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Sacraments: Baptism

Baptism is the Holy Mystery through which we are "born again" by being immersed in the water three times in the name of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Mystery of Baptism is the gate of the Mysteries. Only after baptism is one given the right to partake of the rest of the Mysteries.

Baptism is also known as the Mystery of Enlightenment

"Arise, O you children of the light"

What is Baptism?

Baptism

Etymology and meaning of the word

Death and Resurrection with Christ

"Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22)

  • Christ did this part

"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death," (Phillippians 3:10)

  • St Paul says that we should be conformed to Christ's death
  • Unless we undergo such death, we cannot be saved. How do we undergo this death? How do we share in the death of the Lord?
  • "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4)

St John Chrysostom: "What the cross and burial were to Christ, baptism is to us, though not in all respects. For Christ died and was buried in the flesh, whereas we have died and been buried to sin."

This baptism, therefore, is given into the death of Jesus: And so are owned to be heirs of His Kingdom. For since you have "been baptized into the Lord's death" - Apostolic Constitutions

"There are two mortifyings and two deaths. One of them is accomplished by Christ in baptism, and the other is our duty to effect by earnestness afterwards. For it was Christ's gift that our former sins were buried, but remaining dead to sin after baptism must be the work of our own earnestness, however much we find that God gives us enormous help here as well. For baptism does not just have the power to obliterate our former transgressions; it also protects us against subsequent ones." - St John Chrysostom

Forgiveness of Sin (Original Sin)

"And the bishop shall lay his hand upon them [the newly baptized], invoking and saying: 'O Lord God, who did count these worthy of deserving the forgiveness of sins by the laver of regeneration, make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit and send upon them thy grace [in confirmation], that they may serve you according to your will." (Apostolic Tradition 22:1) [215 AD]

Born Again (New Creation)
  • (John 3:5) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
  • (John 3:5) Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
  • (Titus 3:5) not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
  • "We receive the hope of eternal life through the laver of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (St Ambrose)
  • "Renew their birth a second time by the washing of the New Birth and the forgiveness of sins; prepare them to be a temple of Your Holy Spirit" (Rite of Baptism)
  • "The baptistery is a tomb and a mother" (St Gregory of Nyssa)
Adopted into God's Family
Put on Christ
  • "For as many of  you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)
  • To put on Christ is to put on His righteousness as a gift that He grants through Baptism
  • To put on Christ is to put on His Salvation that He grants in Baptism through His Blood
  • To put on the Divine Image & Likeness (Genesis 1:26) that was lost (or corrupted) through the Original Sin
Declare our Faith

Baptism: Prefigured in the Old Testament

New Creation:
  • The Prophets announced that God, at the end of time, would undertake a new creation.
    • “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17)
  • The New Testament shows that this new creation is already accomplished in Christ through the Mystery of Baptism
    • "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  • Primordial Waters of Genesis
    • "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3)
    • "Then God said, 'Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life [of living souls], and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven', and it was so." (Genesis 1:20)
    • Two Characteristics of the Primordial Water are Reproduced by Baptism
      • Brings Forth Life
      • Sanctified by the Holy Spirit 
    • Water that Brings Forth Life 
      • "First of all, O man, you should have reverence for the antiquity of the waters as a primordial element" ... " Once the elements of the world were set in order, when it was to be given inhabitants, it was the primordial waters which were commanded to produce living creatures. The primordial water brought forth life, so that no one should be astonished that in Baptism the waters are able to give life." (Tertullian - Baptism, 2)
    • Water Sanctified by the Holy Spirit
      • "The Spirit of God was carried over the waters, He Who was to recreate the baptized. The Holy One was carried over that which was holy, or, rather, over that which could receive holiness from Him Who was carried. It is thus that the nature of water, sanctified by the Spirit, received the capability of itself becoming sanctifying. This is why all waters, by reason of their ancient original prerogative, may obtain the sacrament of sanctification by the invocation of God." (Tertullian - Baptism, 2)
      • "You have seen water. But all water does not heal, if the Spirit has not descended and consecrated that water." (Ambrose, De Sacr. 1, 15)
    • Link to the Waters of the Jordan
      • "The indivisible and ineffable Trinity, foreseeing from eternity the fall of human nature, at the same time as It brought from nothing the substance of water, prepared for men the healing which would be given in the waters. This is the reason why the Holy Spirit, in being carried upon the waters, is shown to us as making them holy from this moment and as communicating to them their fecundity. With this we must connect the fact, and it is an important one, that at the moment of the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down upon the waves of the Jordan and rested on them" (XXXIX, 692 C).
      • As the Holy Spirit, hovering over the primordial waters, brought forth from them the first creation, so also the Holy spirit, hovering over the waters of the Jordan, brought forth from them the second creation; and it is this second creation to which the baptized person is born in the waters consecrated by the descent of the Holy Spirit.
  • Noah's Ark (Deluge)
    • New Creation
Adoption into God's Family
  • Circumcision
    • Adoption into God's Family
Salvation Through Water
  • Noah's Ark (Deluge)
  • Crossing the Red Sea
    • Salvation through water
    • Destruction of devil
  • Crossing the Jordan
Forgiveness of Sin
  • Ritual Washings
    • Cleansing of Impurity & Uncleanness
  • Elijah's Sacrifice
  • Elijah's Crossing the Jordan

Baptism in the Early Church

Baptism in 1st Century Judaism?
Baptism of St John the Baptist
  • Those who were baptized by John had to be baptized again...
Baptism of Christ
  • The Lord was baptized before He started His ministry, pointing that baptism is the beginning of all blessings
  • We, too, start our lives as Christians (children of God) with baptism
  • "No Baptism was necessary for Christ, but He freely received the baptism of a servant [John] to draw us towards His baptism"  (Tractate 5 on the Gospel of John - St Augustine)
  • "The Lord was baptized, not to be cleansed himself, but to cleanse the waters, so that those waters, cleansed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin, might have the power of baptism. Whoever comes, therefore, to the washing of Christ, lays aside his sins." (Commentary on Luke 2:83 - St Ambrose of Milan)
  • St John Chrysostom - Homily 4 on Matthew
  • St Gregory Nazianzen - Orat. 39
  • St Augustine - Sermon on Epiphany
  • St Ambrose - on Luke 3:21
Baptism in the Gospels
Institution of the Mystery of Baptism

The Great Commission

  • (Matthew 28:18-20): And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • (Mark 16:15-16): And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Nicodemus Discourse

  • (John 3:5) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
  • (John 3:5): Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
Baptism after Pentecost
Baptism in the Early Church

See “The Bible and the Liturgy” - Jean Danielou

Preparation, Examination, and Enrollment

Baptismal ceremonies began at the opening of the Great Fast (Lent). The candidates were enrolled and began their immediate preparation for the sacrament. Until this step, they had been simple catechumens (which could last a long time). Now they are called photizomenoi (“those who are coming into the light”). 

The Rite of Enrollment: “Whoever wishes to give in his name does so on the eve of Lent; and a priest notes down all the names. The next day, the opening of Lent, the day on which the eight weeks begin, in the middle of the principal church,that is, the church of the Martyrium, a seat is placed for the bishop, and one by one the candidates are led up to him. If they are men, they come with their godfathers; if women, with their godmothers. Then the bishop questions the neighbors of each person who comes in, saying, “Does he lead a good life? Does he respect his parents: Is he given to drunkenness or lying?” If the candidate is pronounced beyond reproach by all those who are thus questioned in the presence of witnesses, with his own hand the bishop notes down the man’s name.  But if the candidate is accused of failing in any point, the bishop tells him to go out, saying: ‘Let him amend his life and when he has amended it, let him come to Baptism.” (Egeria)

  • Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome (20)
  • St Augustine (De cateh. 9)
  • Theodore of Mopsuestia (Ho. Cat. XII, 1) - gives interpretation of these rites as a court case against Satan - see Jean Danielou Introduction “The Bible and the Liturgy” (p.20-21)

Lent Period

Come every day during Lent at Matins

Daily exorcism

Catechesis - explaining the Scripture from Genesis (Literal and Spiritual sense)

“Do not think that it consists of ordinary sermons. These are good, but if we neglect them today, we can still listen to them tomorrow. But the teaching that is to follow on the Baptism of rebirth, - if you neglect it now, when can you find it again? This is the time for planting the trees. If you neglect to spade and dig the earth, when can you plant properly a tree that has been badly planted? The catechesis is a building. If we neglect to dig its foundations, if we leave holes and the building is shaky, of what use will be any further work?” (XXXIII, 352, A-B).

Until the Sunday before Easter when they recite the Creed for the first time (redditio symboli)

Renounce Satan and Profess Christ

On Easter Vigil (Day of Baptism)

  1. Renounce Satan facing West (St Cyril XXXIII, 1068-1069; also Theodore of Mopsuestia XIII, Introduction) - same wording we have today
  2. Profession of Faith facing East

Baptism

Effectiveness of Baptismal Water
  • "If you wish to know why it is by means of water and not some other element that grace is given, you will find the reason in going through the Scriptures. Water is a wonderful thing: - and the most beautiful of the four sensible elements of the cosmos - the sky is the dwelling of the angels, but the skies are made of water; earth is the home of men, but the earth has come out of the waters; and before the creation of visible things in six days, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The water is the principle of the Cosmos, and the Jordan of the Gospel" (Cyril of Jerusalem - XXXIII, 433 A)
  • "Why are you plunged into the water? We read: 'May the waters bring forth living creatures (Gen. 1:20). And the living creatures were born.' This happened at the beginning of creation. But for you it was reserved that water should bring you forth to grace, as that other water brought forth creatures to natural life. Imitate this fish, who has received less grace." (III 3)
    • fish is ichthys, the image of Christ and so of the Christian.
    • ⲒⲬⲐⲨⲤ - means "fish" in Greek, acronym for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior
      • Ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ
      • Ⲭⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ
      • Ⲑⲉⲟⲩ
      • Ⲩⲓⲟⲥ
      • Ⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ
  • "We are little fishes according to the ichthys, Jesus Christ, in Whom we are born, and we only live by remaining in the water" (Tertullian - De Bapt. I)

Contemporary Rites of Baptism

Materials
  • Baptismal Font
    • Shape
    • Location
  • Water
  • Simple Oil (Oil of Catechumens)
  • Oil of Gladness
  • Holy Myron
Sanctification of the Water
  • Object: Water
  • Materials: Simple Oil, Oil of Gladness, Holy Myron
Absolution of the Mother
  • Object: Mother
    • Recently gave birth and finished post-partum bleeding, and the assigned time
  • Materials: Unction of the Sick Oil
Renunciation of Satan & Declaration of Faith
  • Object: Baptisee
  • Materials: Sanctified Water, Oils...
Baptism
Holy Myron
Crowning
Commandment
Procession
Loosing the Girdle

Special Topics

Immersion vs. Sprinkling
Baptism of Infants
  • Pelagian Heresy (4th Century)
40 and 80 Days
  • The Church can baptize any newborn boy or girl at any day without waiting 40 or 80 days. This period is required period before the mother can participate in her child's baptism.
  • Leviticus 12

    • Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. ‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days. ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. 'And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

  • St Mary fulfilled this commandment (Luke 2:22-24)
    • Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
  • The doubling of the period for a female child reminds us of the fact that the woman was the first to be deceived and fall
    • "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control." (1 Timothy 2:14-15)
  • Why does this Old Testament rule still apply?
The Right-Hand Thief Was Not Baptized
One Baptism

One of the councils had a thing about who to rebaptize (based on whether or not the faith in the Trinity was intact)

Resources

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