The Daily Mail reports that on a recent visit to Israel, Prince Charles, 73, collected between five and six dozen bottles of what it described as ‘holy’ water from the Jordan River to be brought back to Britain for the christenings of royal children.
The water was collected at the very spot where it was believed John the Baptist baptized Christ.
The bottled water will be stored at the Chapel Royal in St. James Palace.
Traditionally, the Royal family has used water from the Jordan River for the baptism of Royal children, but this was a bit unusual as Prince Charles collected it himself.
Of course, Britain’s Anglican church holds to infant baptism, which I don’t believe is Biblical.
Infant baptism was introduced by the Roman Catholic in the fourth century, largely due to the high infant mortality rate and concerns by parents that their infant children would die without being baptized by the church, a belief that was clearly stated at the Council of Florence (1438-1445 BC):
“With regards to children, since the danger of death is often present and the only remedy available to them is the sacrament of baptism by which they are snatched away from the dominion of the devil and adopted as children of God”
But from a Biblical standpoint, there is not a single instance of infant baptism in the New Testament, and every time we see it mentioned, water baptism is always preceded by repentance and believing:
“Those who gladly receive the word were baptized. (Acts 2:41)
OpentheWord.org 