Baptism is the sacrament of Christian initiation. Through baptism believers and their children are embodied in the covenant of grace and become a part of the fellowship of the church.
Adults are baptized upon profession of faith after instruction. Children of Christian parents are baptized upon the basis of “the faith of parents and of the church” (Moravian Book of Worship, Liturgy for Baptism, p. 165).
Moravians appreciate the significance of both kinds of baptism: The baptism of an adult who has newly become a Christian reminds us that faith is required of all who are baptized. The baptism of a child – particularly the baptism of an infant – reminds us that God’s love precedes any act of faith on our part.
Baptism is done by sprinkling water from the baptismal font. Sprinkling recalls Old Testament images of the priest sprinkling the people with the blood of the sacrifice offered to make atonement between a holy God and a sinful nation.