Holy Baptism
The Royal Door to the Kingdom and the Garment of Light
In the Orthodox Church, Baptism is not merely a symbolic ceremony of naming or a public declaration of faith. It is the primal Mystery, the absolute prerequisite for spiritual life. It is the transition from the dominion of death into the Kingdom of Life.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
The Royal Gate to the Kingdom
Before one can partake of the Eucharist or receive the seal of the Spirit in Chrismation, one must pass through the waters.
The Church understands the baptismal font as the border between two worlds: the fallen world of Adam and the redeemed world of Christ. To step into the font is to leave behind the biological heritage of mortality and enter into the eternal lineage of God.
The Fallen World of Adam
The dominion of death, the biological heritage of mortality, the ancestral sin - the old man corrupted and separated from God.
The Redeemed World of Christ
The Kingdom of Life, the eternal lineage of God, the new creation - born of water and Spirit, clothed in the light of Christ.
St. Jacob of Serug
"Baptism is a door that brings us back to heaven, through which man passes, to be with God. Baptism is a new vessel carrying the dead, by which they cross over into the land of the immortal. Baptism is placed in the world for the new world, in which man travels from the death to the land of life."
The Rite: Renunciation & Acceptance
Facing West (Renunciation)
The candidate looks toward the west - the direction of darkness and the setting sun - to reject Satan and all his works.
The candidate declares:
- • "I renounce you, Satan"
- • "And all your works"
- • "And all your worship"
- • "And all your angels"
- • "And all your deceit"
Facing East (Acceptance)
The candidate turns toward the light - the direction of the rising sun and of Christ the Light of the World - to unite with Christ and confess the Faith.
The candidate proclaims:
- • "I unite myself to Christ"
- • Recites the Nicene Creed
- • Professes faith three times
- • "I believe... I believe... I believe"
This physical turning embodies the definition of repentance (metanoia) - a complete change of direction and loyalty, abandoning Satan, the author of death, to embrace Christ the Life-Giver.
Dying and Rising
The Theology of Immersion
"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4)
The Theology of Immersion
The word baptizein in Greek literally means "to dip" or "to immerse." Orthodoxy retains the ancient practice of full immersion because the theology of the sacrament depends on it.
The Font as Tomb
When the person goes under the water, they are truly dying.
The "old man," corrupted by the ancestral sin of Adam, is drowned. This is not symbolic - it is a real death to sin, to the world, and to the flesh.
The Font as Womb
When they rise from the water, they are resurrected.
They possess a new mode of existence. They are no longer defined by their biological birth, but by their spiritual rebirth from God.
The Trinitarian Formula
This death and resurrection is accomplished not by the water alone, but by the invocation of the Holy Trinity. In obedience to the Great Commission:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
The priest immerses the candidate three times. This triple action honors:
The three days Christ spent in the tomb
The three distinct Persons of the Godhead
Our salvation by the entire Trinity
Created by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
The Sacred Actions & Their Fruits
Putting on Christ
The newly baptized wears a white robe that symbolizes that the soul has been cleansed of all sin and is now wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)
To "put on" Christ is to be enveloped in His very presence. The baptized person now carries the identity of the Son of God. Baptism restores our dignity as being Children of God!
New Life & Creation
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The newly baptized person is sealed with the Holy Spirit and is now a citizen of heaven living upon the earth. The mind, formerly darkened by the confusion of the world, is now illuminated.
This is why Baptism was historically referred to as "Holy Illumination."
Spiritual Protection
The Spirit weaves a spiritual protection around the Christians, granting them the power to resist sin and the capacity to know God intimately.
The eyes of the soul are opened. The mind becomes radiant with the knowledge of God. The baptized is clothed in the glory that Adam stripped off - rising arrayed in the beauty of the Only Begotten Son.
St. Jacob of Serugh
"The baptized are clothed in the glory that Adam stripped off. Christ descends and clothes them with His light; they go down naked in sins, and rise arrayed in the beauty of the Only Begotten Son."
St. Severus of Antioch
"The baptized soul puts on Christ as a garment of incorruption. The Spirit weaves for it a robe brighter than light, and the mind becomes radiant with the knowledge of God."
The Foundation of Christian Hope
Thus, Baptism is the foundation of the Christian hope. It is the moment the door opens, the darkness is rejected, the old man dies, and the child of God rises, clothed in light, ready to walk in the newness of life toward the Eternal Kingdom.
The Gifts of Baptism
Royal Dignity
We become children of God, restored to our original dignity
Sealed by the Spirit
Temples of the Holy Spirit, marked as God's property
Holy Illumination
The mind is enlightened with the knowledge of God
New Creation
Old things pass away; all things become new in Christ
Clothed in Christ
We put on Christ as a garment of light and incorruption
Key to the Kingdom
The royal door opens, granting entry to eternal life
The Garment of Light
Through Baptism, we are clothed in Christ Himself - the garment of incorruption, the robe of light that Adam lost. We are restored to our original dignity as children of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and heirs of the Kingdom.
The Spirit weaves a spiritual protection around the Christians, granting them the power to resist sin and the capacity to know God intimately.
Summary
Holy Baptism: The Journey from Death to Life, from Darkness to Light
Royal Gate
The font is the border between two worlds - the fallen world of Adam and the redeemed world of Christ.
Renunciation & Acceptance
Facing West to reject Satan, turning East to embrace Christ - embodying true repentance (metanoia).
Triple Immersion
The font is both tomb and womb - we die to the old man and rise as a new creation in the name of the Holy Trinity.
New Creation
Clothed in the garment of light, sealed by the Spirit, a citizen of heaven - walking in the newness of life.
"Illumination (Baptism) is the splendor of souls, the conversion of the life... It is the aid to our weakness, the renunciation of the flesh, the following of the Spirit, the fellowship of the Word (Christ).... the participation of light, the dissolution of darkness. It is the carriage to God, the dying with Christ, the perfecting of the mind, the bulwark of Faith, the key of the Kingdom of heaven, the change of life, the removal of slavery, the loosing of chains, the remodeling of the whole man... Illumination is the greatest and most magnificent of the Gifts of God."
- St. Gregory the Theologian