The Orthodox valutation of the baptism in Neo-protestant heresies: theological aspect (Part I)

Abstract

This article is the second one in a series of publications dedicated to the teaching and the practice of baptism in neo-Protestant sects and the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards it. The article is divided in two parts. The first one analyzes the neo-Protestant concept of baptism in connection with the “juridical” understanding of Salvation, the second examines the role and the significance of baptism in the process of gaining the Salvation for a believer. In connection with these topics are considered the variability and the purpose of different baptismal formulas and the symbolic meaning of the rite of baptism in neo-Protestantism (based on the example of Baptism, Adventism and Pentecostalism). The article shows the discrepancies between the Orthodox and the neo-Protestant understanding of fundamental questions in the respective teachings on baptism, such as the forgiveness of sins, the rebirth of a believer to a new life, the role that water plays for this sacrament and the possibility and the nature of a believer’s union with God. The neo-Protestant teaching on baptism is evaluated in the context of the patristic understanding of Salvation. The article also critically examines the attempts of a number of Russian neo-Protestants to explain the problem of the inconsistencies of the neo-Protestant idea of baptism compared to the biblical Revelation, through the prism of biblical sacramentalism, and makes evident the inconsistency of their approach.