Which term best describes the Father’s role as per the baptismal formula?

• A. Architect
• B. Author
• C. Source
• D. Origin

Answer: (B)

The Father is described as the author of the plan of salvation and the baptismal act. This emphasizes that He conceived, authored, and originated the salvific plan, setting it into motion and framing how believers are to be initiated through baptism. The Son and the Holy Spirit participate in redemption in their distinct ways—through accomplished salvation and application of that salvation—but the Father's role as author highlights the initiating and declarative source of the plan itself.

Compared to the other terms, the Father isn’t just the source or origin in a passive sense, nor merely a designer of a structure (an architect). Those terms don’t capture the active act of composing and declaring the plan. Author conveys the sense of deliberate creation and issuing of the plan, which fits how the baptismal formula places the Father as the initiator behind the rite.