Plate 11.—The Baptistery
The Baptistery or Baptismal Room is thirty-two by forty-five feet and is situated on the west of the Lower Corridor. The great Baptismal Font occupies the center of the room, and is supported by twelve life-sized oxen of cast-iron, which stand in a depression three feet below the floor level. The oxen are grouped, three facing toward each of the cardinal points of the compass.
In this font, which has a capacity of over four hundred gallons, is administered the ordinance of baptism by immersion. By far the greater number of baptisms here solemnized are in behalf of the dead, in which ordinance the deceased person is represented by a living proxy.
Steps are provided for convenience in entering and leaving the font. Platforms guarded by a railing are furnished with seats for the accommodation of recorders and witnesses whose presence at each ceremony is requisite.
See pages 183-185; also 77 and 89-93.
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