Hey, there's a kid in there!!!

Orthodox Christians believe that baptism ought always to be done by full immersion. (In fact, βαπτίζω, from which the word "baptism" is derived, means to immerse.) They do not--as do most Christians who practice infant baptism--make an exception with infants. You won't catch an Orthodox priest sprinkling water on a baby and trying to pass it off as baptism. No sir. The baby goes all the way down into the water. Three times! Yeah, that's another thing. Orthodox Christians practice triple immersion. One time down for each person of the Trinity.

Photo courtesy of Christ the Savior Church, Chicago

Pictures from last weekend

click picture to link

Baptism and Chrismation

The following is taken from the article "Baptism and Chrismation," by Bishop Alexander Mileant.

Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, came to Earth to destroy sin and grant mankind an opportunity to obtain eternal and joyful life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Spiritual rebirth begins with a man's faith in Jesus Christ, a true desire to be liberated from the tyranny of sin, and a drive to lead a life in accordance with God’s will. Our Lord Jesus Christ likened this spiritual rebirth to the resurrection of the dead when He said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:25). However, faith and desire by themselves are not sufficient. What is needed is the power of grace, which realizes the spiritual rebirth of an individual. This power of grace permeates the soul of the person submerged in water during baptism.

One who is purified from sin is emancipated from its tyranny and freed to follow a spiritual life. The Holy Scripture calls this spiritual birth the "first resurrection," as opposed to the second, physical resurrection, which will occur before the end of the world (Rev. 20:5). The baptized person becomes a beloved child of God, His adopted son or daughter, by the grace of Christ.

This does not mean that, because of baptism, a person is freed from all temptations or from the spiritual fight. Spiritual struggles are unavoidable for every person who exists in this world of temptation. But a person who is not baptized lacks the power to fight the bondage of sin, and is enslaved to it, whereas someone who is baptized is liberated from sin and receives assistance to fight against temptations.

Just as the death and resurrection of Christ culminated in Pentecost--the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles--so the baptism of a Christian attains its fulfillment in Chrismation. In Baptism, one puts on the death of Christ, and also his resurrection; in Chrismation, one is given the grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus one can see how the miracle of Pentecost is continually renewed in the Church through these mysteries.

The meaning of Chrismation lies in the most important and fundamental words of the mystery, which make up the concluding utterance: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." They stand as (a) the concluding act confirming the entry of the baptized person into the Church, and (b) the source of grace-filled strength granted to grow stronger and ripen to perfection in the spiritual life.

St. Cyprian writes, "People baptized in church are imprinted with the Lord’s seal just as the christened Samaritans once received the Holy Spirit from the Apostles Peter and John, through the laying on of hands and prayer…What they were lacking, (namely the Holy Spirit, as they were baptized in the name of Christ only), the Apostles Peter and John fulfilled ... That also happens with us ... we become complete with the Lord’s seal" (Acts 8:14-17). St. Cyprian confirms that the ancients, in speaking of birth through water and the Spirit, understood birth through water to refer to physical baptism, while Chrismation was the birth through the Spirit.

During Apostolic times, the gifts of the Holy Spirit were bestowed through the laying on of hands. We read about this in Acts (8:14-17 and 19:2-6): the Apostle Paul met some disciples in Ephesus who had received only the baptism of John. When he learned of this they "were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them."

How was the blessed laying on of hands replaced by anointing with chrism? Most probably, because the Apostles could not physically visit every newly baptized convert and lay hands on him, they replaced this practice by the anointing with chrism, which was blessed by them and distributed to the representatives of many churches. As we are reminded by the Apostle Paul: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Cor. 1:21-22). The integral words of the Mystery, "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit," thus also have a basis in these words of the Apostle.

Further on, St. Paul writes: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). In the Holy Scripture, the "day of redemption" refers to baptism, while "being sealed" by the Holy Spirit means the seal of the Holy Spirit that follows immediately after baptism.

The oil of the Chrism and no other substance is used in the Mystery of Chrismation, because even in the Old Testament oil was used to endow people with particular spiritual gifts (Exodus 28:41; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 1:39). The renowned third-century writer Tertullian had this to say: "After emerging from the baptismal font, we are anointed with a blessed oil just like the ancients were anointed for priesthood with the oil from the horn."

The narratives from the Acts of the Apostles confirm that, apart from receiving spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit, the laying on of hands or the Chrismation after baptism served both as a confirmation of the bestowal of Baptism and a seal of the union of those baptized with the Church. That is why these acts were performed by the Apostles themselves, and subsequently, by their successors, i.e., bishops. While a person is born through baptism for a spiritual life, Chrismation makes him a participant in the Church's life of grace.


For further reading:
What is Holy Chrismation?
The Sanctification of the Holy Chrism
Chrismation (OCA)
Chrismation (OrthodoxWiki)
The Sacrament of Chrismation

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan
The worship of the Trinity was made manifest
For the voice of the Father bore witness to You
And called You His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself
And have enlightened the world, glory to You!
(Theophany Troparion)

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his (Romans 6:3-5).

It is worth noting that such statements by St. Paul are as far removed from Baptism as an “Ordinance,” a mere sign of obedience, as is possible. His language is clearly the language of union. We are saved through our union with Christ. Indeed, the whole of our Christian life, in every aspect, is a life lived in union with Christ. Union with Christ is our salvation.

From the Glory to God for All Things blog. Read the rest here.

Q&A

Q: What is Theophany and why is it important?

A: One of the greatest feasts of the Orthodox year [is] the Feast of Theophany, Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan river. Across the world Orthodox Christians will gather after the Liturgy to bless the waters: the ocean, a river, a spring, etc.

Every feast day in Orthodoxy is connected to the Feast of Pascha [i.e. Easter], because Pascha is God’s great act of salvation. However, some feasts show this connection more clearly than others. Three feasts in the year share the same pattern of services: Pascha, Nativity, and Theophany. Each has a Vesperal Liturgy on its Eve and a Vigil the night before (with occasional variances).

The icons of the three feasts are strikingly similar, with Christ descending into a background that is usually rendered with darkness. At Pascha the darkness is the darkness of death and Hell where Christ has gone to raise the dead.

(click images to enlarge)

At Nativity the darkness is the cave in which he is born. This darkness is the darkness of the world that is caught in sin and death – but it is the same darkness as Hell.

At Theophany the icon depicts Christ standing on the waters of the Jordan – but the waters themselves are depicted as dark, or at least highlighted with a dark background. The darkness at this feast is precisely the same darkness as that pictured in the icon of Pascha. For Theophany is the feast of Christ’s baptism – and baptism, St. Paul tells us is a baptism into the death of Christ. His Baptism is a prefigurement of His death.

Thus the waters of the Jordan become symbolic of Hades. Christ’s descent into the waters becomes his descent into Hades where he “leads captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:8) and sets free those who have been held in bondage to death. The vigil of Theophany, like the vigil of Pascha, includes the reading of the book of the prophet Jonah – the reluctant messenger of God who was thrown overboard by his companions and swallowed by a great fish. This book is read because it contains the same image as the icons – the descent into the depths of Hades.

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

At the Vespers of Theophany we hear this phrase:

Thou hast bowed Thine head before the Forerunner and hast crushed the heads of the dragons. Thou hast descended into the waters and hast given light to all things, that they may glorify Thee, O Savior, the Enlightenment of our souls.

The phrase, “crushed the heads of the dragons,” comes from Psalm 74:

Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters. Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

In this Psalm, God is recalled both as Creator, but also as the one who has brought order into the chaos of the world. He not only creates the waters, but crushes the heads of the dragons that dwell there. The “dragons” in the Psalm are an old English translation of the Hebrew word for whales. But the word “dragon” is an apt description of the demonic forces that are defeated in Christ’s death and its prefigurement in Baptism.

In the prayer over the waters, the priest says:

Thou didst sanctify the streams of Jordan, sending down from heaven Thy Holy Spirit, and didst crush the heads of the dragons that lurked therein.

This same prayer is prayed over the waters blessed on the day of Theophany. The service for the blessing of the waters usually takes place by a local body of water.. At the very heart of the blessing a hand cross is thrown out into the water three times and retrieved with the singing of the festal troparion:

When Thou O Christ wast baptized in the Jordan,
the worship ofthe Trinity was made manifest.
For the voice of the Father bear witness to Thee,
and called Thee His beloved Son.
And the Spirit in the form of a dove,
confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God who hast revealed Thyself,
and hast enlightened the world glory to Thee!

The same troparion is sung throughout the homes of the faithful during the season after Theophany as the priest carries the same blessing into our homes. Theophany is a proclamation to nature itself of Christ’s salvation. Our lives have plenty of “dragons,” in all shapes and sizes. But Christ is victorious over everything that would destroy his creation – particularly the people who are His own.


Courtesy of Orrologion

Sacraments

A Sacrament is defined as "a way in which God imparts grace to His people," and is described as "a combination of an outward visible sign with an inward spiritual grace."

"Sacrament" is a word that originated in the west, and Orthodox Christians normally refer to Sacraments as the Holy Mysteries. The word mysterion (μυστήριον), which appears at least 22 times in the New Testament (KJV), means not what we commonly understand in modern English language as a "mystery"--like a riddle to be solved--but rather a spiritual Truth, known only by divine revelation.

St John Chrysostom wrote that, "a mystery is so called; because we do not behold the things which we see, but some things we see and others we believe. For such is the nature of our Mysteries. I, for instance, feel differently upon these subjects from an unbeliever" (Homily on 1 Corinthians).

The Orthodox Church regards the life of Faith, indeed the very purpose of human existence, to be nothing less than participation in the life of God. The sacraments are a means to accomplish this. According to Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, "the Church takes material things--water, bread, wine, oil--and makes them a vehicle of the Spirit. In this way the sacraments look back to the Incarnation, when Christ took material flesh and made it a vehicle of the Spirit" (The Orthodox Church, p.274)

Christ Himself used matter to communicate His healing power: He used mud to heal the blind man (Jn 9.1-14), and the hem of His garment to heal the woman with the flow of blood (Lk 8.43-44). Later, handkerchiefs and aprons that had simply touched His Apostles were used to heal the sick (Acts 19.12). Of course, He didn't need these items to heal: He had also healed people merely with His words (Mt 8.16), and by laying hands on them (Lk 4.40). But He showed us through His example that matter can be used to impart the power of the Holy Spirit, as is done through the Holy Mysteries.

Roman Catholics recognize seven--and only seven--Sacraments. Lutherans recognize two or three, depending on whom you ask. Many Christians reject altogether the notion of Sacraments based on their understanding of the "universal priesthood."

Orthodox Christians recognize the same seven sacraments that are known to Roman Catholics. They are:

Baptism: Mt 28.18-20; Rom 6.4; Gal 3.27

Chrismation (Confirmation): Acts 8.15-17; 1Jn 2.27

Holy Eucharist (Communion): Mt 26.26-28; Jn 6.30-58; 1Co 10.16; 11.23-31

Confession: Jn 20.22-23; 1Jn 1.8-9; Jam 5.16

Ordination (Holy Orders): Mk 3.14; Acts 1.15-26; 6.1-6; 1Ti 3.1-13; 4.14

Marriage: Gn 2.18-25; Eph 5.22-33

Healing (Unction): Lk 9.1-2; Jam 5.14-15

These seven actions are the only ones that I have heard specifically referred to as "Sacraments" (or "Mysteries") in the Orthodox Church. However, Orthodox Christians do not believe that these are the only sacramental acts. They believe that many other actions can be sacramental as well:

Neither the liturgical book called Euchologion (prayer book), which contains the texts of the sacraments, nor the patristic tradition, however, formally limits the number of sacraments; they do not distinguish clearly between the "sacraments" and such acts as the blessing of water on Epiphany day or the burial service or the service for the tonsuring of a monk that in the West are called sacramentalia. In fact, no council recognized by the Orthodox Church ever defined the number of sacraments; it is only through the "Orthodox confessions" of the 17th century directed against the Reformation that the number seven has been generally accepted (From the Orthodox Information Center)

According to Fr Thomas Hopko, "the more ancient and traditional practice of the Orthodox Church is to consider everything which is in and of the Church as sacramental or mystical."

For more information:
Orthodox Worship: The Sacraments (Ware)
The Sacraments

Infant Baptism

You hallowed the streams of Jordan, sending down from the Heavens Your Holy Spirit, and crushed the heads of dragons that lurked therein. Do You Yourself, O loving King, be present now also through the descent of Your Holy Spirit and hallow this water. And give to it the Grace of Redemption, the Blessing of Jordan. Make it a fountain of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, a loosing of sins, a healing of sicknesses, a destruction of demons, unapproachable by hostile powers, filled with angelic might. (From the Service of Holy Baptism)

I originally intended to write a post on the sacrament of Baptism, but it turned out to be a far bigger topic than I am in any position to discuss. So I decided to narrow my focus a bit and pass on a few of my observations—and of course the wisdom of others—regarding the practice of infant baptism.

Growing up in the Baptist tradition, I was taught that baptism was a symbolic action indicating a believer's conversion: One accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and was thus born again. They could then be baptized as a public declaration of their personal commitment to Christ. Because infants could not make a conscious decision to follow Christ, they were not to be baptized.

When I left Grace and began attending Christ the King, I had difficulty at first accepting the practice of infant baptism, until I discovered that infants are never excluded from baptism in the Bible. We are told that, when the Apostles preached, entire households were baptized—Lydia’s, the jailer’s, Crispus’s, Stephanas’s—and we are given no indication that infants and young children were excluded from this.

Furthermore, I was unable to find a biblical basis for the teaching that baptism is strictly a symbolic act. Rather, there seems to be quite a bit more to it:
1) It replaces circumcision (Col 2.11–12)
2) Facilitates the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2.38, 22.16)
3) Brings about an infusion of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2.38; Ezk 36:25-27)
4) Marks incorporation into the Body of Christ (Jn 3.5; 1Co 12.12-13)
5) Is key to a person’s Salvation (Tts 3:5; 1Pt 3.20-21; Rom 6.3-4; Mk 16.16)

While I was never 100% on board with other points of Lutheran doctrine, I did come to realize that infant baptism is, at the very least, biblically defensible. So, by the time I began the move toward Orthodoxy, the practice of infant baptism was not even an issue for me.

To the Orthodox, baptism is far more than a mere formality, but is the "sacrament whereby one is born again, buried with Christ, resurrected with Him and united to Him." The Orthodox Church believes that,

baptism is not just a symbolic testimony of what God has done in the heart of an adult believer, but is in itself a dynamic means of actually effecting the power of the Gospel (the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) in a life (Romans 6:4). Christian baptism is the means whereby we encounter and identify with Jesus Christ Himself. This is one of the reasons why Paul explains baptism as the manner in which we genuinely 'put on' or 'clothe' ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). This is not just a metaphor, the Lord actually transforms a person through his baptism.

I have heard it said that, when the "why" of Orthodox baptism is understood, the "when" becomes self evident. To the Orthodox, there was never really a question as to whether infants should be baptized.

Objections
Infant baptism is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible.
While this is true, we need to be careful about insisting that everything we believe and practice must be spelled out in black and white on the pages of Scripture, because when we do, we put ourselves in the uncomfortable position of having to defend other beliefs and practices that are also not explicitly mentioned: original sin, the Trinity, etc.

There are certainly no clear, undeniable examples of infant baptism in the New Testament, but neither are there any examples of children waiting until the “age of accountability” before being baptized. And if we insist on excluding infants from baptism on the basis of a strict reading of the Scriptures, then we also must exclude women from receiving Communion for the same reason. This is a practice that is found nowhere in the Bible. The truth is that an argument from silence is simply no defense for the rejection of a practice that the Church has accepted for two-thousand years.

That’s not to suggest, of course, that those who appeal to the Scriptures for guidance on practices such as baptism are wrong for doing so. Surely the Apostles did likewise. We should remember, though, that the Apostles had only the Old Testament to turn so, because the New Testament had not even been written yet.

So, imagine if the jailer had approached the Apostles with his infant daughter—supposing he had one; certainly someone did—and asked them to baptize her as well. What would they have said?

“We’re very sorry, Mr Jailer, but according to the Scriptures, the Old Covenant was not for infants, so neither is the New Covenant.”

Nonsense! The Old Covenant was for infants. We know that, from Old Testament times, God not only allowed inclusion of infants into His Covenant, but required it! (Gen 17.9-14) Circumcision was the mark of this inclusion. It incorporated people into the community of Faith, the chosen people of God. Infants who were born into this community were brought—without their verbal consent—into a Covenant relationship with God and His Faith community through circumcision. Saint Paul is clear that baptism is the new circumcision; the "circumcision made without hands" (Col 2.11–12).

The Church has historically downplayed the modern notion of a “personal relationship with Christ,” in favor of what it has always understood to be a community relationship. Children who are baptized in the Orthodox Church are incorporated into a community of faith. They are not on their own. Through baptism, children

receive the faith and life of Christ as revealed in the Church. This is why the Church does not randomly baptize any child off the street but only those whose parents and sponsors present the child for Baptism from within the community of faith and make a pledge to raise the child in the faith. This sacrament is the beginning of faith and God’s response to it " (from Saints Constantine and Elena Orthodox Church).

In the Bible, faith always precedes baptism.
It’s interesting to consider that at no point does Christ ever instruct little children to have faith like an adult. Rather, it’s the adults that must have faith like the little children (see Mt 18.3, and Mk 10.15). To suggest that infants don’t have faith is simply contrary to Christ’s teaching. Children are born with faith; a faith more pure than what you or I have; a faith that is to serve as an example to us. Little children unlearn their faith by being exposed to the world of adults.

I was brought up believing that children must reach the “age of accountability” before they can be candidates for baptism. That’s when they can understand what it means that Christ died for their sins, and can make a conscious decision to accept His sacrifice. I don’t know of a single Christian who would say that a child who has not yet reached the “age of accountability” cannot be saved (If any of my readers wish to defend the doctrine of Limbo, I invite them to please find another blog). If, then, a child is saved,

it must be through Christ, somehow. And if it is through Christ, then that child is Christian. If he is being raised in a Christian home hearing the Gospel, he has never not heard the Gospel, and he has never not had faith in Christ. (faith in the sense of trust; faith in the sense of relationship with Christ) If the child is a Christian, then he is a member of the body of Christ. If the body of Christ is the family of God, then it must include children, not just rational adults, because the Church is relational, not just rational. And if he is a member of the Church and is saved, then why deny the child baptism? (from Our Life in Christ)

Infants don't understand what's going on, so what's the point of baptizing them?
Again, Saints Constantine and Elena Orthodox Church answers better than I could:

There are some who object to infant Baptism on the grounds that [because] an infant is unable to speak and unable to understand... they should not receive baptism. To this objection we would ask, “To whom is it given the ability to measure faith, to pass judgment on the degree of comprehension and desire in it?” By this measure adult baptism is no more valid than infant baptism. Christianity is a confession of faith... But this confession is more than just words spoken. It is a life that is lived in Christ so that we may recognize Him in all things. Therefore just as an infant is able to recognize and love its mother or father or anyone who cares for and loves the child, so too an infant that is raised in the Church, who lives in the context of a Christian family, is able to recognize and love Christ. This is a true confession of faith.

From GotQuestions.org: “Infant baptism is the origin of the sprinkling and pouring methods of baptism - as it is unwise and unsafe to immerse an infant under water. Even the method of infant baptism fails to agree with the Bible. How does pouring or sprinkling illustrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?”
Good point. In fact, the Orthodox do immerse infants. Three times! “Unwise and unsafe” or not, it’s the way they’ve done it for two millennia, and as far as I know, there haven’t been any casualties. It looks like this:



[The audio is cut off at the beginning, but you’ll hear the tail end of the priest saying, “The servant of God, Ezra, is baptized…” He says this rather than, “I baptize you…” in order to underscore the Orthodox belief that it is not the action of the priest that is instrumental, but the work of the Holy Spirit]

Most Christian faiths that practice infant baptism do, in fact, sprinkle or pour, and then stop there. They wait until the child hits puberty before they “confirm” them into the church. Only then are they considered full members of the worship community and allowed to receive communion.The Orthodox do it all in one day! They baptize the individual—child or adult—then immediately confirm* and commune them. (Yes, the Orthodox administer Communion to infants. They are full members of the Church, so why not?).

*The Orthodox call it chrismation, rather than confirmation, because of the oil (χρίσμα) used.

Also from GotQuestions.org: The Bible is very clear about baptism. There are two points we all need to understand. (1) Baptism is to take place after a person has received Jesus Christ as Savior, trusting in Him alone for salvation. (2) Baptism is to be by immersion.
If these are indeed the two criteria for proper baptism then the Orthodox practice of infant baptism is entirely proper, since 1) infants already have faith in Christ, and 2) the Orthodox baptize by full immersion.

However, the Orthodox Church would add another criterion. They will not recognize any baptism as valid that is not done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s not enough to baptize someone in the name of the “Creator, Redeemer, and the Sanctifier,” or any other formula. It has to be done in precisely the manner described by Christ in Matthew 28.19.

Look, the bottom line is this: If the Church is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth, and the Fullness of Him who Fills All in All, and the Ark of Salvation, wouldn’t it make perfect sense to bring a child fully and completely into the life of the Church at the first possible opportunity? That's exactly what Orthodox Christians do when they baptize their infants.

For More Information:
The Orthodox Practice of Infant Baptism
Holy Baptism
Holy Baptism: An Orthodox Christian Understanding
Sacraments
Early Fathers on Infant Baptism
Orthodox Baptism