Whoever dies before baptism will not enter the kingdom, even if he is a child
Bishop Bishoy says
that because baptism is a condition for entering the Kingdom of Heaven , when the Lord Christ sent his disciples to preach his resurrection from the dead, he sent them to baptize and said to them: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.." (Mark 16:15, 16)..
So no one should deceive himself that it is possible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven without the sacrament of baptism, even if he is a small child, otherwise how can the serious sin be forgiven if infant baptism is not performed?!!
A dispute occurred between Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine about the origin of the soul ( i.e. the human spirit ), and whether it is born or created? Saint Augustine says that it is born with man, and Saint Jerome says that it is created .. Saint Augustine said to Saint Jerome; If she was created, she did not inherit Adam’s sin , so why do we baptize children?!! Saint Jerome did not find an answer to this question.. [From the book “Comparative Theology” by Anba Shenouda III].
Baptism is the entrance - Chapter Four: The Sacrament of Baptism - The Book of the Series of Lectures Simplifying the Faith - Anba Bishoy
Saint Ambrose (397 AD): The act of baptism is the forgiveness of sins, transgressions and transgressions ([1]) and renewal by the Holy Spirit ( [2] ). Saint Ambrose favors the baptism of children ([3]) to remove the effect of original sin and guilt ([4]) , and emphasizes the necessity of baptism , declaring that if a person is not baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he cannot accept the forgiveness of his sins, nor can he draw the Holy Spirit or the gift of spiritual grace ([5]) , and emphasizes that it is not possible to enter the Kingdom of God except through baptism, and even children as well ([6]) ! Except for the martyrs who are baptized with blood ([7]) . - Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (430 AD): In the sixth century, the Berbers invaded North Africa and destroyed the Christian civilization there, and the church stopped completely until today and its liturgical books were lost, and nothing remains for us to know about the baptism rituals in this church except what we infer from the books of its fathers, the most important of whom is Saint Augustine. The scholar and monk Bush studied Saint Augustine’s sayings about baptism and collected them in the following article: Dom Benedict Bush, “De Initiatione Christiana secundum S. Augustinum”, in Ephemerides Liturgicae, 1938, pp. 159 ff, 385ff. Saint Augustine is the one who gave the baptism of children the systematic theological basis. Saint Augustine says that baptism
It nullified and abolished the guilt of Adam’s sin, but left and kept its activity actus as the lust that still hurts ([8]) . The grace that the baptized person receives from baptism is renewal by the Holy Spirit, divine forgiveness, and the cancellation of sin or crime
([9]) . But complete salvation can only be obtained through a change of morals: [The sacrament of baptism is one thing, and the transformation of the heart is another, but the salvation of man is complete through both of them together] ([10]) . If one of these two factors is absent unintentionally, God compensates for it ([11]) . As for the repentant thief on the cross: the transformation of the heart took effect in him, but the transformation and renewal of man was not possible because he needed baptism, so God gave him the power of baptism, so Christ confirmed that he would enter paradise. Here it is clear that Saint Augustine means spiritual baptism for the thief and not water baptism.
Likewise, if a baptized child dies, he has received baptism, and as for the transformation of the heart, God Himself grants it to him, and therefore he receives salvation. St. Augustine links the giving of the Holy Spirit in the rite of baptism with the laying on of hands that takes place after baptism, and by this even children receive the Holy Spirit ([12]) . St. Augustine taught that baptism is parallel to the Jewish circumcision that takes place on the eighth day, which precedes and depicts the resurrection of Christ on the eighth day (Sunday) and our renewal in the risen Christ ([13]) . Therefore, we can say that circumcision in the Old Testament was destined to indicate baptism ([14]) , which is necessary for Christianity as circumcision is for Israel.
Contrary to what St. Cyprian says, he considers baptism in the name of the Trinity to be a valid baptism even if it is performed by an unworthy person ([15]) . Baptism is one and cannot be repeated. It is the seal that is imprinted on the baptized person with an indelible effect.
St. Augustine says that although children do not understand the truth to agree to it,
they are nevertheless said to believe if they accept the sacrament of baptism, which is the sacrament of faith ([16]) .
The Council of Trent (Canon 13) took his opinion, as it decided that although young children do not possess true faith, after receiving baptism they are counted among the believers!
With this doctrine of St. Augustine, the baptism of children spread in the church.
Origen links the gift of the Holy Spirit to baptism in water, and explains Paul the Apostle’s statement about
the Holy Spirit being a pledge, saying that it is received by faith by accepting the Gospel of salvation ([17]). Origen describes the baptism of children as an apostolic custom ([18]) , and confirms that the baptism of children is for the forgiveness of original sin inherited from Adam, and cites Psalm (51:5) : “In sins did my mother conceive me.” ([19])
- Saint Cyprian (258 AD):
Bishop of Carthage. A contemporary of Origen.
He teaches that children should be baptized as quickly as possible because this provides them with forgiveness of original sin, the stain inherited by generation from Adam ([20]) . He sees baptism as what circumcision is depicted by the Jews ([21]) . He also teaches that baptism gives regeneration because it is the means by which the Holy Spirit is given ([22]) even to children according to their capacity ([23]) . According to Cyprian, baptism is by immersion and he permits sprinkling in sickness, where the Holy Spirit comes like baptism by immersion and there is no difference ([24]) .
He affirms that there is no baptism without the Holy Spirit, and that water alone is incapable of washing away sins or sanctifying a person ([25]) .
([1]) De Poenitentia, 1.36.
([2]) De Spir., 1.80.
([3]) De Abraham, ii, 81, 84.
([4]) Cf. In Ps. xxxvi Enarr., 63; Expos. Ev. Luc. I, 37.
([5]) De Myst., 20.
([6]) De Abraham, ii, 11 (PL 14, 497).
([7]) De Obitu Val., 53.
([8]) De nupt. et conc., I. 29f. (PG 44, 431f).
([9]) Ep. ad. Boniface Ep., 98.2 (PL 33,360).
([10]) Bapt., IV, 25,32 (PL 43,176).
([11]) Ibid.
([12]) Bapt., III, 17, 22 (PL 43, 149).
([13]) Op. imp. imp. C. Julian., 6,18 (PL 45,1541).
([14]) Ep., 187.11.34 (PL 33,845).
([15]) Bapt., 10,15 (PL 43,144).
([16]) Ep., 98 (PL 33,359f).
([17]) Eph., 8 (JTS iii (1951-2, 243), cited by A. Gilmore, op. cit., p. 204.
([18]) Comm. in Rom., V. 9 (PG 14, 1047).
([19]) Ibid.
([20]) Ep., 64.
([21]) Ep., 64. 4.
([22]) Ep., 63. 8.
([23]) Ep., 64. 3.
([24]) Ep., 69. 13-14
([25]) Ep., 70.1;
that because baptism is a condition for entering the Kingdom of Heaven , when the Lord Christ sent his disciples to preach his resurrection from the dead, he sent them to baptize and said to them: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.." (Mark 16:15, 16)..
So no one should deceive himself that it is possible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven without the sacrament of baptism, even if he is a small child, otherwise how can the serious sin be forgiven if infant baptism is not performed?!!
A dispute occurred between Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine about the origin of the soul ( i.e. the human spirit ), and whether it is born or created? Saint Augustine says that it is born with man, and Saint Jerome says that it is created .. Saint Augustine said to Saint Jerome; If she was created, she did not inherit Adam’s sin , so why do we baptize children?!! Saint Jerome did not find an answer to this question.. [From the book “Comparative Theology” by Anba Shenouda III].
Baptism is the entrance - Chapter Four: The Sacrament of Baptism - The Book of the Series of Lectures Simplifying the Faith - Anba Bishoy
Saint Ambrose (397 AD): The act of baptism is the forgiveness of sins, transgressions and transgressions ([1]) and renewal by the Holy Spirit ( [2] ). Saint Ambrose favors the baptism of children ([3]) to remove the effect of original sin and guilt ([4]) , and emphasizes the necessity of baptism , declaring that if a person is not baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he cannot accept the forgiveness of his sins, nor can he draw the Holy Spirit or the gift of spiritual grace ([5]) , and emphasizes that it is not possible to enter the Kingdom of God except through baptism, and even children as well ([6]) ! Except for the martyrs who are baptized with blood ([7]) . - Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (430 AD): In the sixth century, the Berbers invaded North Africa and destroyed the Christian civilization there, and the church stopped completely until today and its liturgical books were lost, and nothing remains for us to know about the baptism rituals in this church except what we infer from the books of its fathers, the most important of whom is Saint Augustine. The scholar and monk Bush studied Saint Augustine’s sayings about baptism and collected them in the following article: Dom Benedict Bush, “De Initiatione Christiana secundum S. Augustinum”, in Ephemerides Liturgicae, 1938, pp. 159 ff, 385ff. Saint Augustine is the one who gave the baptism of children the systematic theological basis. Saint Augustine says that baptism
It nullified and abolished the guilt of Adam’s sin, but left and kept its activity actus as the lust that still hurts ([8]) . The grace that the baptized person receives from baptism is renewal by the Holy Spirit, divine forgiveness, and the cancellation of sin or crime
([9]) . But complete salvation can only be obtained through a change of morals: [The sacrament of baptism is one thing, and the transformation of the heart is another, but the salvation of man is complete through both of them together] ([10]) . If one of these two factors is absent unintentionally, God compensates for it ([11]) . As for the repentant thief on the cross: the transformation of the heart took effect in him, but the transformation and renewal of man was not possible because he needed baptism, so God gave him the power of baptism, so Christ confirmed that he would enter paradise. Here it is clear that Saint Augustine means spiritual baptism for the thief and not water baptism.
Likewise, if a baptized child dies, he has received baptism, and as for the transformation of the heart, God Himself grants it to him, and therefore he receives salvation. St. Augustine links the giving of the Holy Spirit in the rite of baptism with the laying on of hands that takes place after baptism, and by this even children receive the Holy Spirit ([12]) . St. Augustine taught that baptism is parallel to the Jewish circumcision that takes place on the eighth day, which precedes and depicts the resurrection of Christ on the eighth day (Sunday) and our renewal in the risen Christ ([13]) . Therefore, we can say that circumcision in the Old Testament was destined to indicate baptism ([14]) , which is necessary for Christianity as circumcision is for Israel.
Contrary to what St. Cyprian says, he considers baptism in the name of the Trinity to be a valid baptism even if it is performed by an unworthy person ([15]) . Baptism is one and cannot be repeated. It is the seal that is imprinted on the baptized person with an indelible effect.
St. Augustine says that although children do not understand the truth to agree to it,
they are nevertheless said to believe if they accept the sacrament of baptism, which is the sacrament of faith ([16]) .
The Council of Trent (Canon 13) took his opinion, as it decided that although young children do not possess true faith, after receiving baptism they are counted among the believers!
With this doctrine of St. Augustine, the baptism of children spread in the church.
Origen links the gift of the Holy Spirit to baptism in water, and explains Paul the Apostle’s statement about
the Holy Spirit being a pledge, saying that it is received by faith by accepting the Gospel of salvation ([17]). Origen describes the baptism of children as an apostolic custom ([18]) , and confirms that the baptism of children is for the forgiveness of original sin inherited from Adam, and cites Psalm (51:5) : “In sins did my mother conceive me.” ([19])
- Saint Cyprian (258 AD):
Bishop of Carthage. A contemporary of Origen.
He teaches that children should be baptized as quickly as possible because this provides them with forgiveness of original sin, the stain inherited by generation from Adam ([20]) . He sees baptism as what circumcision is depicted by the Jews ([21]) . He also teaches that baptism gives regeneration because it is the means by which the Holy Spirit is given ([22]) even to children according to their capacity ([23]) . According to Cyprian, baptism is by immersion and he permits sprinkling in sickness, where the Holy Spirit comes like baptism by immersion and there is no difference ([24]) .
He affirms that there is no baptism without the Holy Spirit, and that water alone is incapable of washing away sins or sanctifying a person ([25]) .
([1]) De Poenitentia, 1.36.
([2]) De Spir., 1.80.
([3]) De Abraham, ii, 81, 84.
([4]) Cf. In Ps. xxxvi Enarr., 63; Expos. Ev. Luc. I, 37.
([5]) De Myst., 20.
([6]) De Abraham, ii, 11 (PL 14, 497).
([7]) De Obitu Val., 53.
([8]) De nupt. et conc., I. 29f. (PG 44, 431f).
([9]) Ep. ad. Boniface Ep., 98.2 (PL 33,360).
([10]) Bapt., IV, 25,32 (PL 43,176).
([11]) Ibid.
([12]) Bapt., III, 17, 22 (PL 43, 149).
([13]) Op. imp. imp. C. Julian., 6,18 (PL 45,1541).
([14]) Ep., 187.11.34 (PL 33,845).
([15]) Bapt., 10,15 (PL 43,144).
([16]) Ep., 98 (PL 33,359f).
([17]) Eph., 8 (JTS iii (1951-2, 243), cited by A. Gilmore, op. cit., p. 204.
([18]) Comm. in Rom., V. 9 (PG 14, 1047).
([19]) Ibid.
([20]) Ep., 64.
([21]) Ep., 64. 4.
([22]) Ep., 63. 8.
([23]) Ep., 64. 3.
([24]) Ep., 69. 13-14
([25]) Ep., 70.1;
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