Baptism necessary?

[jsbrando]

Does someone who was baptized in say Methodist, Orthodox, Assyrian Church, etc need to be baptized to be Catholic or does the Catholic church recognize those baptisms?

thanks!

 

[puzzleannie]

the Catholic Church recognizes any Christian baptism done with proper matter and form–water and the Trinitarian formula.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

That’s right. The Council of Trent in 1563 actually declared anathema on anyone who says baptisms are invalid if heretics perform them, provided they are performed in the Trinitarian formula.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Does someone who was baptized in say Methodist, Orthodox, Assyrian Church, etc need to be baptized to be Catholic or does the Catholic church recognize those baptisms?

thanks!

Orthodox, definitely valid
Assyrian, yes. Aren’t they Orthodox too?
I’m not to familiar with Methodists. The thing about Protestant faiths is some of them, especially the more modern ones, change a lot and change from church to church (or in Catholic terms, parish to parish). I won’t be surprised if two congregations belonging to the same sect that one would have a valid baptism and the other won’t. Best to consult your parish pastor in cases like that.

 

[CoffeeHound]

Orthodox, definitely valid
Assyrian, yes. Aren’t they Orthodox too?
I’m not to familiar with Methodists.

Methodist baptism is valid. They use the proper matter and form.
Orthodox baptism is valid. They use the proper matter and form.
Assyrian baptism is valid. They use the proper matter and form.

To become Catholic, a Methodist would enter RCIA as a candidate and would receive the rest of the sacraments of initiation (Communion and Confirmation) along with Confession and possibly Marriage (though that one is a bit more complicated).

An Orthodox would already have valid sacraments so they would not need to receive them. I believe that what they need to do to come into full communion is at the discretion of the pastor. But I’ve heard it’s as simple as making a declaration that the pope is the vicar of Christ.

As Assyrian would also already have valid sacraments, but I’m not sure how that works since they have different sacraments than Catholics.

Aren’t they Orthodox too?

No. Assyrians are not in communion with other Orthodox, though they have valid sacraments. The Assyrians schismed in the 400’s because of pressure from the King of Persia.

I won’t be surprised if two congregations belonging to the same sect that one would have a valid baptism and the other won’t.

Usually two congregations belonging to the same denomination have the same practices and beliefs regarding baptism (otherwise they would split). The exception would be groups like the Baptists that don’t refer to themselves as a “denomination” but rather as “associations” or “conferences”. So two people baptized by a UMC church would almost certainly have the same type of baptism (both valid).