What the First Generations of Jesus' Disciples Taught About Baptism
Researched and compiled by our brothers in Deer Park, WashingtonBaptism and Communion | Primitive Christianity | False Doctrine
New Testament
"And He [Jesus] said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.'" - Mark 16:15-16
"Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" - John 3:5
"Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the Name of the Lord." - Acts 22:16
"How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." - Romans 6:3-4
"This is a faithful saying: 'If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.'" - 2 Timothy 2:11 (see also Acts 2:36-39, 5:28-30; Romans 3:23-26, 5:8-10)
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." - 1 Corinthians 12:13
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." - Galatians 3:27
"According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:5
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you -- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..." - 1 Peter 3:18-21
"For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement." - 1 John 5:8
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism ..." - Ephesians 4:4-5
What the Ante-Nicene Fathers Believed About Baptism
[ Baptism (Greek baptizo or baptisma, from bapto: "immerse, whelm, plunge"), as discussed and taught in the earliest writings of Christians from the days of the Apostles to the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. Please remember that this is just the beginning of their testimony and instruction regarding dying to self, that we might be filled with the Spirit and Christ Himself might live in us instead: ]
"Regarding [baptism], we have the evidence of Scripture that Israel would refuse to accept the washing which confers the remission of sins and would set up a substitution of their own instead [Romans 10:1-3] ... Blessed are they who, placing their trust in the cross, have gone down into the water ... We indeed descend into the water full of sins and defilement. However, we come up, bearing fruit in our heart, having the fear [of God] and the trust in Jesus in our spirit." (Letter of Barnabas, c. AD 70-130).
"But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize: Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living [running] water. But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm. But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able ... But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanksgiving, but they that have been baptized into the name of the Lord. For concerning this also the Lord hath said: 'Give not that which is holy to the dogs'" (The Didache; c. AD 70-110, J.B. Lightfoot trans., 7:1-7, 9:10-12).
"Let none of you turn deserter. Let your baptism be your armor; your faith, your helmet; your love, your spear; your patient endurance, your panoply" (Ignatius of Antioch, c. AD 110, "Letter to Polycarp" 6).
"'I have heard, sir,' said I, 'from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that which takes place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins.' He said to me, 'You have heard rightly, for so it is' ... Before a man bears the name of the Son of God, he is dead. But when he receives the seal, he lays aside his deadness and obtains life. The seal, then, is the water. They descend into the water dead, and they arise alive." (Hermas, c. AD 150; "The Shepherd")
"For, if we do the will of Christ, we shall find rest; but if otherwise, then nothing shall deliver us from eternal punishment, if we should disobey His commandments. . . . With what confidence shall we, if we keep not our baptism pure and undefiled, enter into the kingdom of God? Or who shall be our advocate, unless we be found having holy and righteous works?' (Second Clement, c. AD 150)
"As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, 'Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Now, that it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter into their mothers' wombs, is manifest to all... And for this we have learned from the apostles this reason: Since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe." (Justin Martyr, c. AD 160, "First Apology," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg. 183)
"There is no other way [to obtain God's promises] than this: to become acquainted with Christ, to be washed in the fountain spoken of by Isaiah for the remission of sins, and for the remainder, to live sinless lives." (Justin Martyr, c. AD 160, "Dialogue with Trypho the Jew")
"On the fifth day the living creatures which proceed from the waters were produced, through which also is revealed the manifold wisdom of God in these things; for who could count their multitude and various kinds? Moreover, the things proceeding from the waters were blessed by God, that this also might be a sign of men's being destined to receive repentance and remission of sins through the water and laver of regeneration, as many as come to the truth, and are born again, and receive blessing from God." (Theophilus, c. AD 180, "To Autolycus," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 101)
"This class of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole faith ... For the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins." (Irenaeus, c. AD 180, "Against Heresies," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg. 345)
"'And Naaman dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan' [2 Kings 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: 'Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven'" (Irenaeus, c. AD 180, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, pg. 574).
"Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons; being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal... This work is variously called grace, and illumination, and perfection, and washing. Washing, by which we cleanse away our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to transgressions are remitted; and illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly." (Clement of Alexandria, c. AD 195, "The Instructor," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 215)
"We are washed from all our sins, and are no longer entangled in evil. This is the one grace of illumination, that our characters are not the same as before our washing... In the same way, therefore, we also, repenting of our sins, renouncing our iniquities, purified by baptism, speed back to the eternal light, children to the Father." (Clement of Alexandria, c. AD 195, "The Instructor," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pp. 216-217.)
"After the world had been hereupon set in order through its elements, when inhabitants were given it, 'the waters' were the first to receive the precept 'to bring forth living creatures.' Water was the first to produce that which had life, that it might be no wonder in baptism if waters know how to give life ... Baptism itself is a corporal act by which we are plunged into the water, while its effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from our sins" (Tertullian, c. AD 197, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 670)
"But they roll back an objection from that apostle himself, in that he said, 'For Christ sent me not to baptize;' as if by this argument baptism were done away! For if so, why did he baptize Gaius, and Crispus, and the house of Stephanas? However, even if Christ had not sent him to baptize, yet He had given other apostles the precept to baptize. But these words were written to the Corinthians in regard of the circumstances of that particular time; seeing that schisms and dissensions were agitated among them, while one attributes everything to Paul, another to Apollos. For which reason the 'peacemaking' apostle, for fear he should seem to claim all gifts for himself, says that he had been sent 'not to baptize, but to preach.' For preaching is the prior thing, baptizing the posterior. Therefore the preaching came first: but I think baptizing withal was lawful to him to whom preaching was." (Tertullian, c. AD 197, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 676)
"Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! A treatise on this matter will not be superfluous; instructing not only such as are just becoming formed in the faith... The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and serpents themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the example of our Ikhthus, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water!" (Tertullian, c. AD 197, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 669)
"How mighty is the grace of water, in the sight of God and His Christ, for the confirmation of baptism! Never is Christ without water: if, that is, He is Himself baptized in water; inaugurates in water the first rudimentary displays of his power, when invited to the wedding; invites the thirsty, when He makes a discourse, to Himself being living water; approves, when teaching concerning love, among works of charity, the cup of water offered to a poor child; recruits His strength at a well; walks over the water; willingly crosses the sea; ministers water to his disciples. Onward even to the passion does the witness of baptism last: while He is being surrendered to the cross, water intervenes; witness Pilate's hands: when He is wounded, forth from His side bursts water; witness the soldier's lance!... True and stable faith is baptized with water, unto salvation; pretended and weak faith is baptized with fire, unto judgment." (Tertullian, c. 197 AD, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pp. 673-674)
"The prescript is laid down that 'without baptism, salvation is attainable by none' chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, 'Unless one be born of water, he hath not life.'" (Tertullian, c. 197 AD, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pp. 674-675)
"What more disgraceful than immodesties? If, moreover, even from a 'brother' who 'walketh idly' he warns the Thessalonians to withdraw themselves, how much more withal from a fornicator! For these are the deliberate judgments of Christ, 'loving the Church,' who 'hath delivered Himself up for her, that He may sanctify her (purifying her utterly by the laver of water) in the word, that He may present the Church to Himself glorious, not having stain or wrinkle' - of course after the laver - 'but that she may be holy and without reproach; thereafter, to wit, being 'without wrinkle' as a virgin, 'without stain' (of fornication) as a spouse, 'without disgrace' (of vileness), as having been 'utterly purified.'" (Tertullian, c. AD 210, "On Modesty," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4, pg. 94)
"And the bishop shall lay his hand upon them [the newly baptized], invoking and saying: 'O Lord God, who did count these worthy of deserving the forgiveness of sins by the laver of regeneration, make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit and send upon them thy grace, that they may serve you according to your will' " (Hippolytus, c. AD 200, "The Tradition" 22:1).
"The ropes that stretch around [the ship of the Church] are the love of Christ, which binds the Church. The net that she bears with her is the bath of the regeneration that renews the believing, from which too are these glories. Just like the wind, the Spirit from heaven is present, by whom those who believe are sealed." (Hippolytus, c. AD 200, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, pg. 217).
"That unless a man have been baptized and born again, he cannot attain unto the kingdom of God. In the Gospel according to John: 'Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [John 3:5] . . . ' Also in the same place: 'Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall not have life in you' [John 6:53]. That it is of small account to be baptized and to receive the Eucharist, unless one profit by it both in deeds and works" (*Testimonies Concerning the Jews,* c. AD 240, 3:2:25-26).
"Matthew alone adds the words, 'to repentance,' teaching us that the benefit of baptism is connected with the intention of the baptized person. To him who repents, it is saving. However, to him who comes to it without repentance, it will produce greater condemnation." (Origen, c. AD 228, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 9, pg. 367).
"Regeneration did not take place with John [the Baptist]. However, with Jesus, through His disciples, it does occur. What is called the bath of regeneration takes place with renewal of the Spirit. For the Spirit, as well, now comes. It comes from God and is over and above the water." (Origen, ibid.)
"It is the Holy Spirit who effects with water the second birth, as a certain seed of divine generation. It is a consecration of a heavenly birth and the pledge of a promised inheritance." (Novatian, c. AD 235, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, pg. 641)
"But what a thing it is, to assert and contend that they who are not born in the Church can be the sons of God! For the blessed apostle sets forth and proves that baptism is that wherein the old man dies and the new man is born, saying, 'He saved us by the washing of regeneration.' But if regeneration is in the washing, that is, in baptism, how can heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, generate sons to God by Christ?" (Cyprian, c. AD 250, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 388)
"While I was lying in darkness . . . I thought it indeed difficult and hard to believe . . . that divine mercy was promised for my salvation, so that anyone might be born again and quickened unto a new life by the laver of the saving water, he might put off what he had been before, and, although the structure of the body remained, he might change himself in soul and mind. . . . But afterwards, when the stain of my past life had been washed away by means of the water of rebirth, a light from above poured itself upon my chastened and now pure heart; then, through the Spirit which is breathed from heaven, a second birth had restored me to a new man" (Cyprian, c. AD 250, "To Donatus," Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5)
"Caecilius of Bilta said: I know only one baptism in the Church, and none out of the Church. This one will be here, where there is the true hope and the certain faith. For thus it is written: 'One faith, one hope, one baptism;' not among heretics, where there is no hope, and the faith is false, where all things are carried on by lying." (The Seventh Council of Carthage, September, 258 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 565)
"Victor of Gor said: Since sins are not remitted save in the baptism of the Church, he who admits a heretic to communion without baptism does two things against reason: he does not cleanse the heretics, and he befouls the Christians." ("The Seventh Council of Carthage," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 568)
"Nemesianus of Thubunae said: '...in the Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke with His divine voice, saying, 'Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.' This is the Spirit which from the beginning was borne over the waters; for neither can the Spirit operate without the water, nor the water without the Spirit." ("The Seventh Council of Carthage," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 566.)
"For he who has been sanctified, his sins being put away in baptism, and has been spiritually re-formed into a new man, has become fitted for receiving the Holy Spirit; since the apostle says, 'As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.'" (Cyprian, ibid., Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 387-388)
"Moreover, Peter himself... has commanded and warned us that we cannot be saved, except by the one baptism of one Church. 'In the ark,' says he, 'of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water, as also baptism shall in like manner save you.' In how short and spiritual a summary has he set forth the sacrament of unity! For as, in that baptism of the world in which its ancient iniquity was purged away, he who was not in the ark of Noah could not be saved by water, so neither can he appear to be saved by baptism who has not been baptized in the Church..." (Cyprian, ibid., Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 389)
"For thus will it be most certainly agreed that the Church is formed out of His bones and flesh; and it was for this cause that the Word, leaving His Father in heaven, came down to be 'joined to His wife;' and slept in the trance of His passion, and willingly suffered death for her, that He might present the Church to Himself glorious and blameless, having cleansed her by the laver." (Methodius, c. AD 290, "The Banquet of the Ten Virgins," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6, pg. 319)Note: This is by no means an exhaustive index of quotes, but these are representative of the whole of the early Christian teaching on this subject. No early Christian writer taught today's evangelical, "raise-your-hand-and-pray-this-prayer" salvation. That message was invented after the Reformation some 1,400 years later.
Other Voices in the Following Centuries Speaking Similarly
"For all things whatsoever thou hast done shall be forgiven thee, whether it be fornication, or adultery, or any other such form of licentiousness. What can be greater sin than to crucify Christ? Yet even of this baptism can purify. For so spake Peter to the three thousand who came to him, to those who had crucified the Lord, when they asked him, saying, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' For the wound is great. Thou hast made us think of our fall, O Peter, by saying, 'Ye killed the Prince of Life.' What salve is there for so great a wound? What cleansing for such foulness? What is the salvation for such perdition? 'Repent,' saith he, 'and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' O unspeakable lovingkindness of God! They have no hope of being saved, and yet they are thought worthy of the Holy Spirit. Thou seest the power of Baptism!" (Cyril of Jerusalem, 348AD, "On Baptism," Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 16)
"When going down, therefore, into the water, think not of the bare element, but look for salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit: for without both thou canst not possibly be made perfect. It is not I that say this, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who has the power in this matter: for He saith, 'Except a man be born anew' (and he adds the words) 'of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' Neither doth he that is baptized with water, but not found worthy of the Spirit, receive the grace in perfection. Nor if a man be virtuous in his deeds, but receive not the seal by water, shall he enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Cyril of Jerusalem, "Catechetical Lectures," Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 15.)
"As we are all from earth and die in Adam, so being regenerated from above of water and Spirit, in the Christ we are all quickened." (Athanasius, AD 360; "Four Discourses Against the Arians" 3:26[33])
"This then is what it means to be `born again of water and Spirit': Just as our dying is effected in the water [Rom. 6:3, Col. 2:12-13], our living is wrought through the Spirit. In three immersions and an equal number of invocations the great mystery of baptism is completed in such a way that the type of death may be shown figuratively, and that by the handing on of divine knowledge the souls of the baptized may be illuminated. If, therefore, there is any grace in the water, it is not from the nature of water, but from the Spirit's presence there." (Basil, AD 375; "The Holy Spirit," 15:35).
"There are, however, many who, because we are baptized with water and the Spirit, think that there is no difference in the offices of water and the Spirit, and therefore think that they do not differ in nature. Nor do they observe that we are buried in the element of water that we may rise again renewed by the Spirit. For in the water is the representation of death, in the Spirit is the pledge of life, that the body of sin may die through the water, which encloses the body as it were in a kind of tomb, that we, by the power of the Spirit, may be renewed from the death of sin, being born again in God." (Ambrose of Milan, AD 381; "The Holy Spirit" 1:6).
"You have read, therefore, that the three witnesses in baptism are one: water, blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:8): And if you withdraw any one of these, the sacrament of baptism is not valid. For what is the water without the cross of Christ? A common element with no sacramental effect. Nor on the other hand is there any mystery of regeneration without water, for `unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" (Ambrose of Milan, AD 381; "The Mysteries" 4:20).
"Such is the grace and power of baptism; not an overwhelming of the world as of old, but a purification of the sins of each individual, and a complete cleansing from all the bruises and stains of sin. And since we are double-made, I mean of body and soul, and the one part is visible, the other invisible, so the cleansing also is twofold, by water and the spirit; the one received visibly in the body, the other concurring with it invisibly and apart from the body; the one typical, the other real and cleansing the depths." (Gregory Nazianz, AD 388; "Oration on Holy Baptism," 7-8).
"...as soon as they have been washed in the laver of regeneration, and have received the forgiveness of all sin. Then is the time to escape all future sin, when all past sin is blotted out ... So he elsewhere says, 'As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ' [Gal 3:27], but this shall be surely accomplished when that which is animal in us by our birth shall have become spiritual in our resurrection ... There are two regenerations..: the one according to faith, which takes place in the present life by means of baptism; the other according to the flesh, which shall be accomplished...by means of the great and final Judgment ... For what does it profit a man that he is baptized, if he is not justified? Did not He who said, 'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God' [John 3:5], say also, 'Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven' [Matthew 5:20]? Why do many through fear of the first saying run to baptism, while only a few through fear of the second seek to be justified [by the righteousness of faith and a holy life]?" (Augustine, c. AD 400; excerpts from The City of God, Books 1, 13, 20, 27)
Similar Voices from the "Radical Reformation" of the Anabaptists
"Baptism is a grave for sin, a gateway into the Lord's commune, a putting on of Christ, a fleeing from the wrath of God, a washing of rebirth, and the seal of a good conscience or assurance toward God." - (Jan Geertsz, of the Dutch island of Texel, before being burned at the stake in The Hague on Dec. 15, 1564)
"Some people twist these words of Paul to mean the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let that be as it is. But this washing of the new birth may be understood, according to the holy writings, as referring to outward water baptism. Baptism is a washing administered to believers in the name of the Lord. It is not only a washing of the body. It is a washing by the Word. It is linked with the Gospel and faith, with the word that whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved." - (Dirk Philips, teaching on Titus 3:5, 16th century)
"We preach that remission of sins takes place in baptism, not on account of the water of the rite performed (Jesus Christ is the only means of grace) but because men receive the promises of the Lord by faith and obediently following His Word. Peter, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, commanded us to get baptized like Jesus said, for remission of sins. We must, therefore, receive baptism as it is commanded in the Scriptures. Otherwise we cannot obtain remission of our sins, nor will the Holy Ghost fall upon us. Who has ever received remission of sins contrary to the Word of God? Surely we cannot take the remission of sins and the Holy Ghost from God as by force. If we then desire the remission of sins, we must do and fulfil all that God has taught us through Christ Jesus and through the holy apostles. ... The forgiveness of sins takes place during baptism according to the holy writings. Baptism is the putting on of Christ.As Christ died and was buried, so we ought to die to our sins and be buried with Christ in baptism. Not that we are to do this for the first time after baptism, but we must have begun all this beforehand. This is the will of God, that all who hear and believe the Word of God shall be baptized. They profess their faith through baptism and declare that they will live no longer according to their own will, but according to the will of God. They declare that they are prepared to forsake their homes, possessions, lands and lives. They declare that they are ready to suffer hunger, affliction, oppression, persecution, cross and death, for Christ. In baptism they express their desire to bury the flesh with its lusts and arise with Christ to eternal life." - (Menno Simons, 16th century)
"Baptize me! ... I must be baptized, not just with water poured from a bowl, but buried in the water like Christ" [Matthew 3:13-17; John 3:22-23] ... "We know only one baptism. Baptism is nothing without believing in Christ, dying to sin, and coming to a new life." - (the baptism of Wolf Ulimann in the Rhine River, c. 1525, and his testimony before being martyred by Reformation Protestants)Baptism and Communion | Primitive Christianity | False Doctrine