© 2024 Saint Matthew and Saint Hristina Romanian Orthodox Church.
The Sacrament of Holy Baptism was established by our Savior Jesus Christ through the words: "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" (Matthew 28:19). He spoke these words after His resurrection from the dead.
But the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is not only the door through which one enters into the Holy Church of Christ but also for gaining the kingdom of God, as the Savior Himself assures us, saying: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).
And the forerunner of the Savior Christ, Saint John, baptized at the Jordan. But his baptism was not a Sacrament; it merely symbolized the cleansing of sins through faith and repentance. It was more of an exhortation to repentance, a visible and preparatory sign for what was to come, as Saint John the Baptist himself testified: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Later, the holy apostle Paul, meeting some who had received John's baptism, asked them: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him: 'We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' And he said: 'Into what then were you baptized?' They said: 'Into John's baptism.' And Paul said: 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:1-5), that is, they received Christian Baptism.
The Holy Baptism instituted by the Savior Jesus Christ is not just a preparatory sign for what is to come, but it is a Holy Sacrament of the Church of Christ.
The visible part of the Holy Baptism consists of the threefold immersion in blessed water of the one being baptized and the utterance of the words: "The servant of God (N) is baptized in the name of the Father, Amen, and of the Son, Amen, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen; now and forever and unto ages of ages, Amen."
Our Holy Church practices Baptism by immersion, not by pouring or sprinkling, because the very word "baptize" means "to immerse," "to dip." Pouring or sprinkling is performed only in very special circumstances, such as when someone is seriously ill or when sufficient water is not available.
The water used in the Holy Baptism must be natural, clean, and unmixed.
The effects of receiving the Sacrament of Holy Baptism are: the forgiveness of ancestral sin and all sins committed before Baptism in the case of those who are baptized later; rebirth, or the birth to a new spiritual life, a life of purity and holiness; and also admission into the bosom of the Holy Church, that is, counting the baptized person among her children, able to partake of all the other Holy Mysteries and the spiritual goods that the Holy Church offers to her members (as previously shown). Hence the names given to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism: "bath," "holy spring," "illumination," "rebirth," "new birth," "sanctification," "seal of Christ," "bath of life," "bath of regeneration," and "bath of repentance."
Baptism erases both guilt and punishment for sins, but it does not destroy the consequences of ancestral sin, such as the weakening of will and inclination towards evil, the lust of the heart, sufferings, diseases, and death.
The ministers of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism are bishops and priests, for to them the Savior Jesus Christ entrusted the power to perform the Holy Mysteries. Only in cases of necessity may a deacon baptize, and in very special cases, even a layperson may do so, provided they pronounce the words indicating that the act is done in the name of the Holy Trinity. In such a case, if the baptized person lives, a priest must be called to read the prayers from the order of Baptism and administer the Sacraments of Chrismation and Communion.
If there are some Christians outside the Orthodox Church who say that we should not baptize infants because they have no sins and, especially, because they cannot profess their faith, we adhere to our practice, as old as the Church itself, of baptizing infants, a practice based on Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, and reason. This is because the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, from which children cannot be excluded. The recipients of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism are all the unbaptized, of any age, all being stained by ancestral sin (Acts 16:14-15; 16:33; 1 Corinthians 1:16; 16:15; Romans 5:12). The necessity of Baptism for all is shown by the Savior's words: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Even from the time of the holy apostles, infant baptism was practiced: Lydia and her household (Acts 16:15); the jailer and his household (Acts 16:33); Crispus and his household (Acts 18:8); Stephanas and his household (1 Corinthians 1:16).
The Holy Sacrament of Baptism is performed by priests who have received the sanctifying grace of priesthood. It is considered a great celebration for any Christian family the day their newborn children receive the Sacrament of Holy Baptism and enter through it into the ranks of Christian believers. According to its rules, our Church baptizes infants soon after their birth. This has been its practice from the beginning.
If Baptism primarily cleanses us from ancestral sin, should we forget that children are also born with this sin? We know what the psalmist says: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). We know what the holy apostle Paul says: "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). Knowing this, that we are all born with ancestral sin, can we be sure that a child will live to the age when they can know and profess faith in Christ, so that we baptize them then? Can we risk that they might die unbaptized, under the condemnation of ancestral sin?
And if we refer to ancient times, to the Tradition of the Church, we see that from then, from the first, second, and third centuries, infant baptism was practiced. The holy fathers show in their writings that the Church received from the apostles the custom of administering Baptism even to infants.
As for the fact that infants cannot profess their Christian faith, the Church has as a guarantee the godparents who receive them at Baptism, who profess the Christian faith for them by reciting the Creed and who take on the responsibility of raising their godchildren in the faith of the Church.
Moreover, we know from the Holy Scriptures so many cases where, for the faith of someone, God had mercy on the one for whom that person was praying. Let us remember that the Savior healed the servant of the centurion of Capernaum for the faith of his master; He healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman for the faith of her mother, and He raised Jairus' daughter for the faith of her father, and the son of the widow of Nain for the faith of his mother. And then should we not believe that Baptism can be administered to infants on the basis of the faith of their godparents?
To make the profession of faith, the godparent is required to be a good believer, to be older; also, to be of the same sex as the child being baptized. The child's parents cannot be godparents. It is good for each newly baptized child to have only one godparent.
The godparent has the duty to take care of the spiritual life of their godchild, teaching them, at the appropriate time, the truths of our right faith to make them a good believer, a healthy member of the Holy Church. But the godchild is also obliged to listen to and respect the godparent, just as they listen to their bodily parents.
There is a Baptism of martyrdom or of blood (Matthew 10:32; 16:25), known in the earliest Christian centuries, meaning the martyr's death in persecutions for the Savior Jesus Christ. The holy fathers consider it equivalent to the Baptism of water and the Spirit, sometimes even more precious than it (Saint Gregory the Theologian).
We also know of the Baptism of desire, which consists in the fervent desire of someone to become a member of the Holy Church, leading a life of repentance and virtue. If, for some reason beyond their control, they do not receive Baptism by water and the Spirit, they are considered baptized with the Baptism of desire.
The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is not repeated. For "there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5)... "I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins," says the one who receives the Holy Sacrament of Baptism (Article 10 of the Creed). Indeed, just as one is born physically only once, so too spiritual birth can be only once. Only if a child is
found and it is not known for sure whether they have been baptized, then they are baptized conditionally, if they have not been baptized. Thus, even here, a second baptism is not performed.
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
"Dipping yourself in water, where you lose your trace, means that you have come to deprive yourself of life in the air. And to deprive yourself of life is the same as dying. When, after a few moments, you rise to the surface of the water, reaching again to the light, it means that you fervently desire another life, and after you have gained it, you live only from it. For this reason, we also ask in the service of Baptism for the help of the Maker of all, for a new birth is much more significant than the first. Now the image of God is better imprinted in the soul of the baptized than before, and their stature is now more precisely shaped after the divine model, for now even the model is shown to us with clearer features" (Nicholas Cabasilas, Life in Christ).
From the Book of Orthodox Christian Teaching