What are the differences between a Catholic baptism and a Church of England christening?

[xihha]

My daughter is going to be baptised soon and I was talking to her fathers side of the family about it who are all Church of England and they have asked me what the difference between the Roman Catholic baptism she will be having and the christenings the rest of their family have had, as in how does what happens at the actual baptism compare to the ones they’ve been to before?

My mother in law feels uncomfortable about coming to a catholic church when she wont know what to expect or what she has to do and I have tried explaining to her what happens at a baptism but I have never been to a CofE christening so dont know how to compare them so everytime she asks ‘is that like when our vicar does this?’ I have no idea what the answer is! I’m guessing they are pretty similar but I dont want to tell her the wrong thing.

So is there anyone who has been to both and can explain the differences?

 

[LDNCatholic]

My daughter is going to be baptised soon and I was talking to her fathers side of the family about it who are all Church of England and they have asked me what the difference between the Roman Catholic baptism she will be having and the christenings the rest of their family have had, as in how does what happens at the actual baptism compare to the ones they’ve been to before?

My mother in law feels uncomfortable about coming to a catholic church when she wont know what to expect or what she has to do and I have tried explaining to her what happens at a baptism but I have never been to a CofE christening so dont know how to compare them so everytime she asks ‘is that like when our vicar does this?’ I have no idea what the answer is! I’m guessing they are pretty similar but I dont want to tell her the wrong thing.

So is there anyone who has been to both and can explain the differences?

The whole family doesn’t gather round the font as with most CoE baptisms these days.

Otherwise it’s fairly similar.

The baptism is straightforward and in my experience unless they are godparents, or Christian witnesses to Baptism in the case of non Catholics, they won’t have to say or do anything.

If they are godparents then they will be asked to renew their baptismal promises:

*V. Do you reject Satan?
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.

V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

R. Amen.*

 

[pat_helensburgh]

most christian denominations including Anglicans recognise ‘’ One Baptism’’
so by being baptised in the name of the Father Son & Holy Spirit in a Christian church is recognised by the Catholic Church & vice versa

 

[xihha]

The whole family doesn’t gather round the font as with most CoE baptisms these days.

Otherwise it’s fairly similar.

Brilliant, thats what i thought too. Thank you.

Mother in Law likes to take offense to things even when i try really hard to be nice/its things that genuinely aren’t my fault, so I wanted to check i was right before she translated it as me trying to make her look stupid or something.

 

[xihha]

most christian denominations including Anglicans recognise ‘’ One Baptism’’
so by being baptised in the name of the Father Son & Holy Spirit in a Christian church is recognised by the Catholic Church & vice versa

Yeah i know it is but I just meant the difference in the actual way the baptism is done, like if they do things in the same order or if there are bits we say that they dont or the other way round. I have a number of people who are CofE who want to come but who have never been to a catholic church before and basically my mother in law is making a fuss about not knowing what to expect.

And by the way is CofE and Anglican the same thing?

 

[Bluegoat]

Yeah i know it is but I just meant the difference in the actual way the baptism is done, like if they do things in the same order or if there are bits we say that they dont or the other way round. I have a number of people who are CofE who want to come but who have never been to a catholic church before and basically my mother in law is making a fuss about not knowing what to expect.

And by the way is CofE and Anglican the same thing?

Anglican Churches include all the different worldwide churches that are descended from the Church of England. So the Anglican Church of Canada, The Episcopal Church, the Church of England, are all Anglican Churches. Most Anglican churches are part of the Anglican Communion, though now there are a few that are not.

The baptism will be very similar, she shouldn’t find anything too surprising. Maybe though if you could give her a service book or leaflet to look at, or maybe even find a baptism on youtube, she would find that helpful.

 

[pat_helensburgh]

church of England & Anglican are the same, as far as i know the Anglican ‘‘brand’’ is used primarily outside of England.

 

[GKC]

church of England & Anglican are the same, as far as i know the Anglican ‘‘brand’’ is used primarily outside of England.

Not the same. The Anglican Communion is made of 38 Churches that originated in the Church of England, but are completely independent. All members of the CoE are Anglican. Not all Anglicans are members of the CoE (or of the Anglican Communion, either, as Bluegoat pointed out).

GKC

 

[Phemie]

The Rite of Baptism is quite similar but I can’t remember if they have the Profession of Faith like we do. The number of godparents differs. Catholics only need one, either gender, but may have two who must be of different genders. I know Anglicans in Canada have 3 godparents: two godmother and a godfather for a girl and two godfathers and a godmother for a boy. Not sure if it’s the same with the C of E.

 

[Bluegoat]

The Rite of Baptism is quite similar but I can’t remember if they have the Profession of Faith like we do. The number of godparents differs. Catholics only need one, either gender, but may have two who must be of different genders. I know Anglicans in Canada have 3 godparents: two godmother and a godfather for a girl and two godfathers and a godmother for a boy. Not sure if it’s the same with the C of E.

I think it may be, but it is more of an ideal than a necessity.

 

[xihha]

so all CofE are Anglican, but there are other types of Anglican yeah? I was a bit confused as there are a CofE church, Anglican and High Anglican church in my village all within 20 minutes walk of my house… i live in a rural area so thats really close to me

@ Phemie and bluegoat: I have 4 godparents (2 male, 2 female) as do all 9 of my brothers and sisters and my son… is that not how it normally works? Our parish priest (who baptised all of us and had been due to baptise my daughter last week) died a few weeks ago and everyone i remember getting baptised by him had 4 godparents, is this something i should check with the new priest? I thought it was the same in all catholic churches

 

[GKC]

so all CofE are Anglican, but there are other types of Anglican yeah? I was a bit confused as there are a CofE church, Anglican and High Anglican church in my village all within 20 minutes walk of my house… i live in a rural area so thats really close to me

@ Phemie and bluegoat: I have 4 godparents (2 male, 2 female) as do all 9 of my brothers and sisters and my son… is that not how it normally works? Our parish priest (who baptised all of us and had been due to baptise my daughter last week) died a few weeks ago and everyone i remember getting baptised by him had 4 godparents, is this something i should check with the new priest? I thought it was the same in all catholic churches

Almost certainly the churches you mentioned are all CoE. In England, there are only a very few churches which are not CoE, but still Anglican. It’s sort of complicated. High and low Anglicanism are not a separate churches, but rather varieties of Anglicans within a church. It’s even more complicated.

GKC

 

[xihha]

Almost certainly the churches you mentioned are all CoE. In England, there are only a very few churches which are not CoE, but still Anglican. It’s sort of complicated. High and low Anglicanism are not a separate churches, but rather varieties of Anglicans within a church. It’s even more complicated.

GKC

So I’m not stupid, they are just really confusing

I do however know that my friend is the priest at an Anglican church (one that says high-Anglican outside ) and if you accuse him of being CofE he gets really cross, i should explain that i would ask him the difference but hes not been a priest very long and after 20 years of winding him up i get the impression he’s run out of patience (possibly about 19 years ago)

 

[GKC]

So I’m not stupid, they are just really confusing

I do however know that my friend is the priest at an Anglican church (one that says high-Anglican outside ) and if you accuse him of being CofE he gets really cross, i should explain that i would ask him the difference but hes not been a priest very long and after 20 years of winding him up i get the impression he’s run out of patience (possibly about 19 years ago)

Unless your friend is in one of the handful of churches that left the CoE to become what is generically called Continuing or traditional Anglicans, I have no idea what he might be.

GKC

 

[Phemie]

so all CofE are Anglican, but there are other types of Anglican yeah? I was a bit confused as there are a CofE church, Anglican and High Anglican church in my village all within 20 minutes walk of my house… i live in a rural area so thats really close to me

@ Phemie and bluegoat: I have 4 godparents (2 male, 2 female) as do all 9 of my brothers and sisters and my son… is that not how it normally works? Our parish priest (who baptised all of us and had been due to baptise my daughter last week) died a few weeks ago and everyone i remember getting baptised by him had 4 godparents, is this something i should check with the new priest? I thought it was the same in all catholic churches

Canon Law is clear that there is to be a maximum of two, one of each gender. That said, I’ve noticed that in my parish’s registers some priests have allowed 3 or more – at first I thought perhaps they were ‘proxy’ godparents but closer examination showed that all of them had signed the register (something that is not usually done) so they were all definitely there.

Our Pastor will allow any number of people to be called ‘godparents’, all he cares about is that one of the people standing at the font is Catholic. Only two godparents or one godparent and a Christian witness will be entered in the register.

 

[babywhiz]

If you are looking for newborn baby baptism gifts here is a good site:
giftforanewbaby.com/baptism-gift/

 

[7_Sorrows]

the sacrament of baptism in the episcopal church or anglican or Church of England is recognized by the Catholic church.
i am not sure what Bluegoat means when he says it is more of an ideal in the CoE than a necessity.
i have been to baptisms in the episcopal church where the family did gather around the font.

 

[Phemie]

the sacrament of baptism in the episcopal church or anglican or Church of England is recognized by the Catholic church.
i am not sure what Bluegoat means when he says it is more of an ideal in the CoE than a necessity.
i have been to baptisms in the episcopal church where the family did gather around the font.

I think Bluegoat was referring to the custom of 3 godparents, 2 of the same gender as the child, 1 of the opposite gender.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I think Bluegoat was referring to the custom of 3 godparents, 2 of the same gender as the child, 1 of the opposite gender.

i know i had two godparents. 1 male and 1 female. they were married.

 

[Phemie]

i know i had two godparents. 1 male and 1 female. they were married.

Catholics need 1 either gender but can have 2, one of each gender.

The Anglican Rite of Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer calls for 3, 2 godmothers and 1 godfather if it’s a girl, and 2 godfathers and 1 godmother if it’s a boy. That’s what Bluegoat said was the ideal but not always followed.