The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century

“The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century is an indispensable resource. Hughes Old is without superior in his knowledge of the liturgies of the church. He writes not only with knowledge but also with conviction about the significance of baptism for Christian experience today.”

John Leith

“Hughes O. Old's new book is not only a model of thorough and creative scholarship but also a clear and intriguing narrative that marks the connections between the various Reformation approaches to initiation. The book is also ecumenical in the truest sense of the word, for it provides a challenging description of the Reformers' attempts to shape a new catechumenal model for their age. Both Roman Catholics and Protestants will be enriched in reading this fine work.”

Regis Duffy

“With great clarity and obvious personal conviction Hughes Oliphant Old explores how in the cross fire of Catholic tradition and Anabaptist challenge the Reformed theologians of the early sixteenth century — men such as Zwingli and Oecolampadius, Bucer and Calvin — developed a covenantal theology of baptism, rooted in both the Old and New Testaments, that insisted that word and sacrament belonged together, that water and Spirit were indivisible, and that later catechetical instruction and vows should be seen as one expression among many of the continuing reality of baptism throughout the Christian life. In detailing the history of early Reformed baptism, Old has produced a deeply learned yet accessible book, of importance for scholars, pastors, and interested laity.”

Mark U. Edwards Jr.