The Sunday Mail
Kelvin Benjamin
THE principle of baptism is one of the Christian practices which for long has been applied differently across denominations due to varying interpretations deduced from the Bible. While some denominations baptise children by sprinkling drops of water, others emphasise it only for believers who have come of age and hence understand what it entails. In such circumstances it is usually administered through full immersion of the body in water, as is done by congregations like the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The death of six children during a baptism session by a self-styled prophetess a fortnight ago in Mashonaland East brought to the fore questions on the principles of baptism and its underlying essence.
While questions linger over what exactly happened leading to the deaths of four girls and two boys aged between one and nine years, debate has been brewing over the reasons of baptism and if it makes sense to baptise young children.
Father Tendai Mashayamombe of the Roman Catholic Church described baptism as the “grace of God” which must not be limited to anyone regardless of age.
“Baptism is a gift from God which shows His grace and in the Catholic Church we do believe that there is no age limit, in fact one can be baptised on the day of birth, and the amount of water in the process does not matter at all.
“If (parents) doubt themselves they should consult others or simply leave the child to decide when he or she is an adult,” he said.
The Catholic Church, like most traditional churches, has baptism facilities in its chapels. The church sprinkles drops of water on the forehead of a believer as baptism.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail Religion, Madzibaba Victor of the VaDare of the Johanne Masowe yeChishanu sect weighed in with his thoughts.
“Baptism by its origin is meant to give life and not vice-versa and one needs to know that it can be performed through different methods including dipping one in water.”
Madzibaba Victor gave what he said was the correct manner of baptism as defined and practised by the sect.
“The last time we conducted a baptism ceremony involving the dipping congregants in water was decades ago and as we speak we are waiting for further instruction from the Holy Spirit. For now we were instructed to preach the word to new convents without taking them to the river or Jorodhani,” explained Madzibaba Victor.
