tract on the Psalms, 64:14. 45Hilary
of Poitiers, Tract on Psalm 118, 12, 4. 46Hilary
of Poitiers, On the Trinity, 8:30. 47Hilary
of Poitiers, On the Trinity, 2:35.
14
129
Cyril
is concerned to make the catechumens aware that the charisms
belong
to the normal
functioning
of the life of the communi- ty. “Great, omnipotent,
and admirable is the
Holy Spirit
in the charisms.”48 Careful to avoid
suggesting
that the charisms are the provenance
of the
clergy
he maintains that “all the
laity”
are called to witness the
power
of the
Spirit
in the charisms.49 Twice
Cyril appeals to the list of charisms Paul
gives
in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.SO He views the
Spirit
as the
dispenser
of the charisms in “the whole Roman Empire,”
and then “in the whole world.1151 The
Spirit
is not a reluctant giver
of
gifts,
but
pours
them out
“profusely.”52
Looking upon
the Pentecost
experience
as a
baptismal
event he says
that the
grace given
to the
apostles
“was not
partial,
but his
[the Spirit’s] power
in all fullness. For
just
as one immersed in the waters of baptism is completely
encompassed by
the
water,
so they were com- pletely baptized by
the
Spirit.”53
Two other times he stresses the full- ness and
completeness
of the
baptism
on Pentecost:
“…they
were
bap- tized without
anything wanting, according
to the
promise;”54 “…they [the apostles]
were
baptized
in all fullness. “55
Toward the end of the
baptismal
instructions
Cyril,
in
referring
to the
gift
of prophecy, says: “Only let each one
prepare
oneself to receive the
heavenly gift.”56
And he repeats: “God
grant
that
you may
be wor- thy
of the charism of
prophecy. “57
“Those who in a few moments are about to be
baptized
in the
Holy Spirit”
should
bring
an
expanded expectation.58 They
need
only
make
large
their awareness and “he will grant you
charisms of every kind.”59 In the
very
last instruction before entering
into the
baptismal
rite he
says: “My
final
words,
beloved brethren,
in this
instruction,
will be words of
exhortation, urging
all of you
to prepare your souls for the
reception
of the
heavenly
charisms.”6o
48Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectzcres, 16:22. of
49Cyril Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 16:22.
5 ‘ 5°Both occur in Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectzrres, 16:12. Cyril of
Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, I 6:22.
52Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 16:26.
53Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 17:14.
‘ 54Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 17:15.
55Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 17:18.
56Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 17:19.
57Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 17:35.
‘ 58Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 16:6.
‘ 59Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 17:37.
60Cyril
of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 18:32.
‘
..
‘
,
15
130
Basil of Caesarea and
Gregory
Nazianzus
Both Basil of Caesarea
(c330-379)
and
Gregory
Nazianzus
(329- 389),
both
writing
in
Greek,
situate the
prophetic
charisms within Christian initiation,
though
for historical reasons
they
are more reserved than Paul is in 1 Corinthians. Basil
places
the charisms in rela- tion to
baptism:
“The
diversity
of the charisms
corresponds
to the diversity
of members, but all rebaptized in one sole
Spirit.”61
The
Spirit is present in “prophecy, or
healings,
or other wonderful
works,”
all of which are still to be found.62 He refers
specifically
to “the distribution of wonderful charisms.”63
Gregory
refers to an inner transformation which can
only
be accounted for
by
the
divinity
of the
Spirit:
“If the
Spirit
is not to be adored,
how can
[the Spirit]
divinize me in baptism.”64 Writing of Paul laying
hands on the
believers, imparting
the
Spirit,
so
they spoke
in tongues
and
prophesied (Acts 19:1-7), Gregory
concludes: “This
Spirit does all that God does:
dividing
into
tongues
of
fire, distributing charisms, coming
to
expression
in apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas- tors,
and doctors.”65
John
Chrysostom
Though
John
Chrysostom (c347-407)
was
living
in
Antioch,
the capital
of
Syria,
Greek was
spoken
in this seaboard
city.
He finds the matter of the charisms in 1 Corinthians
“very
obscure.”66 The reason he
said,
is
“many
of the wonders which then
[in
the time of the
apos- tles]
used to take
place
have now ceased.1167 Many of the charisms list- ed
by
Paul are no
longer
actualities in the life of the church. But it was not so in the
days
of the
apostles:
“whoever was
baptized
at once
spoke in
tongues,
and not
only
in
tongues,
but
many
also
prophesied;
some performed many
other wonderful works.”68 “All” who were
baptized in the
apostolic age
received “certain excellent charisms.”69 Specifically
with
regard
to prophecy
Chrysostom says,
“this
grace
was poured
out
abundantly,
and
every
church had
many
who
prophesied.1170
61 Basil of Caeserea, On the Holy Spirit, 26:61. 62Basi1 of Caeserea, On the Holy Spirit, 26:61. 63 Basic of Caeserea, On the Holy Spirit, 9:23. 64Gregory Nazianzus, Fifth Theological Discourse, 28. 65Gregory Nazianzus, Discourse, 29. 66John On 7 Fifth Theological Chrysostom, Corinthians, 29.
‘ 67John Chrysostom, On Romans, 14.
68John Chrysostom, On I Corinthians, 29.
69John Chrysostom, On Romans, 14.
??John Chrysostom, On I Corinthians, 32.
16
131
Chrysostom regrets
the
passing
of
many
charisms from the life of the church. He tells of a beautiful woman who
goes
to her
jewel box, opens it,
and finds it
empty.
“The
present
church
represents
such a woman.”7′
Philoxenus of Mabbug and the
Syrians
Tertullian and
Hilary
write in
Latin,
while
Origen, Cyril, Basil, Gregory,
and John
Chrysostom
write in
Greek,
but Philoxenus
(c440- 523)
and those of his tradition
generally
write in
Syriac,
a dialect of Aramaic. The
previous
authors all
envisage
a situation in which adults are
baptized,
while in churches of the
Syrian
tradition there is baptism of infants. So his situation is similar to
many liturgical
churches
today.
We would criticize Philoxenus’s view of the Christian life as too narrow. Like
many
of his
contemporaries
he belittles the
possibility
of perfection
within the married state. He and other
Syrian theologians
tie their
theology
too
closely
to monastic life. Yet
they may preserve
an ancient, indeed, apostolic, theology,
which
only
later was narrowed to monastic ideals.
Philoxenus
speaks
of two
baptisms,
one received in infancy, and the second
years
later when one
gave
oneself
completely
to the
gospel by embracing
the monastic ideals. His talk of two
baptisms
is
deceptive, because he
actually
believes in only
one,
the
first, given
at
infancy,
is fully
actualized
years
later in adult life when one surrenders to the gospel. By living
the
gospel, by emptying ourselves,
“the sensation” of the divine life
given
at first
baptism,
but not then
felt,
blossoms into “the true
experience
of the
knowledge
of the
Spirit”
in the second
bap- tism.72 Philoxenus stumbles over himself when he writes of the second baptism:
“You will
only
know that
you experience happiness,
but what that
joy
is
you
will not be able to
express.”?3
He does mention the charism of healing, but he
implies
there are more.74
One could mention other
Syriac
writers who
place
the charisms in relation to Christian initiation. John of
Apamea (first
half of the fifth century),
like
Philoxenus,
writes of two
baptisms,
the second also a later actualization of the first. In the second
baptism
one takes
posses- sion
perfectly
“of the
power
of
holy baptism.”?5
In relation to the sec- ond
baptism
he mentions
prophecy, healing,
and miracles.76 Theodoret
71John Chrysostom, On I Corinthians, 36.
72Philoxenus of Mabbug, Discourses, 9:263.
73Philoxenus of Mabbug, Discourses, 9:289.
74Philoxenus of Mabbug, Discourses, 2:27. Sebastian Brock, letter to author,
1990. Brock also thinks that
27 May Joseph Hazzaya (Abdisho) implies the charisms. 75John
of Apamea, Dialogues and’Treatises, 10:117. 76John
of Apamea, Dialogue on the Soul and the Passions, 9, 10.
,
17
132
of
Cyrrhus (c393-466)
witnesses to the abundant
outpouring
of charisms at
initiation,
and mentions
healing
in particular.77 Severus of Antioch
(c465-538),
like John
Chrysostom, acknowledges
that “numerous charisms were bestowed on believers at that
(apostolic) time,
and those who were
baptized by
the
apostles
also received vari- ous favors.”78
Finally, Joseph Hazzaya (bom c710-713),
one of the great Syrian mystics,
writes of the
“sign through
which
you
will feel that the
Spirit
received in
baptism
is
working
in
you,” mentioning
“a flow of
spiritual speech (tongues),”
and “a
knowledge
of both worlds (word
of
knowledge
or wisdom),” in addition to
“joy, jubilation,
exul- tation, praise, glorification, songs, hymns,
odes…. “79
Commenting
on these
Syriac
witnesses Oxford Scholar Sebastian Brock
says
the
Syriac
fathers “are well aware that the
pentecostal effects of
baptism
do not
necessarily
manifest themselves at
baptism itself,
but
may
be
delayed
until later: the
‘pledge
of the
Spirit,’
the potential, however,
is
already present
as a result of
baptism.”8° Referring specifically
to
Philoxenus,
Brock continues: “What Philoxenus is saying here is something of
great
value. He is looking at the
relationship
between the
personal experience
of
Pentecost,
of the coming
of the
Holy Spirit upon
an individual, and the actual rite
of bap- tism,
in a context
where,
because of the
practice
of infant
baptism,
the two events
may
be
separated by many years
of time….The ‘two
bap- tisms’ are thus but two
aspects
of the one
sacrament,
the first seen from the
point
of view of the
Giver,
the
second,
from that of the receiver.118, Baptism
for the
Syrians
is not a one time event.
Rather, “baptism
is seen as just the
beginning
which
opens up all sorts of new possibilities, provided
the
baptized person responds
with
openness
to the
presence
of the
indwelling Spirit.”s2
77Theodorus of Cyrrhus, History of the Monks in Syria, Prologue, 8,10. 78Severus of Antioch, On Prayer, 25.
79See A.
Mingana, Early
Christian
Mystics (Cambridge, England: W. Heffner, 165-167.
1934), 80The
Holv Spirit in the Syrian Baptismal Tradition, The Syrian Church Series 9 (Kottayam, Kerala, India: n.p., 1979), 134.
8 ‘ The Holy Spirit in the Syrian Baptismal Tradition, 137-139.
82S. Brock,
Spirituality
in the
Syriac
Tradition
(Kerala,
India: St. Ecumenical Research
Ephrem
Institute, 1989), 74.
18
133
Conclusions
This material on the
catechumenate,
church
architecture,
and the writings
of the
early
church fathers reveals how the
baptism
of the Holy Spirit
was understood
by
those who stood nearest to the New Testament.83 From the
study
of the rites of Christian initiation in the early post-biblical period
it must be clear that the
early
church was not primarily
concerned with the
charisms,
but with the nature of the Christian
life,
in which the charisms have an
important
role. The nature of the Christian life was unfolded for them in the whole conversion/ini- tiation
process. They
understood
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
as an inte- gral part
of becoming a Christian, in some instances initiation was sim- ply
called
“baptism
in the
Holy Spirit.”
There is, and can be,
only
“one faith,
one Lord and one
baptism” (Eph. 4:5).
Candidates for Christian initiation were told to esteem the charisms and to
expect
them.
They were understood to be
imparted during
the celebration of initiation. In the
early
church the
imparting
of the charisms
during
initiation was a normal
expectation,
not an eternal law. If baptism in the
Holy Spirit
is integral
to Christian initiation then it does not
belong
to private piety, but to
public liturgy,
to the official
worship
of the church. Since it has to do with the central sacraments of the Christian life
(baptism, impart- ing
of the
Spirit, Eucharist),
it is normative for all Christians.
The
goal
is neither
religious experience
nor the
charisms; they
are consequences. Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit clearly
does not
belong
to the Charismatic
Renewal,
but to the
church,
to those essential rites of the church which constitute church as church-water
bath, imparting
of the
Spirit,
and Eucharist.
Further,
if the evidence
presented
in this arti- cle is true, then
baptism
in the
Spirit
is not
peripheral,
but central. The witnesses I have cited come from Latin,
Greek,
and
Syriac cultures, almost the whole of the Mediterranean seaboard. The witnesses are not
.
,
minor characters. Five are doctors of the church
(Hilary, Cyril, Basil, Gregory,
John
Chrysostom), persons especially
reliable in
identifying the faith and
practice
of the church.
Apart
from
Augustine,
Tertullian is the dominant
theologian
in the West
during
the
early
centuries.
Origen is the most influential
theologian
in the East
during
the first thousand years.
Philoxenus is a major figure in Syria.
This broad-based witness from
Latin, Greek,
and
Syriac
cultures is significant
for
recovering
what the
early
Christians
thought
was the nature of the Christian
life, sharing
in the life of God and in the
gifts God
imparts.
The intense
joy
to which
Hilary
and
Joseph Hazzaya
refer – – _._- .– n- —
831f the early church was right in its understanding of the relation of baptism in the Holy Spirit
to Christian initiation, this does not mean that other understandings of baptism
in the Holy Spirit are in error. It does not work that way.
, ‘
19
134
are a
part
of an inner transformation to which Basil and
Gregory Nazianzus
give
witness. This
experiential joy
is not fluff. Neither is it tinsel. It touches the substance of the faith.
Further,
Charismatic Renewal/Classical Pentecostalism on the one hand,
and
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
on the other
hand,
can be
separat- ed. In embracing the
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
as
integral
to Christian initiation one is not
joining
a movement. The issue is to embrace the
fullness of the Christian
life,
and to utilize the total
reality
of initiation as the well from which we draw the waters of life and
power. Baptism in the
Holy Spirit belongs
to the church.84 The retrieval of this dimen- sion
belongs
to the
purposes
of the
liturgical movement,
which is espe- cially
concerned with full
participation by
all in sacred
mysteries
as expressed
in the
Scriptures
and the
liturgy.
Where do the Classical Pentecostals and the
early
church
agree,
and where do
they disagree?
Classical Pentecostals do not see
baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
as
being
related to sacramental action.
However,
there are the commonalities between the view of the
early
church and the Pentecostal view. Whatever
disagreements
there are over
exegesis,
the essential
insight
of Pentecostals about the existence of a baptism in the Holy Spirit
is here confirmed. Both Classical Pentecostals and the early
church
agree
that
Spirit baptism
is a central
reality.
The
early church confirms the Classical Pentecostal conviction that charisms are an
important part
of the Christian
life,
the
equipment
for
living
in com- munity.
The Christian world is indebted to Classical Pentecostalism for recovering
these biblical and
patristic
dimensions of the Christian life.
84To the question of how this research has been received by the Catholic church, there has been no official action. The view here proposed is
incorporated Charismatic
into
Paul J. Cordes, Call to Holiness: Reflections on the Catholic
Renewal (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1997). This is not an Official document Archbishop
of the Catholic church, but was published by a Roman curial official after seven years of international consultation with
bishops, theologians, and pastoral leaders. The book Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit is being used by the inter- national Classical Pentecostal/Roman Catholic dialogue, sponsored from the Catholic side by the Pontifical Council for Unity, as the basis of the present five year series of conversations.
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