Information about Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.

Aspersion and aspersion fonts

Baptismal font in Magdeburg Cathedral, Germany.

The fonts of many Christian denominations are intended for baptisms using a non-immersion method, such as aspersion or affusion. The simplest of these fonts has a pedestal (about 1.5 metres tall) with a holder for a basin of water. The materials vary greatly consisting of carved and sculpted marble, wood, or metal. The shape can vary. Many are 8-sided as a reminder of the "new creation" and as a connection to the practice of circumcision which traditionally occurs on the 8th day. Some are 3-sided as a reminder of the Holy Trinity Father, Son, and Holy Ghost..

Fonts are often placed at or near the entrance to a church's nave to remind believers of their baptism as they enter the church to worship, since the rite of baptism served as their initiation into the Church. In many churches of the Middle Ages and Renaissance there was a special chapel or even a separate building for housing the baptismal fonts, called baptistery.

Font at Lenzen, Brandeburg

The quantity of water is usually small (usually a litre or two). There are some fonts where water pumps, a natural spring, or gravity keeps the water moving to mimic the moving waters of a stream. This visual and audible image communicates a "living waters" aspect of baptism. Some church bodies use special "holy water" while others will use water straight out of the tap to fill the font. A special silver vessel called a Ewer can be used to fill the font.

The mode of a baptism at a font is usually one of sprinkling, pouring, washing, or dipping in keeping with the Koine Greek verb βαπτιζω. Βαπτιζω can also mean immerse, but most fonts are too small for that application. Some fonts are large enough to allow the immersion of infants, however.

Immersion fonts

The baptismal font at St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa, was expanded in 2005 to include a small pool for immersion of adults.

The earliest baptismal fonts were designed for full immersion, and were often cross-shaped with steps (usually three, for the Trinity) leading down into them. Often such baptismal pools were located in a separate building, called a baptistery, near the entrance of the church. As infant baptism became more common, fonts became smaller. Denominations which believe only in baptism by full immersion tend to use the term "baptism font" to refer to immersion tanks dedicated for that purpose, however in the Roman Catholic tradition a baptismal font differs from an immersion tank.

Full-immersion baptisms may take place in a man-made tank or pool, or a natural body of water such as a river or lake. The entire body is fully immersed, dunked, submerged or otherwise placed completely under the water. This practice symbolizes the death of the old nature, as found in Romans 6:3-4.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church baptism is always by full triple immersion, even in the case of infant baptism (aspersion or pouring is permitted only in extremis). For this reason, Eastern baptismal fonts tend to be larger than Western, and are often shaped like a large chalice (significant, since the Orthodox administer Holy Communion to infants after baptism), and are normally fashioned out of metal rather than stone or wood. During the baptismal service, three candles will be lit on or around the baptismal font, in honor of the Holy Trinity. In many Orthodox churches, a very special kind of holy water, called "Theophany Water", is consecrated during the Feast of Theophany (Epiphany). The consecration (lit., "Great Blessing") is performed twice: the first time in a baptismal font, the second in a natural body of water.

In the Roman Catholic church, especially after its Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), greater attention is being given to the form of the baptismal font. Currently, the Roman Catholic church encourages baptismal fonts that are suitable for the full immersion of an infant or child, and for at least the pouring of water over the whole body of an adult. The font should be located in a space that is visibly and physically accessible, and should preferably make provision for flowing water.

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Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, or hold objects on
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A fixture can refer to:

a light fixture
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Fixture (tool), a tool used in manufacturing
Fixture (property law), in property law, chattel which has become permanently attached to the real property
In sports, a fixture is a scheduled match

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Baptism, from Greek βαπτίζω (baptízô), is a religious act of purification by water usually associated with admission to membership or fullness of membership of Christianity.
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Aspersion is the act of sprinkling with water, especially holy water. Aspersion is a method used in baptism as an alternative to immersion or affusion. The word is formed of the Latin aspergere, 'to sprinkle', of ad, 'to', and spargo, 'I scatter'.
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Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO₃). It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications.
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WOOD-TV – an NBC-affiliated television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Circumcision is the surgical or other cutting of some or all of the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis.^[1] The word "circumcision" comes from Latin circum (meaning "around") and caedere (meaning "to cut").
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church is an association of people who share a particular belief system. The term church originated from Greek "κυριακή" - "kyriake",^[1] meaning "of the lord".
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nave is the central approach to the high altar. "Nave" ( Medieval Latin navis, "ship,") was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting. The nave of a church, whether Romanesque, Gothic or Classical, extends from the entry — which may have a separate
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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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Renaissance (French for "rebirth"; Italian: Rinascimento; Spanish: Renacimiento), was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.
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chapel is a holy place or area of worship, sometimes small and attached to a larger institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, sometimes large and unattached to another building.
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baptistery or baptistry (Latin baptisterium) is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel.
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Holy water can also refer to water that has been blessed, such as by a priest, and is considered holy. See holy water. For the song of the same name by Big & Rich, see Holy Water (song).

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pitcher is a container with a spout for pouring its contents. Pitch was traditionally used to help caulk the seams of wooden sailing vessels. It was heated, then put into a container with a very long spout and poured over rope fibers which had first been "paid" (pressed) into the
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Koine Greek (kini) (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek", or
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chalice (from Latin calix, cup, borrowed from Greek kalyx, shell, husk) is a goblet intended to hold drink. In general religious terms, it is intended for quaffing during a ceremony.
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Eucharist (also known as Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, among other names) is a rite or act of worship that most Christians^[1] perform in order to fulfill the instruction that they believe Jesus gave his disciples, at his last meal with them before
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Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "setting apart." Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups.
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Epiphany (Greek: επιφάνεια, "appearance" or "manifestation") is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the "shining forth" or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus.
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Baptismal Font

Aspersion and aspersion fonts

Immersion fonts

See also

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