OK, so far we have talked about what a sacrament is, and one of the sacraments that should be central to our faith, but usually isn't. This next one that is going to be covered most Christians should be familiar with in some shape or form.
Baptism is a sacrament that most Christians of any flavor should be familiar with. It is mentioned many times throughout the New Testament, perhaps most notably with Jesus being baptized in the Jordan by St. John the Forerunner.
The main difference between baptism in the Orthodox Church and many Protestant churches is that we Orthodox practice paedobaptism. There is actually a reason for this.
I know the argument that is usually used against paedobaptism because I grew up a Protestant - specifically Southern Baptist (for those who don't know Southern Baptists are very much against infant baptism) - with two grandfathers who were preachers, as well as a father who was a preacher. I even use to be ordained.
The argument that is used against paedobaptism is that of the believer's baptism - or credobaptism - which is claimed to be found in the 8th chapter of the Book of Acts where Saint Philip baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch. Saint Philip explains the Gospel to the Ethiopian who asks, "What must I do to be saved?" And Saint Philip answers, "Believe and be baptized."
Now, I am not saying that belief plays no part in baptism, quite the contrary. Belief definitely plays a huge role in baptism.
We see elsewhere in Acts where whole families are baptized on a statement of faith from one person. The term used in the New Testament to refer to families is Oikos which can mean either family, the family's property, or the house. When used to refer to a family it could even encompass slaves as well.
In Roman law, there was the concept of the pater familias or the head of a family. The Familia was very similar to the Oikos in that it encompassed the whole household to include slaves. The pater familias held a specific place in the family unit in that he made almost all of the decisions for the family. The pater familias also had special "priestly" duties - mainly he saw to the family's religion. This concept was familiar to the Greeks of Athens as well and the term used was kyrios which means "master" or "lord" and is used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus. Kyrios is still used today by Orthodox Christians in such phrases as Kyrie eleison or, "Lord, have mercy."
That bit of a history and language lesson is important, and has a point.
As I mentioned above, belief plays a huge role in baptism, for adult converts. But, given that we see mentioned in various places in Acts and elsewhere that whole families were baptized we can logically infer that the pater familias made the decision for his family - as was the custom for the time. This would include any infants or children who had yet to reach the "age of accountability". Whole families would be baptized on a declaration of belief from one person.
We also see in the New Testament that baptism is the new circumcision (Col 2:11-12). Or, as circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, baptism is the sign of the new covenant. Therefore, if babies were circumcised then it stands to reason that babies would also be baptized. Adult converts to the Hebrew religion were also circumcised.
By the way, on the topic of circumcision, it is not required for Christians to circumcise their children since it was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (found in Acts) that Gentile converts to Christianity were not required to keep the Law of Moses.
Paedobaptism has been a part of the Church since the beginning.
With that out of the way, let us focus on how baptism is typically done.
If you have ever watched the Godfather you might recall the baptism scene. Aside from the priest speaking Latin and all of the murder, the words and such are fairly similar, also instead of using a ladle to pour water over the baby's head, the baby is dunked in the water three times. Also, it usually the sponsor/godparent that is answering the question of "do you renounce Satan" and such for their godchild.
It is understood that the godparent is to help raise the child in the faith, since the child obviously cannot express belief. This goes back to the paterfamilias being responsible for the faith of his family.
For adults, ideally, baptism is done by immersion as well, but each parish may not be equipped to be able to dunk an adult-sized human underwater. I have seen kiddy pools used where the adult sits in the pool and then has water poured over them. I've also seen other larger plastic tubs and things used so the person can sit a little more comfortably. Come to think of it, I've only seen one parish that actually had a baptismal font built into the narthex that was large enough for an adult to be dunked fully.
I believe that one of the parishes I attended had similar plans to include such a baptismal font in their new temple whenever that gets built.
Baptism, whether for babies or adults is still seen as renewing. We are taking off the old nature of man, and putting on the new nature. We are becoming children of God much as the Israelites did with circumcision.
Baptism - as the sign of the new covenant - is the entrance into the Church and the gateway to the other sacraments. You can not be married or ordained, and you cannot take communion without first being baptized because if you're not baptized then you are not a part of the Church.
Baptism is a sacrament that most Christians of any flavor should be familiar with. It is mentioned many times throughout the New Testament, perhaps most notably with Jesus being baptized in the Jordan by St. John the Forerunner.
The main difference between baptism in the Orthodox Church and many Protestant churches is that we Orthodox practice paedobaptism. There is actually a reason for this.
I know the argument that is usually used against paedobaptism because I grew up a Protestant - specifically Southern Baptist (for those who don't know Southern Baptists are very much against infant baptism) - with two grandfathers who were preachers, as well as a father who was a preacher. I even use to be ordained.
The argument that is used against paedobaptism is that of the believer's baptism - or credobaptism - which is claimed to be found in the 8th chapter of the Book of Acts where Saint Philip baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch. Saint Philip explains the Gospel to the Ethiopian who asks, "What must I do to be saved?" And Saint Philip answers, "Believe and be baptized."
Now, I am not saying that belief plays no part in baptism, quite the contrary. Belief definitely plays a huge role in baptism.
We see elsewhere in Acts where whole families are baptized on a statement of faith from one person. The term used in the New Testament to refer to families is Oikos which can mean either family, the family's property, or the house. When used to refer to a family it could even encompass slaves as well.
In Roman law, there was the concept of the pater familias or the head of a family. The Familia was very similar to the Oikos in that it encompassed the whole household to include slaves. The pater familias held a specific place in the family unit in that he made almost all of the decisions for the family. The pater familias also had special "priestly" duties - mainly he saw to the family's religion. This concept was familiar to the Greeks of Athens as well and the term used was kyrios which means "master" or "lord" and is used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus. Kyrios is still used today by Orthodox Christians in such phrases as Kyrie eleison or, "Lord, have mercy."
That bit of a history and language lesson is important, and has a point.
As I mentioned above, belief plays a huge role in baptism, for adult converts. But, given that we see mentioned in various places in Acts and elsewhere that whole families were baptized we can logically infer that the pater familias made the decision for his family - as was the custom for the time. This would include any infants or children who had yet to reach the "age of accountability". Whole families would be baptized on a declaration of belief from one person.
We also see in the New Testament that baptism is the new circumcision (Col 2:11-12). Or, as circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, baptism is the sign of the new covenant. Therefore, if babies were circumcised then it stands to reason that babies would also be baptized. Adult converts to the Hebrew religion were also circumcised.
By the way, on the topic of circumcision, it is not required for Christians to circumcise their children since it was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (found in Acts) that Gentile converts to Christianity were not required to keep the Law of Moses.
Paedobaptism has been a part of the Church since the beginning.
With that out of the way, let us focus on how baptism is typically done.
If you have ever watched the Godfather you might recall the baptism scene. Aside from the priest speaking Latin and all of the murder, the words and such are fairly similar, also instead of using a ladle to pour water over the baby's head, the baby is dunked in the water three times. Also, it usually the sponsor/godparent that is answering the question of "do you renounce Satan" and such for their godchild.
It is understood that the godparent is to help raise the child in the faith, since the child obviously cannot express belief. This goes back to the paterfamilias being responsible for the faith of his family.
For adults, ideally, baptism is done by immersion as well, but each parish may not be equipped to be able to dunk an adult-sized human underwater. I have seen kiddy pools used where the adult sits in the pool and then has water poured over them. I've also seen other larger plastic tubs and things used so the person can sit a little more comfortably. Come to think of it, I've only seen one parish that actually had a baptismal font built into the narthex that was large enough for an adult to be dunked fully.
I believe that one of the parishes I attended had similar plans to include such a baptismal font in their new temple whenever that gets built.
Baptism, whether for babies or adults is still seen as renewing. We are taking off the old nature of man, and putting on the new nature. We are becoming children of God much as the Israelites did with circumcision.
Baptism - as the sign of the new covenant - is the entrance into the Church and the gateway to the other sacraments. You can not be married or ordained, and you cannot take communion without first being baptized because if you're not baptized then you are not a part of the Church.
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