Baptism

The beginning of the Christian life — birth by water and the Spirit into the death and resurrection of Christ.

Baptism is not merely a symbol or a public declaration of faith. In the Orthodox Church it is a true Mystery — a real participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through it we are born again, cleansed from sin, and united to Christ and to His Body, the Church.

When we are baptized, we descend into the water as into a tomb, and we rise from the water as from the grave. The old life is left behind. A new life begins. This is why the Church has always understood Baptism as the necessary entrance into the Christian life. “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit,” the Lord said, “he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

In the Orthodox service of Baptism, several beautiful and powerful things take place. The one being baptized (or the sponsors, in the case of an infant) renounces Satan and unites themselves to Christ. The water is blessed and becomes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the water of regeneration. The person is immersed three times in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Then they are clothed in a white garment — a sign of the purity and new life they have received.

Immediately after Baptism comes Chrismation, the sealing with the gift of the Holy Spirit. In this way the new Christian is not only washed clean, but filled with the Spirit who will dwell within them and guide them into all truth.

In the Orthodox Church, Baptism is approached with care and preparation. Infants are normally baptized around the fortieth day after birth. Adults who wish to be received into the Church usually spend a period of time as catechumens — that is, as learners and inquirers who are being taught the faith, learning to pray, and becoming familiar with the life of the Church. Only after this time of preparation are they baptized.

This is not meant to create obstacles. It is meant to protect the sacredness of the Mystery and to help the person enter it with understanding, repentance, and a willing heart. One does not simply walk into the church and ask to be baptized on the spot. The Church, like a wise mother, prepares her children before she brings them to the font.

Baptism is once for all. It cannot be repeated. But its meaning continues throughout our entire life. Every time we make the sign of the cross, every time we enter the church and venerate the icons, every time we approach the Holy Chalice, we are living out of the reality of our Baptism. We are people who have died and risen with Christ.

This is why the Church takes Baptism so seriously — and why she also approaches it with such joy. It is the beginning of everything. It is the moment when a human being is claimed by God, adopted as a son or daughter, and given a place at the table of the Kingdom.