Isaiah Langford - Initiation by Rebirth, Baptism, and the Stages of Creation - 2/4/2026

 Our in-class discussion about initiation rituals that aim to signify rebirth made me immediately think about the Christian Sacrament of Baptism, in which the entire purpose is for the baptized to be reborn. Undergoing this ritual, the person that is to be baptized experiences in some way the three broad stages of the hero’s journey, which can also be connected to the three stages of creation as understood by the cultures of the Ancient Near East. The hero’s journey consists of separation, initiation, and return, while creation in the Ancient Near East consisted of separation, the assignment of function, and the giving of a name. Baptism is a ritual practice emblematic of both of these three-stage processes.

In a traditional understanding of the Sacrament, the cleansing waters of Baptism separate the baptized person from the stain of Original Sin which they are born with. Then, by virtue of the Sacramental character of the event, the baptized person receives a spiritual anointing as priest, prophet, and king or queen, thereby initiating them to be a member of the Christian faithful and assigning to them the role the Christian God ordained for them. Finally, the baptized person is Christened with a name, thus having been recreated as a chosen member of God’s people and returning to the Church of Christ as a member fully capable of participating in the rest of the Sacramental life of the Church.

In many of the Eastern rites of Christianity, Baptism is followed immediately by an anointing with the oil of Sacred Chrism and the First Eucharist of the baptized, thereby allowing the baptized to enter full communion with God and their community. Thus, through these Sacraments of Initiation, the Christian faith has maintained some of the ritual milestones often absent from secular society. I find it compelling that hanging on to such a tradition as an intrinsic part of perceiving the world has led to the widespread dissemination of Christianity, as it is clear that humans desire some way to celebrate the transitions from each stage of life, and it is most sensible to celebrate them in such a way as to align with our primordial experience of birth as a natural way to connect to such monumental events.

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