Baptism
It is too early to speak of
sacraments in the Apostolic Fathers, but the emphasis on baptism is worth
noting. The Didache gives the rites of baptism but does not delve into its soteriological
meaning (Did. 7). Whether baptism is necessary for salvation, or what baptism
is precisely doing, is left untouched. In 2 Clement, baptism must be an
unbroken seal (2 Clem. 7.6), and the reader is instructed to keep their baptism
pure and undefiled (6.9). Ignatius takes Paul’s metaphor of spiritual armor and
says, “Let your baptism serve as a shield, faith as a helmet, love as a spear,
endurance as armor” (Ign. Pol. 6.2). The Shepherd teaches baptismal
regeneration, saying, “Your life was saved and will be saved through water”
(Herm. Vis. 3.3.5), and of the repentance attached to it “when we descended
into the water and received forgiveness of our previous sins” (Herm. Man.
4.3.1). For the Apostolic Fathers, the significance of baptism was taking shape
and would continue to become more prominent in the centuries that followed. (Brian
J. Arnold, “Soteriology in the Apostolic Fathers,” in The Apostolic Fathers,
ed. Paul Foster [Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies 4; Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan Academic, 2025], 343)
