baptism

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New York City's Mayor Is Baptized at Rikers
Sharpton Baptizes
NYC Mayor at Jail
Mar 29, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Sharpton Baptizes NYC Mayor at Jail

Eric Adams says he sat with Riker detainees to 'recommit ourselves to getting on the right path'

(Newser) - New York City Mayor Eric Adams marked Good Friday by receiving a jailhouse baptism from the Rev. Al Sharpton, joining in on the religious rite with a group of men incarcerated at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex. The ceremony came as part of a visit to the jail complex...

A Little Happy News for Harry, Meghan

Princess Lilibet Diana has now been officially christened in Los Angeles

(Newser) - The youngest child of England's Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been officially christened as Princess Lilibet Diana in, of all places, Los Angeles. "I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3, by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev. John Taylor,"...

School Baptizes More Than 100 Kids Without Permission

NC school says the 'Spirit of the Lord moved'

(Newser) - A Christian school in North Carolina has apologized after it baptized more than 100 middle and high school students without their parents' knowledge. Renee McLamb, head of Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville, told parents that only three students were supposed to be baptized in a ceremony Thursday, but "the...

Priest Resigns After 20-Year-Long Semantics Error

Rev. Andres Arango of Phoenix used the word 'we' instead of 'I' in baptisms, rendering all invalid

(Newser) - If you or any of your children have been baptized in San Diego, Arizona, or Brazil over the past two decades, you might want to check who the presiding pastor was at that purification ceremony. That's because the Rev. Andres Arango, a priest in the Diocese of Phoenix, has...

A Royal Christening Leads to 'Almighty Storm'

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to hold private baptism, not reveal godparents

(Newser) - A "very different royal event" is taking place Saturday in the UK. The BBC reports that baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will be christened in a chapel at Windsor Castle by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and CNN notes the baptism is causing...

Harry Goes Old School for Louis' $10K Christening Gift

A first-run 1926 'Winnie-the-Pooh,' which cost the older prince about $10,500

(Newser) - He may not be a godparent , but Prince Harry still hooked his new nephew up with what Town & Country calls "the sweetest christening gift." The Sun reports Harry presented little Prince Louis with a first-edition 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh book, a gift that's said to have set him...

For New Royal Baby, 6 Godparents
Prince Louis'
Godparents Announced
Jul 9, 2018 7:23 AM CDT

Prince Louis' Godparents Announced

Sorry, Harry and Meghan don't get the honors; 6 others do for tiny prince's christening Monday

(Newser) - Nicholas van Cutsem, Guy Pelly, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Lady Laura Meade, Hannah Carter, and Lucy Middleton may sound like characters straight out of Downton Abbey, but for little Prince Louis, they're very real people with newly appointed roles in his life. These are the six who will serve as godparents...

He Was Baptizing Dozens. Then, an 'Ambush Predator'

Crocodile kills pastor performing ceremony at Ethiopia's Lake Abaya

(Newser) - Some 80 people set to be baptized at a lake in southern Ethiopia instead watched as their pastor was killed by a crocodile Sunday. Pastor Docho Eshete had baptized one person on the shores of Lake Abaya near Arba Minch and was about to perform the religious rite for a...

Meghan Markle Baptized in Intimate Ceremony

She's now an official member of the Church of England

(Newser) - Meghan Markle is following in the footsteps of her future sister-in-law, having been baptized and confirmed into the Church of England ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry. Fiance Harry, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla, attended Markle's intimate baptism and confirmation Tuesday in the Royal Chapel at St....

Shirtless Putin Takes Icy Dip in Russian Lake

Russian president immerses himself in ice water to celebrate Christian holiday of Epiphany

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is baring his chest in public again . The Russian president took a dip in icy lake waters to celebrate Epiphany, a major holiday in Orthodox Christianity marking the baptism of Jesus. Russian television stations showed the 65-year-old Putin approaching a hole cut in the ice on Lake Seliger...

Ex-Mormon Borrows Password, Finds Improper Celeb Baptisms

Including Marilyn Monroe

(Newser) - Mormons are posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims, as well as grandparents of public figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Steven Spielberg, despite church rules intended to restrict the ceremonies to a member's ancestors, according to a researcher who has spent two decades monitoring the church's massive genealogical database....

Leaders Push Mormons to Baptize Their Dead Ancestors

Practice is reportedly becoming more common

(Newser) - Mormon leaders reminded church members Saturday about the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms on dead ancestors who didn't receive the ordinance while alive. It's a practice unique to the faith that came under fire in the past from Jews when they discovered Holocaust victims, including Anne Frank , were...

Where Was Jesus Baptized? UNESCO Weighs In

Debate continues as UN group picks Jordan side over West Bank locale

(Newser) - Addressing a long-simmering debate about whether Jesus Christ was baptized on the eastern or western side of the Jordan River, UNESCO has made its final decision, and the winner is … Jordan, not the West Bank in Israel, the AP reports. Despite a lack of strong archaeological evidence, the UN...

Pope Francis: Sure, I'd Baptize Martians

He says church can't close its doors to anyone, or any being

(Newser) - If our travelers to Mars encounter any little green men, Pope Francis says the Catholic Church would be happy to make a few converts. In an unusual message about the inclusiveness of Catholicism, Francis went to other-worldly extremes to make his point, reports the Christian Post :
  • "If, for example,
...

Man Swept Out to Sea During Beach Baptism

Benito Flores is still missing

(Newser) - A California man is still missing after he was swept out to sea while assisting with a beach baptism yesterday morning. Benito Flores, 43, was helping the pastor, his cousin, baptize a man at the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve near Santa Maria. "A big wave came and took Benito,...

Casey Anthony to Be Baptized

She plans 'a new beginning,' wants to see Caylee someday

(Newser) - Casey Anthony has apparently found God. The acquitted onetime-murder-suspect is starting a "new chapter in her life," says a source, "a new beginning." And that involves embracing religion: The 26-year-old "has planned to get baptized sometime this month," the insider tells Radar . "Casey...

Mormons Also Baptized Daniel Pearl

Posthumous baptisms continue to cause uproar

(Newser) - The Mormon Church is already under fire for posthumously baptizing Anne Frank and the parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal , and now it turns out the church did the same thing to Daniel Pearl. The Wall Street Journal reporter, who was killed in Pakistan soon after 9/11, was baptized last year...

Mormons Baptize Anne Frank
 Mormons Baptize Anne Frank 
Feb 22, 2012 2:52 PM CST

Mormons Baptize Anne Frank

Member of church conducts ritual in Dominican Republic

(Newser) - The Mormon Church last weekend appears to have once again baptized Anne Frank, defying an agreement with Jewish leaders to refrain from posthumously baptizing Jews in general and Holocaust figures in particular. Former Mormon Church member Helen Radkey discovered the baptism on a Mormons-only database used to chart genealogy and...

Mormons Baptized Parents of Nazi-Hunter Wiesenthal

Simon Wiesenthal Center appalled, Mormons apologize

(Newser) - In a ritual that doesn't sit well with many, Mormons last month baptized the deceased parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Now they're sorry. Asher and Rosa Rapp Wiesenthal were baptized in proxy ceremonies by church members in Arizona and Utah, reports the BBC . "We are outraged that...

Russia Warns Against Ice Baptisms

Video of child being forced into ice hole sparks outrage

(Newser) - Chucking unwilling children into holes in the Siberian ice isn't the great idea some Orthodox believers appear to think it is, Russian authorities warn. The trend for "ice baptisms"—usually carried out during the Russian Orthodox festival of Epiphany in January—has been in the spotlight since video...

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