Christening Service

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Baptism & Chrismation

Two Sacraments in one Service

 

The Baptismal Service today contains several components. This guide might help you with praying for the person being baptized while following the proceedings.

 

THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

 

The Sacrament of Baptism was instituted by Christ Himself who, after His Resurrection, as a farewell commandment and admonition, just before his Ascension to Heaven, directed these words to His Apostles: “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things I have commanded you...” (Matthew 28:19-20).

 

Baptism is the gateway into the Christian Church. It is the saving action of God who, through water and the Spirit, recreates His creation.

 

It is the initial Sacrament through which he who is immersed in water three times, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, is cleansed from all sin and is regenerated spiritually. As our Lord Himself stated: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).

 

The Renunciation and the Acceptance

The person being baptized will be with the Godparent (Kum or Kuma in Serbian) as he/she stands in the lower section of the church (or in certain circumstances in the middle of the church) facing east (towards the altar). ‘East’ signifies the abode of God – the true Light.

 

The Priest, standing in front of them, blows three times onto the person to be baptized in the form of the Cross to drive away any evil spirits and adverse powers, blessing it each time saying “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.

 

He then places his hands on the person’s head, which symbolizes the taking of possession of the candidate in the name of the Holy Trinity and recites a prayer addressed to God: “In your name, O God of Truth… I lay my hand on your servant (Name) who has been found worthy to seek salvation in your Holy Name and protection under the shelter of your wings. Banish from him the error of old, fill him with faith and hope in you… so that he might know that You are the only true God… Grant him the ability to live in accordance with your commandments”.

 

The Exorcisms

Then the prayers of Exorcism are read and yet another prayer, the prayer of acceptance, at the end of which the Priest, in summary of all that was said before, asks God to drive out and banish from the person to be baptized, any and every evil and impure spirit which may be hiding and lurking in his/her heart and make him/her a reason-endowed sheep in the holy flock of Christ, an honorable member of the Church, a child and heir of the kingdom.

 

The Godparent will then be asked to face west and renounce Satan and all his works, and all his worship and all his angels, and all his pride in a question-and-answer form (three times). He or she will then be asked to blow down on Satan. ‘West’ signifies a place of natural darkness, where the Devil, who is darkness himself, makes his abode.

 

The Confession of Faith

Then the Godparent, will face east again and affirmatively answer the Priest who will ask him/her (three times) if he/she has pledged his allegiance to Christ.

 

After doing so, the Godparent will recite the Creed, the Symbol of Faith (‘Verujem’ in Serbian) which is a summary of the Orthodox Teachings, formulated by several Ecumenical Councils of the Christian Church during the first millennium A.D. when there was unity of Faith throughout Christendom (with very few exceptions).

 

The Blessing of the Water

Then they will enter the middle of church and the Priest will ask the Holy Spirit to come down and bless and consecrate the water in the Font and make it an instrument of salvation, saying: “Wherefore, O merciful God, be present also and sanctify this water”.

 

The Blessing of the Oil and Anointing

Once the blessing of the water is complete, the Godparent will offer a small bottle of olive oil over which a prayer for the banishment of evil is read to make it “an anointing of incorruption, a weapon of justice, a renewal of soul and body, a defense against every influence of the Devil and a release from evil to all those who are anointed with it or partake of it.”

 

Some of this oil is then poured crosswise three times on the water in the Baptismal Font in order to render the consecration of the water complete.

 

The person to be baptized (now undressed) will be anointed with the blessed oil on the forehead, nose, ears, mouth, chest, legs, feet, hands and back, to prepare him/her to battle the demon who has just been renounced and to slip away from the grip of sin - just as an athlete prepares for a competition.

 

The Immersion

Now the neophyte (person to be baptized) will be immersed three times in the Font which represents the ‘Tomb of Jesus’, symbolically being ‘buried’ with Christ, then ‘raised’ with Christ as the neophyte is removed from the Font and placed in the arms of the Godparent who is waiting for him/her with a white sheet. The truth of baptism lies in this profound action and is reflected in many of the prayers during the rite. The truth is that the candidate for baptism has chosen to die and be reborn for Christ. This act of faith by an individual is fulfilled by Christ as He pours on his grace, his gifts to the neophyte. The newly baptized is now a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven through his own choice and faith. Christ’s love can do nothing other than accept this faith and offer the full inheritance. Baptism is resurrection! It is salvation!

 

The Priest then places a cross around the neck of the newly baptised, as a sign of protection.

 

THE SACRAMENT OF CHRISMATION

(Confirmation)

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Now newly baptized will be chrismated by the sign of the cross with Holy Myrrh on the same parts of the body where he was earlier anointed with oil.

 

Holy Chrismation is the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit which identifies all baptized people with a seal that sets them apart as inalienable possessions of Christ. That is, the Holy Spirit embraces them and envelopes them like a shield and an armor of faith to enable them to live the faith into which they have just been baptized. Therefore, Chrismation is also known as the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Procession

The Godparent, with the newly baptized person, and followed by someone holding the baptismal candle, will then be led three times around the baptismal Font. This is an act of rejoicing with the angles in heaven and with the other Christians present at the addition of one more member to the flock of Christ.

 

The Procession, conducted in the form of the circle around the Font, is like a joyful dance as the Priest and Chanter sing “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia”.

 

The Readings

The Bible Readings follow from the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans (6: 3-11) where Paul makes the comparison between the immersion and the Burial and Resurrection of Christ, and from the Gospel according to St. Matthew (28: 16-20), where the Divine Institution of Baptism was established by our Lord.

 

Then the newly baptised is prayed over with a symbolic washing away of the Myrrh, receiving the blessing of Christ.

 

The Tonsure

Following the Baptism and Chrism, the Priest will tonsure the newly baptized by cutting some of his/her hair crosswise to signify that Christ will be the head of the newly baptized from now on, that he/she will reject other allegiances. Hair is the only thing belonging exclusively to the newly baptized with which it may offer thanks to God for its entry into the Church.

 

The Churching

If the newly baptized person is a male child, the Priest will take him into the Altar and around the Holy Table “to church him” and venerate the icon of Christ, thanking Him for the great blessing of rendering the child a Member of His Church and a candidate for priesthood

 

The Priest then reads the Conclusion Litanies and the Dismissal, offering a short spiritual advice and congratulating godparent and parents at the end of service.

 

The Vesting

The Priest blesses the newly baptized and places a “garment of righteousness” on him/her. The newly baptized will leave to be dressed in fresh, clean or new garments and the Priest will read additional prayers at this time.

 

Bathing the Child

Even though the child and its clothing have come in contact with Holy Water and Holy Chrism, the child may be bathed on the same evening. However, the water from its bathing must not be poured down the drain but rather emptied into a place where it will not be desecrated (such as a corner of the garden or in the ocean). The Church does not stipulate a three-day or seven-day period before the child’s bathing.

 

Holy Communion

The next three Sundays after the Baptism, or at least one Sunday, the Godparent and parents will take the newly baptized child to Church (also bringing the baptismal candle and lighting it and leaving it lit and “burning” during the Liturgy) to receive Holy Communion, its first taste of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Just as a mother physically nourishes the newborn infant with milk, so too the Grace of God offers as spiritual food, Holy Communion to its newest member, just born through baptism. The godparent and child’s (orthodox) parent/s should prepare by fasting (not a strict fasting), prayers and good deeds to also receive Holy Communion.

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