Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

, baptism of blood () or baptism by blood, also called martyred baptism, is a doctrine which holds that a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

is able to attain through

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

the

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

of justification normally attained through

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

by water, without needing to receive baptism by water.

Patristic period

Based on passages from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, many early Christian authors distinguished between ''water baptism'' and the ''second baptism'', which was sometimes called blood baptism (e.g., by Cyprian of Carthage), but usually called ''martyrium'' (literally “testimony”; translated by “

”). In water baptism, man was purified on a conscious level. By the second baptism, the Christian was also delivered from his own “ demons” (earthly attachments) on an unconscious level. Then the resurrection of the soul takes place: the 'old man' (man with the old consciousness) is changed into the 'new man' who receives the promise of eternal life in

paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

after death. To endure the second baptism, it was common for Christians to submit to horrific forms of torture in which they could lose their lives. They could also survive. It did not matter, because Christians were concerned with the life of the soul and not the life of the body. The soul received the guarantee of eternal life in paradise. From this perspective, the deaths of Christian martyrs were probably not the result of the persecutions of Roman emperors. Cyprian of Carthage in a letter of 256 regarding the question of whether a

catechumen Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

seized and killed due to his belief in

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

"would lose the hope of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

and the reward of

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

, because he had not previously been born again of water", answers that "they certainly are not deprived of the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

of baptism who are baptized with the most glorious and greatest baptism of blood". Cyril of Jerusalem states in his '' Catechetical Lectures'' delivered in

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

of 348 that "if any man receive not Baptism, he hath not salvation; except only

Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

, who even without the water receive the kingdom".

Denominations' opinions

Overview

The baptism of blood doctrine is held by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the

Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

, the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, and the American Association of Lutheran Churches.

Lutheranism

Those who die as Christian martyrs in a

persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point ...

are judged by

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...

and

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

as having acquired the benefits of baptism without actually undergoing the ritual. The

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

affirms that "Baptism is normally necessary for salvation". Citing the teaching of the

early Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

, Lutherans acknowledge a baptism of blood in "the circumstances of

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

Anabaptists

Those who die as Christian martyrs in a

are judged by

as having received the benefits of baptism without actually undergoing the ritual.

Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, baptism of blood "replace Sacramental Baptism in so far as the communication of

is concerned, but do snot effect incorporation into the Church, as tdo snot bestow the

sacramental character Some Christian denomination, Christian denominations believe that a sacramental character, an indelible Spirituality, spiritual ''mark'' (the meaning of the word ''character'' in Latin language, Latin), is imprinted by any of three of the seven sa ...

by which a person becomes attached formally to the Church".

Feeneyism

Feeneyism rejects baptism of blood as well as

baptism of desire In Christian theology, baptism of desire (, as the Holy Spirit is called the ''breath'' (''flamen'') of God), also called baptism by desire, is a doctrine according to which a person is able to attain the grace of justification through faith, pe ...

.{{Cite web , date=2019-01-17 , title=Why is the Vatican taking action against the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary? , url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-is-the-vatican-taking-action-against-the-slaves-of-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary/ , access-date=2022-06-02 , website=Catholic Herald , language=en-GB

References

Christian terminology Baptism Catholic theology and doctrine