Fragment “On the baptism of the holy apostles and the Mother of God”: commentary and translation

The anonymous fragment “On the Baptism of the Apostles” gives evidence of how the apostles were baptized. It is known from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament that Jesus Christ himself did not baptize anyone. However, the author of the fragment, referring to the writings of St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, is convinced that the Apostle Peter is the first and only disciple who received Baptism at the hands of the Savior. After that, the apostle Peter, being “the foundation of the Church”, baptized the rest of the apostles. As the present study shows, this view was widespread in Palestine and Alexandria and goes back to the writings of the Alexandrian theologian Clement of Alexandria. Due to the fact that the topic of the baptism of the apostles goes beyond the scope of Scripture, alternative points of view also existed in parallel (Tertullian, St. Ephraim the Syrian, Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople). In conclusion, the author of this article offers an answer to the question why there were arguments on the topic of the baptism of the apostles.