I apologize for how long it has taken me to get this post written and posted; I was suffering from some pretty bad migraines. Why? I don't know. If I knew what was causing my migraines I would stop doing whatever it is that is causing them.
Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, blog post. Let's get on with it, shall we?
There is a sacrament that is usually performed in conjunction with baptism. Chrismation is an anointing of the newly baptized person with chrism, or holy oil.
While Chrismation is usually done in conjunction with baptism it can also be done in lieu of baptism for converts that have already had a trinitarian baptism and the bishop says that it's ok to do so. In fact, when I converted I only had a Chrismation.
Chrismation has been likened to Confirmation in the Catholic Church or other liturgical Protestant denominations- but the major difference, aside from the name, is that Chrismation immediately follows baptism even for infants instead of waiting for the "age of reason" that the Catholic Church has set.
From what I understand of Catholic and certain Protestant denomination's practices is that Communion will not be given until after Confirmation, meaning that a person baptized must wait some years until they take their first Communion. This has, naturally, become a big deal.
When my mother worked at a Lutheran church in California I often went up during their communion, even though I couldn't take communion, to be blessed by the priest. The priest noticed that I kept going up and talked to my mother about putting me through catechism classes so I could be confirmed and take communion. My mother promptly told me to stop going up even to receive a blessing, because only God could bless us. Bless her heart.
But we Orthodox chrismate our children right after their baptism whether they be infants, youths, teenagers, or any other time.
The Orthodox Church sees Chrismation to be an extension of Pentecost. I'll quote here from Orthodox Wiki which also quotes from Bishop Kallistos Ware because I don't see the point in quoting just a specific part of Orthodox Wiki when the next line also quotes Bishop Kallistos which I would be quoting.
Chrismation is also seen as us receiving the Holy Spirit.
In Acts chapters 8 and 19 we can read about how the Apostles went to those who had only been baptized and had not yet received the Holy Spirit and laid their hands on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. This is seen as the scriptural basis for the sacrament of Chrismation.
During Chrismation the priest anoints the head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, chest, hands, and feet - each time he says, "The Seal of the Holy Spirit." Depending on where you are the rest of the congregation may reply "Seal!" every time the priest says "Seal".
The chrism, or holy oil, that is used is mixed with different scents and regular olive oil and is consecrated by a bishop during Holy Week - the week before Pascha (Easter) - starting on Holy Monday and being finished on Holy Thursday. The bishop adds some old chrism in with the new chrism in a supposed unending line all the way back to the Apostles (Wikipedia).
So how do we connect Chrismation with the Apostles laying on of their hands? Well, according to Fr. Philip Gialopsos,
In conclusion, we can see according to the Tradition of the Church that chrism and the sacrament of Chrismation hails back to the Apostles in an unbroke line of succession. With this sacrament, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit much like the Apostles during Pentecost. With this sacrament, we are made a part of the royal priesthood.
Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, blog post. Let's get on with it, shall we?
There is a sacrament that is usually performed in conjunction with baptism. Chrismation is an anointing of the newly baptized person with chrism, or holy oil.
While Chrismation is usually done in conjunction with baptism it can also be done in lieu of baptism for converts that have already had a trinitarian baptism and the bishop says that it's ok to do so. In fact, when I converted I only had a Chrismation.
Chrismation has been likened to Confirmation in the Catholic Church or other liturgical Protestant denominations- but the major difference, aside from the name, is that Chrismation immediately follows baptism even for infants instead of waiting for the "age of reason" that the Catholic Church has set.
From what I understand of Catholic and certain Protestant denomination's practices is that Communion will not be given until after Confirmation, meaning that a person baptized must wait some years until they take their first Communion. This has, naturally, become a big deal.
When my mother worked at a Lutheran church in California I often went up during their communion, even though I couldn't take communion, to be blessed by the priest. The priest noticed that I kept going up and talked to my mother about putting me through catechism classes so I could be confirmed and take communion. My mother promptly told me to stop going up even to receive a blessing, because only God could bless us. Bless her heart.
But we Orthodox chrismate our children right after their baptism whether they be infants, youths, teenagers, or any other time.
The Orthodox Church sees Chrismation to be an extension of Pentecost. I'll quote here from Orthodox Wiki which also quotes from Bishop Kallistos Ware because I don't see the point in quoting just a specific part of Orthodox Wiki when the next line also quotes Bishop Kallistos which I would be quoting.
"It is by Chrismation that a person becomes a layperson—a member of the laos, the people of God. Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia explains: Through Chrismation every member of the Church becomes a prophet, and receives a share in the royal priesthood of Christ; all Christians alike, because they are chrismated, are called to act as conscious witnesses to the Truth. 'You have an anointing (chrisma) from the Holy One, and know all things' (I John 2:20) (Ware, 279) (OrthodoxWiki)."[Original citations left intact]So we see that by Chrismation we have a share in the royal priesthood of Christ. That can also be explained as the priesthood of the believers. I'll touch on the difference between ordained priests and the royal priesthood in my post on Holy Orders.
Chrismation is also seen as us receiving the Holy Spirit.
In Acts chapters 8 and 19 we can read about how the Apostles went to those who had only been baptized and had not yet received the Holy Spirit and laid their hands on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. This is seen as the scriptural basis for the sacrament of Chrismation.
During Chrismation the priest anoints the head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, chest, hands, and feet - each time he says, "The Seal of the Holy Spirit." Depending on where you are the rest of the congregation may reply "Seal!" every time the priest says "Seal".
The chrism, or holy oil, that is used is mixed with different scents and regular olive oil and is consecrated by a bishop during Holy Week - the week before Pascha (Easter) - starting on Holy Monday and being finished on Holy Thursday. The bishop adds some old chrism in with the new chrism in a supposed unending line all the way back to the Apostles (Wikipedia).
So how do we connect Chrismation with the Apostles laying on of their hands? Well, according to Fr. Philip Gialopsos,
"...as Christianity began to grow, it was impossible for the Apostles to be everywhere to perform the Sacrament by laying on their hands, so they gave the authority to their successors to administer the Sacrament by anointing the baptized with Myrrh (Myron Oil). (Gialopsos, 35)"The Apostles gave authority to their bishops, and this has continued on to this day. Each bishop today can trace his lineage to back to the Apostles - giving us continuity with the Church from history. I'll probably touch on this a bit more in my post on Holy Orders.
In conclusion, we can see according to the Tradition of the Church that chrism and the sacrament of Chrismation hails back to the Apostles in an unbroke line of succession. With this sacrament, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit much like the Apostles during Pentecost. With this sacrament, we are made a part of the royal priesthood.
Works Cited
Gialopsos, Philip G. The Seven Sacraments of the Greek Orthodox Church. 1997
Ware, Timothy (Kallistos). The Orthodox Church. New York: Penguin, 1997
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