The Christian life can be said to truly begin with the sacrament of baptism, which is a great mystery to us. As Saint Paul writes, “…as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Every human being comes into this world with a physical birth, but for Orthodox Christians, the sacrament of baptism is a second birth, a spiritual birth, in which we share in Christ’s Passion and Resurrection so that we may be “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Washed clean of our sins and united with Christ in the baptismal font, baptism is the earnest beginning of our journey towards Christ.

The service of baptism begins with “the making of a Catechumen.” Here, the person being received into the Orthodox Faith renounces the things of Satan and joins themselves to Christ. If the person preparing for baptism is an infant, then the godparent sponsoring the child responds to these prayers in their stead. After this, the priest leads the godparents and catechumen into the church, to begin the prayers and preparation of the baptismal font. As per Christ’s injunction to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), the baptism itself consists of a threefold immersion and invocation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In the Orthodox Church, the sacrament of chrismation, comparable to confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church, takes place after the baptism, in which the newly baptized individual is anointed with oil and receives the “seal and gift of the Holy Spirit.” It should be noted here that those who are not Orthodox Christians but would like to become so, and who have already received a baptism in the name of the Trinity in a mainline Christian church, are received into the Orthodox Church by receiving the sacrament of Chrismation and not a second baptism. The conclusion and culmination of the conversion of the newly baptized or chrismated individual is the reception of the Eucharist by the newly baptized, joining them fully to the life of the Orthodox Church. For those interested in scheduling a baptism, please reach out to Father Michael or the church offices.