Russell Brand gets baptised

Actor and comedian Russell Brand got baptised on Sunday after months of publicly sharing his exploration of the Christian faith.

Brand has been baptised in the River Thames, announcing that it was his “opportunity to die and be reborn” and to “leave the past behind.”

He said the experience has left him “changed” and “transitioned”.

In an Instagram video published on Monday, Brand told his followers: “Yesterday I got baptised and it was an incredible, profound experience. Many of you will have had your own experiences of baptism and will therefore know what I’m talking about. Many aspects of it were very intimate and personal.”

Brand went on to compare the experience to his well-documented past drug use, saying: “The truth is this, as a person that has in the past taken many, many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquility and peace and even transcendence I always felt I’ve been looking for, something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible, overwhelming – literally overwhelming because I was obviously underwater, and it was the River Thames – at some points. So I felt changed, transitioned.”

The 48-year-old comedian had previously called baptism an “opportunity to leave the past behind”.

In a previous video posted on his social media platforms, Brand had explained that he has decided to “take the plunge” and asked his followers to share their baptism experiences.

Brand added he understood baptism as an “opportunity to die and be reborn; an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name like it says in Galatians — that you can live as an enlightened and awakened person.”

Over the last few months, Brand has been publishing videos detailing his faith journey and sharing his struggles with some of Christianity’s tenets.

In January, the avant-garde presenter shared that the figure of Christ was “inevitably” becoming “more important” to him and revealed he had found himself reading the Bible a lot more and studying the best-selling book ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by American pastor Rick Warren.

Other videos published since then include him praying with a Rosary and explaining the meaning of Easter.

(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: Instagram reel/Russel Brand)