Water baptism ?

[Ravi]

Is it necessary to be water baptized to become a christian ?
Is changing name a necessity with baptism ?
- Ravi.

[Rev. Eric]

Hello Ravi,

From a Catholic point of view, the term "Christian" refers to "all those who have been anointed through the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism; hence the followers of Christ, the members of His Christian Church" (and I quote from the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).  So for Catholics, becoming a Christian includes becoming baptized.

Now, of course, there are those who go to church and consider themselves Christians even though, for whatever reason, they are not baptized yet.  So perhaps another way of looking at this would be to say that Baptism allows someone to embrace the fullness of the Christian Faith, and to become a full member of the Christian Community.  Therefore, generally speaking (and in my opinion based upon ecumenical considerations), a person can call himself a Christian prior to Baptism if he accepts and believes in the Christian Faith.  But it is by becoming baptized that he is brought into the fullness of the Faith that he previously embraced.

In terms of the rest of your question, there are three basic kinds of Baptism: by Desire, of Blood, and by Sacrament.  It is the last one that uses water.

Baptism by Desire:  "Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of His Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved.  It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism expicitly if they had known its necessity" (from CCC # 1260).  In this case, there is no water Baptism.  The idea is that God is ultimately the minister of the sacrament of Baptism and He can arrange a special Baptism in ways beyond our knowledge.  As you can see, Baptism of Desire can be available to people who never had a chance to hear the gospel, so this pertains to your other question in this forum regarding the salvation of such people.

Baptism of Blood refers to martyrs who died for the Faith before they had a chance to be baptized sacramentally.  Dying for the Faith acts as Baptism.  (CCC# 1258).

The Sacrament of Baptism is the usual process for becoming a Christian in the Catholic Church.  This means that the person receives a water Baptism, either by immersion into water, or having the water poured over him.  Furthermore, this Baptism must be made in the Trinitarian formula, meaning that he be Baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  Therefore, according to the Catholic Church, for a sacramental Baptism to be valid, it must be a Baptism with water and using the Trinitarian formula.  Catholic clergy are very particular about sacramental form because they are ministers of the sacaments and are therefore obliged to administer them in the manner that Christ has revealed.

As a side note, keep in mind that Baptism by Desire and Baptism of Blood do not occur in a sacramental ritual, so they are bound by different considerations.  That is why they can be valid in the eyes of God despite the lack of water and the Trinitarian formula.  Special considerations are also given for Baptisms that are attempted in emergency situations.

God bless,
-Rev. Eric

[Rev. Eric]

P.S. -
In terms of changing one's name at a Baptism, I know that many people do this, especially if their birth name is not a Christian name.  CCC # 2156 speaks of the custom of baptismal names being taken from the names of the saints or from the list of Christian virtues (such as "Prudence," "Chastity", "Hope", "Faith", etc.).  

Is a name change necessary?  The catechism seems to be saying that if the person does not already have a Christian name, he is to receive one.  For example, CCC #2165 states: "Parents, godparents and the pastor are to see that he (the baptized) be given a Christian name."  I was going to double-check this in one of my seminary textbooks, but, alas, they are still packed up and in the process of being moved.

When a person is baptized in the name of a saint, that saint becomes his patron and prays on his behalf as well as offers him his saintly protection.

God bless,
-Rev. Eric