Child dedication

A dedication ceremony takes place in some Christian churches which baptise only adults. The child is presented to the congregation, and vows are made to raise him or her in the Christian tradition, in the same way as the more common infant baptism, but the child is not "christened" with water, as infants are unable to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The practice has its roots in the Nazirite tradition of the Old Testament and Tanakh. It seems to have arisen within the Church after the Reformation as a Nonconformist alternative to infant baptism.

See also

• Presentation of Jesus at the Temple