Christianization

=== Baptism ===
{{Main|Baptism}}
[[File:Piero, battesimo di cristo 04.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|baptism of Christ by Piero|alt=photo of painting by Piero of Christ's baptism]]
Jesus began his ministry after his [[baptism]] by [[John the Baptist]] which can be dated  to approximately AD 28–35 based on references by the Jewish historian [[Josephus]] in his ([[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XVIII#Chapter 5|''Antiquities'' 18.5.2]]).{{sfn|Gillman|2003|pp=125–127}}{{sfn|Novak|2001|pp=302-303}}

Individual conversion is followed by the [[Initiation|initiation]] rite of baptism.{{sfn|McKinion|2001|p=2}} In Christianity's earliest communities, candidates for baptism were introduced by someone willing to stand [[surety]] for their character and conduct. Baptism created a set of responsibilities within the Christian community.{{sfn|MacCormack|1997|p=655}} Candidates for baptism were instructed in the major tenets of the faith, examined for moral living, sat separately in worship, were not yet allowed to receive the communion eucharist, but were still generally expected to demonstrate commitment to the community, and obedience to [[Christ (title)|Christ]]'s commands, before being accepted into the community as a full member. This could take months to years.{{sfn|McKinion|2001|pp=5–6}}
[[File:Baptism at Eastside Christian Church2018.jpg|thumb|modern baptism at Eastside Christian church|alt=photo of teenage girl being baptized at Eastside Christian church]]
The normal practice in the ancient church was baptism by immersion of the whole head and body of an adult, with the exception of infants in danger of death, until the fifth or sixth century.{{sfn|Jensen|2012|p=371}} Historian [[Philip Schaff]] has written that sprinkling, or pouring of water on the head of a sick or dying person, where immersion was impractical, was also practiced in ancient times and up through the twelfth century.{{sfn|Schaff|1882|p=469}} [[Infant baptism]] was controversial for the [[Protestant Reformers]], but according to Schaff, it was practiced by the ancients and is neither required nor forbidden in the [[New Testament]].{{sfn|Schaff|1882|p=470}}
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