What are the main articles of faith in the baptismal confession of faith?
Q698 · The Sacrament of Baptism
The early Church focused on faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the confession of the catholic (universal) Church and the remission of sins. The Canons of St. Hippolytus state that candidates for baptism should face the east and say, “I believe and kneel before You and before Your greatness, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Then, they are immersed in the water and stand facing the east. Another priest lays his hands on their heads and asks them: “Do you believe in God the Father the Pantocrator?” They would then respond saying, “I believe” and are immersed for the first time.
After the first immersion, they are asked: “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, who died and rose from the dead on the third day, who ascended to the heavens and sat at the right hand of the Father and will come
1355 E. C. Whitaker and M. E. Johnson, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy (revised 3rd ed.) (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2003): p. 46.
1356 Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechetical Homilies 13.1.
1357 E. C. Whitaker and M. E. Johnson, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy (revised 3rd ed.) (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2003) Canon 19: p. 133.
to judge the living and the dead?” And when they respond saying, “I believe,” they are immersed for the second time.
When they are asked, “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?” They would respond saying: “I believe” and are immersed for the third and last time.
With every immersion, the priest says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” After that, they are anointed with the holy Chrism (or Myron oil) and they put on their clothes and enter the church. They kiss the hands of the bishop and greet him with the holy kiss and then the eucharist is offered.
Origen, in his commentary on St. John’s Gospel, says that if any of these basic points are missed in the confession of faith, the whole faith is lost.1358
In the current Coptic rite , the candidate for baptism (or his parents and/or sponsors) repeat the following words after the priest to renounce Satan, saying: “I renounce you Satan and all your unclean works and all your wicked angels and all your evil demons and all your power and all your abominable service and all your evil cunning and error and all your army and all your authority and all the rest of your impieties. I renounce you. I renounce you. I renounce you.”
Then the priest breathes three times into the candidate’s face while saying, “Come out, O unclean spirit.” After that, the candidate looks towards the east and raises his hand to repeat after the priest: “I confess You, O Christ my God, and all Your saving laws, and all Your living service and all Your life giving works.”
Then the priest will teach him or her the faith as follows: “I believe in one God, God the Father the Pantocrator and His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit the Giver of Life, and the resurrection of the flesh and the one, only, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Amen.”
Then the candidate and/or sponsor are asked if they believe three times, to which they respond, “I believe” each time. All this occurs before they are baptized in the water.