Does The Theology And Practice Of The Early Church Confirm The Classical Pentecostal Understanding Of Baptism In The Holy Spirit

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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