This document is a transcript of the concluding exhortation that I composed in IV v (1997 e.v.) for the adult baptism ceremony of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. I still use variations on this text for the same purpose. --T Polyphilus
In the Creed of our Church, we profess belief in "one Baptism of Wisdom." This ceremony has not been that baptism. You partook of the true baptism when you were actually born to the flesh, but this baptism symbolizes that one, in the form of a wet entry into a new world.
Among other sects and cults, the rite of baptism is often accorded the power of saving the candidate from sin. We do not expect or encourage you to condemn or disavow your life before your reception among us, any more than a child should condemn or disavow her mother's womb. We do expect and encourage you to explore and question the Church, just as a child must explore and question the world of matter in which she finds herself.
Through baptism, you have become a catachumen of our Church. You have been formally received among us, and we have undertaken obligations to defend your freedom, and to guide you in your study of our mysteries. You have undertaken obligations only to yourself and to your god, and it is through fulfilling those obligations that you may come to decide whether you will seek confirmation to full membership in our Church.