Should baptism be considered as full initiation into the Church? The liturgical implications of this understanding

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Theology - Systematic Theology, grade: 1, Durham University, course: Theology BA, language: English, abstract: Traditional sacramental models have understood that Christian initiation is undertaken through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, and is only fully complete after the conferral of all three sacramental actions. However, since the Reformation, and particularly over the last century, there has been a movement towards a baptismal ecclesiology which suggests that baptism, in and of itself, represents full initiation into the Church and the Christian faith. This essay will analyse the role of baptism in Christian initiation, and suggest liturgical implications for understanding baptism as fully initiatory into the Christian Church.