Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/559

BAPTISM. BAPTISM WITH THE HO'LY SPIR'IT. A figurative expression fur an accession of spiritual power as the direct operation of the Holy [spirit.

BAP'TISTEKY (Gk. IJaTTiiTTTipi.oy, ha pt i.stfrion, bathing-place). A place where Ijaptisni is ad- ministered. A term used to designate a separate building, or the anne.x or part of the church used for that pvirpose, or even the baptismal font. As inniRMsion was the method in use until the clo.se of the Jliddle .ges, a large basin or tank and a separate building were required during all these centuries. In the Apostolic Ago, it is true, con- verts were usually baptized in the nearest run- ning water, and this remained permissible for a long time — as in Charlenuigne's wholesale bap- tism of the Saxons and in most early missionary work. But as early as the Second Century, Christian ritual required a separate building attached to an episcopal church for the celebra- tion of the ceremony, for it was connected with the abjuration of error and the hearing of mass. Baptisteries were of a well-defined form: their prototypes are the fripidarium in some of the smaller and private Roman baths, as at Pompeii and Stabile, which were circular rooms with a piscina or baptisteriiim in the centre; this cen- tral tank, also called piscina by Christian writers, was usually octagonal in form in the baptisteries and entered by a descent of several steps (usually three) from the floor level. The earliest baptisteries preserved are in the Roman Catacombs (q.v. ), supplied by natural springs, and these were used during the persecutions; the best known is that of the Catacoinli of Pontianus (Third Century). In the Fourth Century, begin- ning with Constantine, many large baptisteries were erected. As they were not allowed except in episcopal towns (and even there only one was al- lowed, in connection with the cathedral church), as, besides, the rite of baptism was administered ordinarily only at certain seasons — Easter, Pen- tecost, and Epiphany — the baptisteries had to be so large that several thousand persons might be baptized on each occasion. These baptisteries were concentric in form; that is, an octagon, either inscribed in a square or free-standing, or, more rarely, a rotunda, a blunt cross, or a hexa- gon. They were [daced close to the church and connected with it, sometimes in front of the atrium, either on its central axis (Parenzo), or to one side (Torcello). The main hall, with the piscina or fons in its centre, was usually pre- ceded by a closed portico (Aquileia, Lateran), where the ceremony of the Confession of Faith took place, and contained an altar, often placed in a special apse, for services to follow the bap- tism. The baptistery was, therefore, a church. It was commonly dedicated to Saint .John the Bap- tist. The baptismal basin itself was surrounded by a line of columns, sometimes connected by an architrave, between which hangings were drawn which concealed from the crowd the actual scene of baptism. Above this central section usually rose a dome of masonry or wood — circular or polygonal. Around it was often an encircling aisle — sometimes two aisles — to accommodate the crowd. Early writers describe the magnificent decorations and furnishings of the baptisteries. That of Saint .lohn Lateran is said to l)e by Con- stantine, and is certainly not much later.' It is an octagon, with an interior 09 feet wide, divided by eight columns into a centre and an ambu- latory which is unique in l)eing surmounted by a gallery. But in more unchanged condition is the contemporary (c.420) baptistery of the Cathe- dral of Ravenna, an octagon inscribed in a square, whose walls and dome are completely covered with a wonderful decoration of mosaics, stuccoes, and marble slabs, which is one of the most perfect specimens of Early Christian art. Somewhat later the Arian heretics built a bap- tistery for themselves (c.oOO) in Ravenna, on a similar plan. Several ruined baptisteries have been found connected with the interesting churches of the ruined cities of Syria, all of them of the Fourth, Fifth. and Sixth centuries. Thatat Kalat-Semau is unique, not only in its four porti- coes and four chambers symmetricallj' grouped ai'ound it. but in being set beside a small bap- tismal church, of basilical form. Of circular baptisteries, the most important is that at Nocera (Fifth Century) in Southern Italy, meas- uring 70 feet inner diameter, with a peculiar brick dome supported on fifteen pair of coupled columns and surrounded by a vaulted aisle. The Church of Saint Costanza,. in Rome, similar to this and b}- many still regarded as a bap- tistery, was really the mausoleum of Constan- tina, the daughter of Constantine. The piscina at Nocera is unusually well preserved; it is 20 .feet wide and o feet deep, with two descending steps, a parajjet with marble slabs, and eight surrounding columns for the hangings. Other interesting early examples are at Aquileia. Der- seta and Mondjelera in Syria, Albenga, Grave- dona, and Sant' Aquilino, at Milan. Italy and the Orient alone have such early examples. The period of decline from the Seventh to the Tenth centuries shows few of any importance. France has two examples at Frejus and Poitiers. In the Eleventh Century the revival of architecture in Europe led to the building of superb baptisteries in ItalJ^ but not elsewhere. Every free Italian commune had in its main square the group of three great religious structures — cathedral, tower, baptistery. The three most impressive of these groups are at Parma, Pisa, and Florence: others are at Pistoja, Novara, Cremona, Verona, Lucca, Volterra, and Siena. Baptisteries of this period — Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth centuries — are especially numerous in northern Italy; besides the above, there are others at Almenso, Ca.sale Monferrato, Bologna (San Stefano), Ascoli, Serravalle, Asti, and many more, while the south is represented only by Ruvo and Cari. Of all these baptisteries, that of Florence is the most noted for its internal decoration in mosaic and for its fine dome, its marble figured pavement, and its wonderful bronze doors by Andrea Pisano and Ghiberto. That of Pi.sa contains Niecolo Pisano's famous pulpit. The Parma baptistery is entirely filled with contemporary frescoes and sculptures. All three are exquisitely finished on the exterior with diifcreut colored .marble incnistations, architectural details, and sculptures. In some cases the dome that surmounts the baptistery is allowed to show its outline on the exterior (Florence) ; in other cases a straight wall is continued from the base of the dome to a height that entirely conceals it ( Parma ). The largest of these mediseval baptisteries far surpass the earlier examples in size, and could hold large congregations. Besides such separate structures, there were cases where a part of the church itself was