baptismal

Baptismal is an adjective used to describe anything related to baptism, the Christian rite of admission to the church through water. The term derives from the noun baptism, from Latin baptismus and Greek baptismos, which mean “immersion” or “washing.” In Christian usage, baptismal can modify objects, rites, and documents associated with baptism.

Common uses include the baptismal font, the basin for holding water during the rite; the baptismal rite or sacrament, the ceremony by which a person is admitted into the church; baptismal water or holy water; baptismal certificate, a record attesting that an individual has been baptized; baptismal name, the name given at baptism, often retained as part of religious identity; and the baptismal registry, church records of baptisms.

Relation to practice: While traditions differ in how baptism is performed—by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling—the term baptismal remains applicable to the rite itself and to items and documents connected with it. In many denominations, baptismal imagery and terminology extend beyond the rite to aspects of church life and identity.