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One can be baptized at any age in the Orthodox Church; however, is most common and our Tradition that infants are baptized. This may seem strange to many of us--shouldn't we understand what we are participating in? However, we affirm that "[b]aptizing infants before they know what is going on is an expression of God's great love for us. It shows that God loves us and accepts us before we can ever know Him or love Him. It shows that we are wanted and loved by God from the very moment of our birth" (Fr. Anthony Coniaris, Sacred Symbols that Speak Vol. 2). God's grace is not dependent on our intellectual understanding.

The basis for baptism is found both in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. Although in Scripture we do not hear an explicit account of infant baptism we do hear about whole households being baptized: The Household of Cornelius, Acts 11:13–14; The Household of Lydia, Acts 16:15; The Philippian Jailor’s Household, Acts 16:33; The Household of Crispus, Acts 18:8; The Household of Stephanas, 1 Corinthians 1:16. Baptism is also the only sacrament that is directly mentioned in the Creed: "I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."

We practice infant and child baptism because as a Church we believe that anyone, at any age has a relationship with and experiences God. Through baptism a child is also further united with their family, and is able to be raised up in the Faith from the beginning of their life. Through baptism one's family also grows as the child receives godparents (Orthodox Christians in good-standing with the Church) who speak on their behalf at the baptism and accept responsibility for raising their new godchild up in the Faith.

Adult Catechism

When an adult is to be baptized and recieved into the Orthodox Church it is customary to catechize, or instruct them, in the teachings, Faith and spirituality of the Orthodox Church prior to their baptism. Adult baptism has always been preceded by catechism. Historically, the period of Great Lent was often a period devoted to catechism culminating in baptism on Great and Holy Pascha (Easter). Instruction would not have ended with baptism, but continued following their reception into the church.

• Godparents

  • To be eligible to be a godparent one must be in good-standing with the Church.
  • As a godparent one has the responsibility of being an example in the faith to their godchild and to take responsibility to raise them in the Faith.

• Candles

  • A candle will be carried by the newly baptized, also called the newly illumined, symbolizing that they have received the light of Christ.
  • They will continue to carry this candle with them when they approach to receive communion in the comming weeks.

• Olive Oil

  • Oil has great significance and symbolism in our Faith that dates back to the ancient Church, scripture and practices in the ancient world. Oil, in scripture and our Faith, is often a sign and indicator of God's blessing (Exodus 28:41), as well as healing. As St. James exhorts us in his epistle, "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much" (James 5:14-16).

• Baptismal Garments

  • White baptismal outfit for after the candidate for baptism has been baptized.
  • The white color of the outfit symbolizes the transformative experience of baptism--the light of Christ; being washed clean. As we hear in Psalm 50, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin," and "[p]urge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

• Towels

  • To dry the candidate for baptism after they have been immersed three times in the font.

• Baptismal Cross

• Martyrika

  • A small cross that is worn by those who attended symbolizing that they have borne witness to the baptism.

Catechism

The service begins with the parents, godparents, candidate for baptism, and priest at the entry between the narthex (entrance of the church) and the sanctuary (where we gather for worship). Historically, this service would have followed months or even years of catechism and teaching about the Faith.

The word “catechumen” is an ancient Greek word that means “one who is learning the faith.” A Christian is someone always learning their faith, always seeking to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). This initial service takes place in the entryway or narthex of the Church and marks the official entrance, so to speak, of a new Christian into the life of the Church. The opening prayers of this service are in fact exorcisms, prayers of confrontation with our only real enemy, the Devil, whom we are called on by the Scriptures to resist (1 Peter 5:8-9). The prayers of exorcism proclaim the reality of evil and the power of God to overcome it, announcing the forthcoming baptism to be a victory in the war against sin and death.

After these prayers, the Godparents, on behalf of their Godchild, are asked a very specific question: Do you renounce Satan and all of his works? Their response: I do renounce him! The first act of the Christian life is a renunciation, a challenge, and a confrontation with the face of evil. The priest continues, bluntly asking: Do you unite yourself to Christ? Their response: I do unite myself to Christ! It is this double movement – the renunciation of Satan and the acceptance of Christ – that forms the nucleus of baptismal commitment. It is not enough to turn our backs to evil. We must also turn to Christ and orient our entire life towards Him. As a sign of commitment to Christ, the godparents confess their faith by saying the Creed, a brief summary of Christian belief in the living God articulated at the first two ecumenical councils of the Church in the 4th century. Then the congregation processes into the Church and goes up to the baptismal font while the priest sings a verse of Scripture: “Blessed is our God who desires that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

The opening prayers of this service are in fact exorcisms, prayers of confrontation with our only real enemy, the Devil, whom we are called on by the Scriptures to resist (1 Peter 5:8-9). The prayers of exorcism proclaim the reality of evil and the power of God to overcome it, announcing the forthcoming baptism to be a victory in the war against sin and death.

After these prayers, the Godparents, on behalf of their Godchild, are asked a very specific question: Do you renounce Satan and all of his works? Their response: I do renounce him! The first act of the Christian life is a renunciation, a challenge, and a confrontation with the face of evil. The priest continues, bluntly asking: Do you unite yourself to Christ? Their response: I do unite myself to Christ! It is this double movement – the renunciation of Satan and the acceptance of Christ – that forms the nucleus of baptismal commitment. It is not enough to turn our backs to evil. We must also turn to Christ and orient our entire life towards Him. As a sign of commitment to Christ, the godparents confess their faith by saying the Creed, a brief summary of Christian belief in the living God articulated at the first two ecumenical councils of the Church in the 4th century. Then the congregation processes into the Church and goes up to the baptismal font while the priest sings a verse of Scripture: “Blessed is our God who desires that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

During the Catechism service the priest offers several prayers for the person who is about to baptized. Then the priest asks the candidate for baptism (or if they are a infant, the godparents on their behalf) to renounce the world, affirm their belief in Christ and that they will follow Christ and His Church's teachings and beliefs. At the conclusion of the catechism, together with the priest the parents, godparents and child proceed to the baptismal font.

The Blessing of the Water

At the font the priest blesses the water and asks the Holy Spirit to descend and sanctify the water. In doing so, the prayers recall Christ's baptism in the Jordan River. "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 Redeption, the Blessing of the Jordan. Make it a fountain of incorruption, a loosing of sins, a healing of sickness..." (An Orthodox Prayer Book).

The Blessing of the Oil

After blessing the water, the priest then asks the godparents to cup their hands, and pours the oil that they have brought into their hands. He then blesses this oil, makes the sign of the cross with oil in the font, and then anoints the candidate for baptism.

Pure olive oil offered by the child’s Godparents is blessed in a prayer that mentions the dove that brought Noah a twig of olive in its beak as a sign of reconciliation and deliverance from the great flood (Genesis 8:8-11) that is described as a pre-figuration and symbol of baptism in 1 Peter 3:20-21. Poured into the hands of the child’s Godparents, the priest anoints the child’s ears, hands, feet as a sign that the child belongs to Christ, the Messiah or “the Anointed One of God” and praying that he/she will hear the word of God, always walking in the Lord’s commandments.

The Immersion

The candidate for baptism is then baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Orthodox Christians, following the command of the risen Lord given to the apostles just before His ascension into heaven, baptize “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Immersed in the waters of the baptismal font three times, the child is washed in “the living water” promised by Jesus, “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:10, 14).

Chrismation

Afterward the candidate receives Holy Chrisom. Chrisom is a blessed oil that symbolizes a kind of seal. As a seal is pressed into hot wax to make an indelible impression, chrismation also is indicative of the mark of the Holy Spirit.

Chrismation, like baptism, is a sacrament of the Church. It is an anointing with a special oil called chrism or myrrh, made of olive oil mixed with various spices and perfumes, the recipe for which is given in Exodus 30: 22-25. It is an oil of consecration for holiness. It is our personal Pentecost. It is, as the priest proclaims during the service, “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” that the Apostle Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and Ephesians 1:13-14. It is the seal of ownership that marks out the slaves of God as belonging to Him (Revelation 7:3). As the celebrating priest anoints the child, each time he says “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” and the congregation responds by saying “Amen!”

Chrisom is prepared at the Ecumenical Patriachate in Constantinople and distributed to all its churches. In this way, chrisom is also a symbol of our unity as Christ's Church.

Procession around the Font

After the sacrament of chrismation, there is a procession of clergy, parents and godparents around the baptismal font during which Galatians 3:27 is sung: “All those who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia!” Candles are carried as a reminder that Christ is “the light of the world (John 12:46) and that Christians are a people who “belong to the light” (Ephesians 5:8). Incense, an ancient symbol of worship and the prayers of the saints, is also offered during the procession (Exodus 30:7-8 and Revelation 8:3-4).With these first steps the newly baptized makes the first steps on their journey following Christ which is symbolized by the Gospel which the priest holds in the procession.

Scriptural Readings

The procession then stops before the royal gates. The epistle and gospel readings for the baptismal service are Romans 6:3-11 and Matthew 28:16-20. In this section of his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul briefly outlines his understanding of baptism as participation in the death and resurrection of Christ “that we should no longer be slaves to sin” and that baptized Christians should count themselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The account from Matthew’s Gospel is the giving of the great commission to the apostles, sending them out to share the gospel with peoples of all nations, to baptize them in “the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” and to teach obedience to Christ’s commands.

Communion

In the later part of the baptismal service we can see that the structure closely resembles the Divine Liturgy. During the procession around the font we chant the baptismal hymn three times as we chant the Trisagion, we then hear scriptural readings which are then followed by communion. This is not a coincidence! In fact, in the early church, baptism would have happened during the Divine Liturgy with the whole community present, praying for those about to be welcomed into the community. That is why to this day on great feasts in the church we do not sing the Trisagion Hymn, and it is replaced by the hymn "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

Tonsure

Following communion the newly baptized is tonsured. The priest cuts a little bit of hair, in the shape of a cross, from top of the head. In this way, we make a first offering to God with what we possess.

The Baptismal Cross

Finally, the priest places a baptismal cross on the newly baptized recalling the words of Christ, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). The Cross symbolizes Christ's loving sacrifice and glorious resurrection that we as baptized Orthodox Christians participate in, and the way of life to which we are called.