Author:
Baptismal font: Unkown
Metal support: Juris Zandersons
Date:
Baptismal font: Unkown
Metal support: 2009
Technique:
Baptismal font: Stone carving, granite
Metal support: metal forging
Conservation: None
One of the oldest objects of the liturgical ritual of the church is the baptismal font. Baptism is the way a person is joins the christian Church. Baptism comes from the comission Jesus gives to the disciples:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20)
When large numbers of people where baptized, buildings called Baptisteries began to be built near churches in the early Middle Ages. A water tank or pool was placed in the center of the polygonal building.
The stone baptismal font placed in the middle of the Riga Cathedral should also be considered a reflection of this tradition. This is one of the oldest liturgical objects in the Baltic region. Only a massive, unadorned granite chisel has survived from the baptismal font, the origin of which is related to the art of the Romanesque era.
During the life and work of the first Livonian bishop Meinard (c. 1130 / 1140–1196), the baptismal font was in the Ikšķile church. Art historian Daina Lāce points out that its form and material corresponds to the examples of the second half of the 12th century from Northern Germany.
Around 1893, the baptismal font was moved from Ikšķile to the Riga Cathedral.
Since 2009 the ancient baptismal font, is placed in the middle nave of the Cathedral by the pulpit.