“Naked” Baptism in the Early Church: The Rhetoric and the Reality

Baptism was understood as a radical life‐changing act in the early church. Its radical nature was reflected by it being administered to candidates, male and female, who were apparently naked. The issue of nakedness must, however, be re‐examined in view of the fact that baptism was normally administered by male clergy and Judeo‐Christian modesty would not likely allow a religious practice where female nakedness was exposed to male gaze. This makes it unlikely that male clergy did in fact baptize naked women. The article notes that the term gymnos , used for nakedness, had a much wider usage than its English equivalent and might simply point to divestiture of outer garments only. Certain patristic texts support this perspective by apparently indicating relative nakedness only in baptism. Nevertheless, the language of “nakedness” was used to underscore the radical death‐and‐birth nature of the baptismal rite.