Is Infant Baptism recognized

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crimsonglory

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Hi.
In reading another post, a question popped into my mind.

I was baptized as a child using the trinitarian (in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) formula in the Pentecostal church (the main traditional Pentecostal church, not a branch that emerged from it - because hey, we all know how the church has it’s ‘segments’).

would such a baptism be recognized? or would i need to be re-baptized?

I’m no longer Pentecostal, by the way. I am still protestant though - at least for now.
I’m in the discerning process. I do feel drawn to Catholic church.
 
Generally it will be accepted. You will need to provide some form of documentation supporting the baptism. If for some reason it wasn’t possible to document or there was any question about it a conditional baptism could be performed.

Some pentecostals didn’t always accept the trinitiarian formula which is why i mention this.

Either way this shouldn’t be an issue if you decide to join.
 
The Catholic Church not only accepts infant baptism (presuming the formula was correct), it was the original practitioner.

We usually have to defend the practice against Protestant criticism, as evidenced by this tract and this one. In fact, searching the main Catholic.com site yields many others that discuss it directly or indirectly.

There are plenty of other sacraments that would still apply to you, however: Confirmation, Communion, Confession, etc.
 
crimsonglory said:
Hi.
In reading another post, a question popped into my mind.

I was baptized as a child using the trinitarian (in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) formula in the Pentecostal church (the main traditional Pentecostal church, not a branch that emerged from it - because hey, we all know how the church has it’s ‘segments’).

would such a baptism be recognized? or would i need to be re-baptized?

I’m no longer Pentecostal, by the way. I am still protestant though - at least for now.
I’m in the discerning process. I do feel drawn to Catholic church.
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I know that in my Pentecostal church, when people are baptized they usually are not given any sort of certificate or proof that they’ve been baptized. Hopefully, your church did keep a record of some kind. If not, that could be a problem.
 
ltwin said:
I know that in my Pentecostal church, when people are baptized they usually are not given any sort of certificate or proof that they’ve been baptized. Hopefully, your church did keep a record of some kind. If not, that could be a problem.
Click to expand...
Witnesses maybe :confused:
 
ltwin said:
I know that in my Pentecostal church, when people are baptized they usually are not given any sort of certificate or proof that they’ve been baptized. Hopefully, your church did keep a record of some kind. If not, that could be a problem.
Click to expand...
I do have my original baptism certificate - presented to my parents at the time. I have no doubt that the trinitarian formula was performed.
 
Welcome to CAF! I think that, at this point, you would benefit from a copy of Catholicism for Dummies. It is an excellent introduction to the faith, and helps to clear up the common misconceptions and myths that have been circulated about the Church. You will be able to refer back to it for years to come. After 25 years in the Church, I learn something each time I read my copy.

One other thing: have you heard of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? It is also referred to as “holy hour.” A sample of the bread that is consecrated into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ is placed in a fixture called a monstrance* and set atop the altar. Catholics, and others, then spend time in the real presence of Christ.

It can be a time of quiet prayer, reflection, scriptural reading, or many simply ask Christ to reveal to them that He is truly there before them. It has resulted in innumerable conversions. But, I must warn you that it becomes habit forming!

Christ’s peace be with you.
*monstrance |ˈmänstrəns|
noun
(in the Roman Catholic Church) an open or transparent receptacle in which the consecrated Host is exposed for veneration.
ORIGIN late Middle English (also in the sense [demonstration or proof] ): from medieval Latin monstrantia, from Latin monstrare ‘to show.’
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crimsonglory said:
I do have my original baptism certificate - presented to my parents at the time. I have no doubt that the trinitarian formula was performed.
Click to expand...
I am interested in one thing. Were you baptized as a child on your own testimony of faith or was this an infant baptism? I only ask out of curiosity. Most Pentecostal churches do not practice infant baptism, though I do think the Pentecostal Holiness Church may give parents the option of infant baptism or baby dedication.

I was dedicated as a baby, but there was water involved and the Trinity was invoked. 🤷
 
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