Page - 85 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

ChristianeZimmermann 6 Water in EarlyChristianRitual: Baptism andBaptisteries inCorinth Abstract:Waterhasbeen the central element of Christianbaptismsince theverybeginningsof Christianity.Afterbriefly introducing theoriginsanddevelopmentofbaptism, thearticle focus- es on the relevance andperformance of baptism in an early urban context, in ancient Corinth. HowdidCorinthianspractise andunderstandbaptism,what kindof connotationsdid thebap- tismal use of water evoke in the Corinthian context, and what significance did baptism gain during the 1st centuriesAD?Baptism seems to have beendeveloped in the early years in close contact with the local religious context and the construction of baptisteries in the 6th century ADadapted localpaganelementsofarchitecture.TheearlyChristianbaptisteries featuredwater as the central elementof baptism inanarchitecturally, ritually and theologically reflectedway. EarlyChristianbaptism Already in the firstChristiannarrativesabout Jesus,waterplaysacrucial role.Theoldestof the fourgospels, thegospel ofMark, begins at theRiver Jordanwith the ‘baptism’of Jesusby John ‘the Baptist’. The literal meaning of the Greek words baptizein and baptistes is, respectively, submerge and submerger. John performs a baptism of repentance not only on Jesus, but also onmany Jewswhocame to the Jordan tobe cleansedof their sins (Mk 1, 1–11). Thebaptismof Jesusby Johnmost probablywasanhistorical event.1 Thegospels ofMark, Matthew, and Luke theologise the baptism of Jesus by connecting it with the installation of JesusassonofGodbythesendingof thespirit.2Baptismthereforebecomescrucialwith respect to thedivinity of Jesus. After crucifixion, the followers of Jesus likely remembered thebaptism of Jesus, took up the baptism of John, and began performing a similar act,3 bywhich Jews – and soon after pagans –willing to follow Jesus and his teaching prepared themselves for the coming kingdom of God and joined the newmovement. As the Acts of the Apostles tell us, the Jesus followers Peter, Philippus, and Paul performed baptisms. Ablution of sins was now supplementedbythetransferof thegodlyspirit (pneuma)after thebaptismalact,whichsymbol- isedthebelievers’participation inGodbythespiritandintegratedtheconverts into thecommu- nity of Christ believers.Duringbaptism, thenameof Jesuswas recited andhewasunderstood tobe thenew lordof thebelievers. In the early years of Christianity, the newly-foundedChristian communitiesmost probably differed in the use of formulae during baptismand in performative details, as they differed in the theological understanding of baptism. Despite local differences in performance and theo- logical interpretationof baptism,4waterwasa crucial element of this act.5 TheDidache, theearliestChristianchurchorder fromSyria, shows that, at thebeginningof the 2nd century AD, there was already a need to regulate baptism in the growing church. In Did.7, 1–3we read: Butwith respect to baptism, baptize as follows.Having said all these things in advance, baptize in the nameof theFather andof theSonandof theHoly Spirit, in runningwater. But if youdonot have runningwater, baptize 1 Avemarie 2002, 246f. n. 176. 2 Mk1, 11;Mt 3, 13–17; Lc 3, 21f. 3 Cf. Betz 2011; Labahn2011. 4 Müller 2012, 84–90; Ferguson 1993. 5 Cf. KlostergaardPetersen 2011, 12–14on the ritual effects ofwater. OpenAccess.©2020ChristianeZimmermann, publishedbyDeGruyter. Thiswork is licensedunder the CreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0 License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110677065-006