Synonyms: baptism
Definition: a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth
Usage: most churches baptize infants but some insist on adult baptism
Similar words: sacrament
Definition: a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction