Baptism is the
Sacrament whereby a person who believes in Christ, does, through immersion,
thrice performed with the words: “The servant of God N. is baptized in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” die unto his or her former
sinful life and receives the grace of the Holy Spirit, which confers a
renovated and holy life.
Chrismation is the
Sacrament whereby the person who has received baptism does, through the
anointing of the different parts of the body with holy chrism, with the words
“the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” receive the grace of the Holy
Spirit, confirming him or her in the renovated, Christian life. At present both
sacraments are normally performed together, and form one church rite.
In view of the great
importance of these two Sacraments in the life of a Christian, they are
preceded by certain sacred acts which prepare persons to receive them worthily,
and followed by other acts, impressing on the Christian the memory of their
deep significance. To the former acts belong the rites of conferring a name, of
doing reverence to the holy temple, and of reception among the catechumens. The
latter acts are: ablutions, tonsuring, and joining the Church.
Prayer For a Woman Who Hath Given Birth to a Child, and Naming the Child. At the present time it is customary to administer the Sacrament of
Baptism to a child soon after its birth. Therefore the Orthodox Church cares
for the babes of Christian parents as for her children. As soon as a child is
born in a Christian family, a priest is called and prays, in the name of the
entire Church, “that the Lord may preserve the mother and new-born babe from
all evil, shelter them under the shelter of His wings, forgive the mother’s
trespasses, raise her from the bed of sickness, and vouchsafe that her babe may
do reverence to His holy temple.” The priest recites this prayer wearing the Epitrachelion
(stole).
In obedience to the
statutes of the Church, the babe, on the eighth day after birth, is brought
before the doors of the temple, whereby its parents signify their desire that
it should also be a Christian. Here it is met by the priest, who blesses it
(signs it) in the name of the Lord, gives it a Christian name, i.e., the name
of some Saint, and prays to God “that the light of His countenance be signed
upon it; that it be signed with the Cross of the only-begotten Son of God in
its heart and understanding; that it may flee from the vanity of the world and
every evil device of the Enemy and may keep God’s commandments, and that the
name of God may remain on it forever unrenounced.” The babe is given a
Christian name in token of its covenant with Christ, as a pledge that it may
hope for salvation with the Saints, and as a reminder that it must emulate the
life of the Saint whose name it bears. From this moment the babe enters the
class of catechumens, i.e., of those who are preparing to receive holy Baptism.
In our country, the ceremony of naming is usually performed within the first
days after birth, immediately after the prayer for the mother, and not before
the door of a church, but at home, because the severity of the climate does not
allow of carrying so young a babe out into the open air.
As the giving of a name
is of great importance in a person’s life, the day which is sacred to the
memory of the Saint whose name he or she bears is called a person’s “name’s
day,” and, to that person, is a festive one, on which he or she asks the help
of God and the Saint towards leading a life worthy of that name. Christians
look at their Saints as on their guardian angels; hence a person’s “name’s day”
is also called his or her “angel’s day.”
Prayer on the Fortieth Day After
Birth. In imitation of the Virgin who, on
the fortieth day after the birth of the Infant Jesus, brought Him to the
temple, to present Him to the Lord, every Christian mother should bring her
babe to church on the fortieth day after birth. The priest meets them in the
vestibule, blesses mother and child, and prays that the Lord may bless them,
purify and sanctify the mother and hold her worthy to partake of the Holy
Eucharist,* and the babe borne by her to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Rite of Reception Among the
Catechumens. This rite is performed just
before baptism. The candidate for baptism is conducted or carried into the
vestibule of the temple and stands before the font, looking towards the East,
ungirdled, bareheaded and barefooted, with hands hanging down.
By this ceremony he
indicates that he desires to cast off the old man and don a new man, after the
image of Christ; that he aspires from darkness unto light, of which the East is
the symbol, and humbly awaits illumination from Christ. The priest breathes
thrice in his face, blesses him and lays his hand upon his head. The priest’s
breath recalls the breath of life which the. Creator breathed into the nostrils
of the first created man, and betokens the breath of new life imparted through
the Sacrament of Baptism. The blessing in the name of Christ betokens separation
from the community of the unbelieving, and the imposition of the hand — the
entry under the shelter of the Church. Laying his hand on the catechumen’s
head, the priest recites the preliminary prayer, in which he asks that the Lord
may inscribe him in the Book of Life and receive him into His holy flock. This
prayer is followed by the catechumen rites:
Exorcism,
— the Renunciation of the Devil, — the Declaration of the desire to join
Christ, the Profession of Faith, and the Worship of the Holy Trinity.
In the Exorcisms the
priest, in the name of the Almighty, commands the Devil to depart from the
person who has been sealed with the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and prays
that God may expel the impure spirit from the catechumen and make him a member
of His holy Church. At the words “Expel from him every evil and impure spirit
which hideth and maketh its lair in his heart,” the priest blows on the mouth,
brow and breast of the catechumen in token of the expulsion from his soul of
all impurity.
After these prayers,
the catechumen is turned with his face towards the West, which symbolizes
darkness and evil, and to the thrice repeated question, uttered by the priest:
“Dost thou renounce satan and all his works, and all his angels, and all his
service, and all his pomp?” he answers, with hands uplifted, “I do.” Then the
priest asks thrice “Hast thou renounced satan?” and he answers, “I have,” and,
at the priest’s command, signifies, by blowing and spitting, his contempt of
all things devilish.
Having renounced the
devil, the catechumen turns again towards the East, with his hands down, and to
the priest’s thrice repeated question “Dost thou unite thyself unto Christ?” he
answers, “I do.” The priest again asks, “Hast thou united thyself unto Christ?”
He answers, “I have.” The priest then asks, “Dost thou believe in Him?” to
which the catechumen answers “I believe in Him as King and God” — and forthwith
recites the Creed. The last two questions the priest utters thrice, and each
time receives an affirmative answer, which is followed each time by the Creed.
Having received the
catechumen’s renunciation of his former sinful life, the expression of his
readiness to live with Christ and his profession of faith, the priest commands
him, as a new member of the Kingdom of Christ, “Bow down also before Him.” The catechumen bows himself to the
ground before the Holy Trinity, saying, “I bow down before the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and indivisible.” — The
rite concludes with a prayer in which the priest asks the Lord to count the
catechumen worthy to receive holy Baptism.
The same rite is
performed over adult candidates for baptism, and over infants. But as an infant
cannot speak for itself, its sponsors answer for it. Both the catechumen rites
and that of Baptism are performed for adult persons in a church, in the
presence of the faithful. But in the case of infants, it is allowed to perform
both at the parents’ home, when the babe’s weakness and the severity of the
climate do not allow of taking it to church.
The Order of Baptism and Chrismation.
To perform the
Sacrament of Baptism, the priest puts on light-colored or white vestments, to
express the joy of the Church at receiving a new member. Candles are lit around
the edge of the font, the censer is swung, and the sponsors are given candles
to hold. The lighted candles symbolize the spiritual illumination which is
imparted through the Sacrament of Baptism, while the clouds of incense indicate
the grace of the Holy Spirit, through whose operation man’s regeneration takes
place in this Sacrament.
The Order of Baptism
consists of the consecration of the water, the anointing of the water and of
the person baptized with consecrated oil, the immersion of the person into the
water, the investing him with white garments, anointing with chrism or myrrh;
the circumambulation of the font, and readings from the Holy Scriptures.
To the petitions of the
Great Ectenia, with which the rite of Baptism begins, are added
petitions, “That this water may be sanctified through the power and action and
descent of the Holy Spirit... — That there may be sent down into it the grace
of redemption, the blessing of Jordan... — That he may prove himself to be a son
of light, and an heir of eternal good things... — That he may be a member and
partaker of the death and resurrection of Christ our God...” The priest then
offers a prayer, “Wherefore, O King Who lovest mankind, come Thou now through
the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water (thrice).” At the words
of the prayer, “Let all adverse powers be crushed
beneath the sign of the image of Thy Cross,” he blesses the water thrice and
blows upon it. By this act he expresses his belief that the devil is expelled
by the name of Jesus Christ.
The water being
consecrated, the priest proceeds to consecrate the oil by prayer, in token of
reconciliation, and while “Alleluia” is being solemnly sung, he makes with the
oil the sign of the Cross on the water. Before this rite the admonition, “Let
us attend!” is uttered, to draw to it the attention of those present, and to
signify that it conveys a mystical meaning. As water, which once upon a time
submerged the entire human race, symbolizes purification, and oil gathered from
the olive tree, a branch of which was brought to Noah in the ark by the dove,
in token of reconciliation, symbolizes mercy, so the connection of both these
symbols signifies that the purification of man by the waters of baptism takes
place through the mercy of God.
Having thus prepared
the material for the Sacrament, the priest now proceeds to prepare for it the
person about to receive it. He anoints the brow, ears, breast, hands and feet
with the consecrated oil, in token that, through baptism, man, like unto a
branch of the wild olive tree, is grafted unto the
good olive tree, which is Christ. As man dies in baptism to his former life and
comes forth a new man to battle with evil, so the anointing with oil serves
him, as one dead, as a preparation for burial and, as a soldier of Christ — as
a preparation to the struggle with iniquity.
The act of baptism
itself is performed by the thrice repeated immersion of the recipient of the
Sacrament into the water, with the words, “The servant (or handmaid) of God N.
is baptized in the name of the Father, Amen, and of the Son, Amen, and of the
Holy Spirit, Amen.” During the immersion he who is baptized is turned to the
East. At this moment the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on him and gives him
a new life, washing away all sins from his soul; while being immersed, he is
entombed with Christ; when lifted out of the water, he rises with Him. The
blessings which man receives in the Sacrament of Baptism are expressed in the
words of the Psalm (31st) which is sung immediately after the immersion:
“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not sin... Many are the scourges
of the sinner, but mercy shall encircle him that hopeth in the Lord. Be glad in
the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and glory, all ye that are upright of
heart.”
In token of the purity
of the neophyte’s soul the priest invests him with a white garment, calling it,
“the robe of righteousness,” and in token that he shall live after baptism, he
places round his neck a Cross, the symbol of walking after Christ. During the
robing, a troparion is sung, indicating the meaning of the white
garment: “Grant unto me the robe of light, O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, O Christ our God,
plenteous in mercy.”
As special help from
God is needed to follow after Christ and preserve the soul’s purity, obtained
through baptism, the Sacrament of Chrismation is administered to the neophyte
immediately after the robing. The priest makes the sign of the Cross with
chrism on his brow, eyes, nostrils, lips, ears, breast, hands and feet, saying
each time, “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Through this unction is
imparted the grace of the Holy Spirit, which confirms in the new life and gives
the strength to live in Christ.
The priest now walks
three times around the font with the neophyte and sponsors, to the chant: “As
many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” The circumambulation
of the font signifies the triumph and joy of the Church, because a Christian
has been joined with Christ forever.
The Order of the
Sacrament concludes with a reading from the Apostle, in which the meaning of
baptism is set forth, also the benefits bestowed by this Sacrament, and the
duties which it imposes on us, — and with a reading from the Gospel, on the
institution of the Sacrament by Jesus Christ.
Note 1st. — Of
baptism performed by a layman. — The right to administer the Sacrament of
Baptism belongs to the priests. But in an emergency, when no priest is to be
had, and the Candidate for baptism is feeble, and there is danger of his dying
before he can be baptized, any layman has the right, and indeed the duty, to perform
the rite by thrice repeated immersion, or even by aspersion or by pouring of
water on the head, with the words “the servant (or handmaid) of God N. is
baptized in the name of the Father, Amen, and of the Son, Amen, and of the Holy
Spirit, Amen.” Such a baptism is entirely valid. Later on, the priest does not
repeat the rite, but only completes it by saying the omitted prayers and
performing the omitted rites, then enters it into the church register.
Note 2nd. The sponsors.— At
every baptism whether of an adult or of an infant, sponsors are absolutely necessary.
If the former, they serve as witnesses of the neophyte’s profession of faith
and the vows he takes, if the latter, they answer all
questions for the infant. After baptism they assume the spiritual care of the
neophyte and are bound to be his guides in Christian life and to see to his
religious education. Through these duties a spiritual relationship is
established between the sponsors and their god-child, also the latter’s
parents; the sponsors are god-fathers and god-mothers. As the sponsors assume
important responsibilities towards their godchildren, the Church rules that
they shall have attained the age of discretion — (the godfather to be not under
15, the godmother not under 13) — that they shall be persons of good moral
standing with a knowledge of the fundamental doctrines of the Orthodox Church,
and themselves Orthodox. Persons of other Christian confessions are permitted
to take part in the rite of baptism as “honorary persons,” but in that case it
is absolutely necessary that the god-father should be Orthodox if the neophyte
is of the male sex, or the god-mother, if of the female sex. Parents may not be
sponsors for their own children; nor may monks or nuns be sponsors.
The Rites of Ablution and Tonsure.
In ancient times
neophytes did not lay aside their white garments for seven days, nor wash the
spots on their bodies which had been anointed with holy chrism; and, that the
seal laid on them by the unction might not be defaced, they wore wreaths or
bandages. On the eighth day they came to church, and there the priest loosed
the girdle of their garments, removed the bandage from their brow and washed
the anointed parts. At present this ablution is performed immediately after the
reading of the Gospel. The priest first prays, “O Thou Who, through holy
baptism, hast given unto Thy servant N. remission of sins, and hast bestowed
upon him a life of regeneration: Do Thou Thyself, O Master and Lord, be pleased
to illumine his heart with the light of Thy countenance continually. Keep the
shield of his faith unassailed by the enemy. Preserve pure and unpolluted the
garment of incorruption wherewith Thou has covered him, upholding inviolate in
him by Thy grace the seal of the Spirit, and showing mercy unto him and unto
us, according to the multitude of Thy compassions. O Master, Lord our God, Who
through the font bestowest heavenly Illumination upon them that are baptized,
Who hast regenerated Thy newly-enlightened servant by water and the Spirit, and
hast granted unto him remission of his sins, whether voluntary or involuntary:
Lay Thine almighty hand upon him and preserve him by the power of Thy goodness.
Maintain inviolate the pledge of the Spirit, and make him worthy of life
eternal and of Thy favor.” Then he sprinkles the neophyte with water, reminding
him that, “Thou art justified, thou art illumined, thou art sanctified. Thou
art washed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Spirit of our God”;
after which he wipes with a sponge the anointed parts of his body, reminding
him that, “Thou art baptized. Thou art illumined. Thou hast been anointed with
Chrism. Thou art sanctified. Thou art washed: in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Immediately after the
ablution, the tonsure of the hair is performed. It was customary among the
ancient Hebrews to shear the hair and burn it on the altar in token of entire
self-consecration to God. This ancient custom passed into the Christian Church.
Christians shear the hair of newborn infants in token that, having received
baptism, they have become citizens of the Kingdom of God on earth, and have
consecrated themselves to the service of God, before Whom
they have promised to cut away from their souls sinful thoughts and passions.
After the ablution, the priest performs the tonsure in the name of the Most
Holy Trinity, praying that God may help the neophyte to become learned in His
law and to live according to that law.
The Rite of Joining the Church.
The neophyte has now
the right to enter the church, to take part in all the prayers and to partake
of the Holy Eucharist. The first time he comes to church, he does so with some
solemnity and this act is called, “joining the Church,” (i.e., “being admitted
into the community of Christians.”) The priest meets the neophyte at the
entrance of the church, takes him or her on his arms and after making the sign
of the Cross before the main door, says: “The servant (or handmaid) of God N.
is admitted to join the Church in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit; now and ever and unto the ages of ages; amen.” Then he leads or
carries the neophyte into the church with the words, “He
(or she) cometh into Thy house to worship toward Thy holy temple.” Pausing in
the middle of the church, he repeats the words of admission, and adds: “In the
midst of the church shall he hymn Thee.” Once again he repeats the words of
admission before the Royal Gates, and, if the neophyte be of the male sex,
leads or carries him into the sanctuary; if of the female sex, he brings her only
as far as the Royal Gates, and repeats the prayer of St. Symeon, “Now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master....” Then he gives up the neophyte
to the sponsors.
As infants, at the
present day, are, usually baptized before the fortieth day after birth, the
rite of their admission into the church usually takes place the fortieth day,
when the mother brings her babe herself to present it to the Lord and to
receive herself the permission to partake of Holy Communion. Formerly a mother
used to receive communion on that day and the child also receives it then for
the first time. The latter custom prevails to this day.
The Sacrament of
Baptism properly performed cannot be repeated; that of Chrismation can be
repeated only for such persons as having renounced the faith of Christ and
adopted paganism, Mohammedanism, or Judaism, etc., again return to Christ.