Grant that the old Adam in this Child may be so buried, that the new man may be raised up in him.

This line comes from the baptismal liturgy in the Anglican tradition, where the congregation prays for an infant (or candidate) at the font. The phrasing reflects Reformation-era English prayer-book language and the Pauline theology of baptism as participation in Christ’s death and resurrection. In the service, the prayer asks that the “old Adam” (fallen human nature) be put to death and that the “new man” (renewed life in Christ) rise in the baptized person. It is typically spoken by the minister as part of the prayers immediately surrounding the act of baptism, emphasizing spiritual regeneration rather than merely a naming ceremony.

The quote uses the traditional Christian contrast between the “old Adam” and the “new man.” “Old Adam” signifies inherited sinfulness and self-centered habits associated with humanity’s fall; to have it “buried” evokes baptism as a symbolic death to sin. The “new man” being “raised up” points to a reborn identity shaped by grace, echoing the New Testament image of dying and rising with Christ. Addressed to “this Child,” the prayer frames baptism as both divine gift and moral-spiritual vocation: the community asks God to begin a lifelong transformation in the baptized, so that the child grows into a renewed life marked by faith and holiness.