From earliest times Christians have differed among themselves concerning their understanding and practice of baptism. In the early church of the third and fourth centuries there was a remarkable variety of baptismal practices within the 'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church', including infant baptism, believers' baptism, delayed baptism, emergency baptism and death-bed baptism. In subsequent centuriest diversity of baptismal views and practices was greatly restricted by ecclesiastical and civil repression. In more recent times increasing religious freedom and the growing fragmentation of 'Christendom' have resulted in various baptismal practices developing, usually associated with certain traditions and denominations. Today, three major baptismal traditions can be identified: Catholic, Reformed and Baptistt each with their own particular insights, strengths and weaknesses. Something of a theological stalemate has been arrived at today in the arena of polemical debate for one particular baptismal position. The visible unity of Christians with one another in the world is intimately linked to their divine calling to be a witness to the saving, healing and reconciling work of God in Christ. The ability of Churches to incorporate legitimate diversity within an authentic unity is vital to their ministry in and to a broken and alienated world. Many differences of baptismal understanding and practice constitute just such a legitimate diversity. In any Christian hierarchy of truths the imperatives of lovet reconciliation and unity must rank higher than matters of baptismal rites and doctrines. To allow baptismal differences, therefore, to divide Christians from one another constitutes a failure of Christian love. Empirical research has revealed a widespread and strong desire for a unity that could transcend baptismal differences. The ideal has already been implemented within a number of individual congregations and in a few denominations and found to be workable. The challenge remains to the wider Christian community to allow genuine freedom of conscience in baptismal matters within one united Christian fellowship. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Le but de notre recherche est celui de définir, pour la période du IVe au VIIe s., les aspects sociaux liés au baptême, c’est-à-dire l’ensemble des pratiques et des attitudes mentales engendrées dans la société par l’existence même du rituel baptismal, en intégrant cette perspective avec celle historico-liturgique et théologique ainsi que celle historico-artistique et archéologique. L’échantillon des zones analysées inclut en prévalence des provinces orientales, mais occidentales aussi, de façon à composer un cadre le plus ample et représentatif possible. Les données quantitatives archéologiques et topographiques, dérivées du fichage de 436 baptistères, ont été donc mises en relation avec l’évolution de la liturgie et du contexte historico-social dans les différentes régions, témoignée par les sources documentaires et la littérature critique. En conclusion, le baptême, avec tout l’imaginaire et les pratiques qui sont reliés et qui en dérivent, peut être considéré comme un élément fondamental dans la transformation structurelle de la société qui a lieu à l’époque tardoantique. Avec d’autres facteurs, il a concouru au processus de changement des fondements de la vie sociale, qui caractérisa la transition entre l’Antiquité et le Moyen Âge : le Christianisme devint progressivement un élément d’uniformité de l’identité collective, qui investissait, sur la base des mêmes idéaux, des classes sociales différentes par éducation, revenus et position hiérarchique. Un processus de « démocratisation » sociale, non dépourvu de contradictions, dont la première étape fut la généralisation du rituel baptismal. / The aim of this work is to define the social elements related to baptism for the period from the 4th to the 7th c. This perspective deals with practical behaviours and mental attitudes that are generated within the society by the very existence of the baptismal ritual. This social-historical approach has been combined with other two perspectives: history of liturgy and theology, and history of art and archaeology. The sampling of the geographical areas under analysis considers mainly the Eastern Mediterranean, but also some of the Western regions, in order to be as much wider and representative as possible. The quantitative archaeological and topographical data, gathered from the record of 436 baptisteries, have been related to the evolution of liturgy as well as to historical and social contexts in the various areas, as derived from different documentary sources and from scholarly literature. Baptism, together with the thoughts and practices that are connected to it, and derived from it, has turn out to be fundamental in the transformation of social structures that takes place in Late Antiquity. It contributed, amongst other factors, to the process of slow change of the social schemes, that characterized the transition between Antiquity and Middle Ages: Christianity gradually became a source of uniformity for collective identity, by bringing together different social strata on the base of the same ideals. This process of social “democratisation”, not without contradictions, began with the general spread of baptism.

From earliest times Christians have differed among themselves concerning their understanding and practice of baptism. In the early church of the third and fourth centuries there was a remarkable variety of baptismal practices within the 'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church', including infant baptism, believers' baptism, delayed baptism, emergency baptism and death-bed baptism. In subsequent centuriest diversity of baptismal views and practices was greatly restricted by ecclesiastical and civil repression. In more recent times increasing religious freedom and the growing fragmentation of 'Christendom' have resulted in various baptismal practices developing, usually associated with certain traditions and denominations. Today, three major baptismal traditions can be identified: Catholic, Reformed and Baptistt each with their own particular insights, strengths and weaknesses. Something of a theological stalemate has been arrived at today in the arena of polemical debate for one particular baptismal position. The visible unity of Christians with one another in the world is intimately linked to their divine calling to be a witness to the saving, healing and reconciling work of God in Christ. The ability of Churches to incorporate legitimate diversity within an authentic unity is vital to their ministry in and to a broken and alienated world. Many differences of baptismal understanding and practice constitute just such a legitimate diversity. In any Christian hierarchy of truths the imperatives of lovet reconciliation and unity must rank higher than matters of baptismal rites and doctrines. To allow baptismal differences, therefore, to divide Christians from one another constitutes a failure of Christian love. Empirical research has revealed a widespread and strong desire for a unity that could transcend baptismal differences. The ideal has already been implemented within a number of individual congregations and in a few denominations and found to be workable. The challenge remains to the wider Christian community to allow genuine freedom of conscience in baptismal matters within one united Christian fellowship. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Notre travail, sur la base d’un corpus de textes très complet que nous avons rassemblé et numérisé (CD-rom en annexe), présente quelques grands thèmes de l’œuvre théologique du pasteur Louis Dallière (1897-1976). Après un aperçu biographique nous développons sa critique de la philosophie idéaliste et des répercussions qu’elle a engendré sur la théologie protestante. L. Dallière entend par là redonner droit à une ecclésiologie privilégiant le concret et foncièrement confessante. Dans cette optique, il entend repenser la pratique du baptême, en particulier celui des enfants. Dans un contexte de fin de la chrétienté, il souhaite privilégier l’immersion de confessants. En raison de son soutien au mouvement pentecôtiste naissant il défend aussi une spiritualité ouverte à l’exercice des charismes. Cette Église confessante a pour vocation de préparer la venue en gloire du Christ. Elle doit donc se réapproprier l’eschatologie sans pour autant s’abandonner aux excès apocalyptiques. Dans chacun des chapitres nous situerons l’auteur dans son contexte ecclésial et théologique. En conclusion nous indiquons quelle peut être la pertinence aujourd’hui de cette pensée. / I base my research on a fairly complete collection of pastor’s Dallière writings that I have assembled and digitized (see the CD-rom), presenting some of the main themes in the theology of Louis Dallière (1897-1976), a pastor in the Reformed church of France. After a biographical sketch of his life, I present his critique of Idealist philosophies and its impact on Protestant theology. I present Louis Dallière's larger objective of establishing a more concrete and confessional ecclesiology, including his rethinking of the practice of baptism, especially infant baptism. Convinced that the era of Christianity was coming to an end, he called for a renewed practice of the immersion of confessing believers. Because he supported the beginnings of Pentecostalism he also believed in a renewal of spiritual charisms within church life. I also explore the larger purpose of his call for a renewed confessing church to prepare for Christ's Second Coming, with his consequent re-appropriation of eschatology without the excesses of some apocalyptic movements. In each of our chapters I place L. Dallière in his ecclesiological and theological context. In my conclusion I explore the relevance of Dallière’s insights for our current theologies.