As a member of the Anglican Church, the Church in Wales upholds the practice of Infant Baptism. Accordingly, parents have the right to ask for baptism for their children in their parish church. However, in doing so, they are declaring that they will take seriously the solemn promises that they are making to God on behalf of their children. Should it become apparent that the parents are not going to fulfil these solemn promises, the parish priest has the right to defer baptism until such times that they make it clear that they will do so.
Important Questions
Before asking to have your child baptized/christened, you should give the following questions some careful consideration.
- Are you prepared to do all in your power to ensure that your child will be brought up in the knowledge and practice of our Christian Faith?
- Are you willing to bring your child to Sunday School so that he or she will receive good and sound Christian teaching?
- Will you attend church services on a regular basis so that your child will come to know and understand the importance of Christian Worship?
- Are both of the child's Godparents Christian themselves?
- Are they prepared to help with the child's Christian upbringing?
- Do you live within the parish boundary?
Out of God's revealed word, the Church has developed a theology of baptism that takes into account the lived experience of the Church throughout its history, its liturgical life and its theological developments.
The notion of baptism as a sacrament dates back to the early centuries of Christianity. The word "sacrament" is borrowed from the Latin, sacramentum, which in Roman times referred to an initiation rite in which soldiers promised their fidelity to their commander. In teaching Gentiles, the Church used the word sacramentum to explain the rite of Christian initiation in which the converts would commit themselves to the service of God. When Christianity supplanted polytheism in the empire, the Roman sense was dropped, and the word was expanded to any symbol that represented one's relationship to God.
By the fifth century, St. Augustine referred to a sacramentum as anything that was "a sign of a sacred reality." By the twelfth century, the word was restricted to those rituals of the Church of which Baptism and Eucharist are primary.
The Church's baptismal tradition has shaped the rite as we know it in the Church today. From the Church's expression of corporate faith in the early Church, through conversion and a ritual that was aimed at sustaining one in the faith in the face of persecution and death, to its present ritual form, baptism continues to unite the baptized individual with Christ and his body, the Church.
If you can answer 'Yes' to these questions then we will be delighted to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism with you. The next step is to contact the Vicar who will be delighted to help you. Email him from this page or call him on: 01792 583646.
If you are still not sure about how you will answer these questions, you are still welcome to contact us and the Vicar will meet with you to see what the actual situation is.
It is your responsibility to say 'Yes' to God in the promises that you will make on behalf of your child; we can only help you better understand how you can be faithful to these promises.