Baptism and Chrismation

Baptism and Chrismation together constitute Christian initiation in the Orthodox Church. Baptism is performed by triple immersion in the name of the Holy Trinity, effecting the death of the old self and rebirth in Christ. Chrismation (the anointing with Holy Myron) immediately follows, imparting the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Orthodox practice, Baptism, Chrismation, and first Holy Communion are administered together in a single service, even to infants — the newly baptized person is immediately a full communicant member of the Church.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

Baptism (Kreschenie / Baptisma)

Theological Meaning

Baptism is the fundamental Mystery of initiation into the Body of Christ. Its meaning is drawn from Scripture:

  • Death and Resurrection with Christ: “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 triple immersion enacts this death and resurrection: the catechumen descends into the water (burial with Christ) and emerges (resurrection with Christ).
  • New Birth: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Baptism is a genuine rebirth — not merely symbolic but ontologically transformative.
  • Washing / Illumination: The baptized person is cleansed from ancestral sin and all personal sins committed before baptism. The early Church called baptism photismos (“illumination”), and the baptized were called photisthentos (“the illumined”).
  • Incorporation into the Church: Through baptism, one becomes a member of the Body of Christ — the Church.

The Rite

The baptismal rite in the Orthodox Church includes:

  1. Exorcisms: Three (or four) prayers of exorcism, commanding the devil to depart from the catechumen. This is not merely dramatic — it reflects the reality that the unbaptized person lives under the dominion of the fallen world.
  2. Renunciation of Satan: The catechumen (or sponsor for an infant) faces west (the direction of darkness) and renounces Satan, “all his works, all his angels, all his service, and all his pride.” The catechumen then turns east (the direction of the rising Sun/Son) and unites with Christ.
  3. Profession of Faith: The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed is recited.
  4. Blessing of the water: The priest blesses the baptismal water with prayers and the sign of the cross, and the water is anointed with holy oil.
  5. Triple immersion: The catechumen is fully immersed three times in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The formula is: “The servant of God [Name] is baptized in the name of the Father — Amen. And of the Son — Amen. And of the Holy Spirit — Amen.”
  6. Vesting in white: The newly baptized is clothed in a white garment, signifying the new life in Christ.

(Schmemann, Of Water and the Spirit, chs. 2-5)

Triple Immersion

Orthodox canon law requires baptism by triple immersion (triune immersion), not by pouring (infusion) or sprinkling (aspersion):

  • Apostolic Canon 50 (or 49 in some numberings): “If any bishop or presbyter does not perform three immersions of the one initiation, but one immersion, which is given into the death of the Lord, let him be deposed” (The Rudder [Pedalion], trans. Cummings). The three immersions are understood to correspond to the three days of Christ’s burial and to the three Persons of the Trinity.
  • Canon 95 of the Quinisext Council (Trullo, 692) presupposes the same standard: it treats the single-immersion baptism of the Eunomians as no baptism at all, requiring such converts to be received by baptism.

Pouring or sprinkling is permitted only in cases of extreme necessity (e.g., clinical baptism of a person on the point of death) and is considered an exception, not the norm. The prevalence of pouring/sprinkling in Western Christianity is regarded by Orthodox canonists as an irregularity (Pomazansky, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, Part II, ch. 8, on Baptism).

Infant Baptism

The Orthodox Church baptizes infants, following the practice of the ancient Church. The theological basis includes:

  • The precedent of household baptisms in the New Testament (Acts 16:15, 33; 1 Corinthians 1:16).
  • The analogy with circumcision in the Old Covenant, which was performed on infants.
  • The understanding that grace is not dependent on the recipient’s intellectual comprehension — infants receive grace genuinely.
  • The sponsors (godparents) speak on behalf of the infant and undertake responsibility for the child’s Christian upbringing.

Infant baptism is followed immediately by Chrismation and Holy Communion; the infant becomes a full member of the Church from the moment of baptism.

The Unrepeatable Character of Baptism

“I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins” (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, Article 10). Baptism imparts an indelible seal and cannot be repeated. Even if a person falls away from the faith and later returns, they are not rebaptized but are received through the Mystery of Repentance (Confession).

Chrismation (Miropomazanie / Chrisma)

Theological Meaning

Chrismation is the “personal Pentecost” of the newly baptized person — the bestowal of the Holy Spirit for the life of sanctification and spiritual growth. It corresponds to the laying on of hands by the Apostles in Acts 8:14-17 and Acts 19:5-6.

The priest anoints the newly baptized person with Holy Myron (chrism) on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet, saying at each anointing: “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen” (Pechat’ dara Dukha Svyatago. Amin’).

Holy Myron

The Holy Myron is a specially prepared oil mixed with numerous aromatic substances (traditionally including balsam, myrrh, and many other ingredients — up to 40 or more in some traditions). In the Orthodox Church, the Myron is consecrated by the head of each autocephalous Church (Patriarch or chief bishop) during Holy Week, typically on Great Wednesday or Great Thursday. The consecration of Myron is reserved to the bishop — in practice, to the Patriarch or chief hierarch — signifying the unity of the Church.

The consecration of Myron is a prerogative of autocephaly, but not every autocephalous Church exercises it. As of 2026, the Churches of Constantinople, Moscow, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia (and, among others, the Orthodox Church in America) consecrate their own Myron; the ancient Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and the Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Albania, and Poland receive theirs from Constantinople — a practice the Ecumenical Patriarchate regards as a visible bond of unity (OCA, “A Brief History of Chrism Consecration in the Orthodox Church in America,” oca.org; orthodoxhistory.org, “Should Antioch Make Its Own Chrism?” 2024). In Russian practice, the Myron consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow is distributed to all dioceses.

Chrismation Administered Immediately After Baptism

Unlike Western practice, where Confirmation is typically separated from Baptism by years (in the Roman Catholic tradition) or is not practiced at all (in some Protestant traditions), in Orthodoxy Chrismation immediately follows Baptism. There is no delay — the newly baptized person receives the fullness of Christian initiation in one continuous liturgical event. This reflects the ancient Church’s practice of initiation as a single unified event.

Reception of Converts

The reception of converts to the Orthodox Church varies depending on the convert’s prior tradition. Three modes are recognized:

1. Reception by Baptism

Those who have not been baptized at all, or whose prior baptism is considered invalid (e.g., non-Trinitarian groups such as Oneness Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses), are received by Baptism, Chrismation, and Communion.

2. Reception by Chrismation

Those who have been validly baptized in the name of the Trinity but belong to a tradition that does not practice Chrismation (or whose Chrismation is considered invalid) are received by Chrismation and Communion. In common Russian Orthodox practice (following the decisions of the Synods of the 18th-19th centuries), Roman Catholics and many Protestants with valid Trinitarian baptism are received by Chrismation.

3. Reception by Profession of Faith

Those who were previously Orthodox and lapsed, or in some cases those coming from certain Eastern traditions, may be received by a simple profession of faith and absolution.

Variation in Practice

This is an area of significant variation among Orthodox jurisdictions:

  • Stricter practice (associated with some Greek Old Calendarists, some monasteries, and some ROCOR parishes [historically]): All converts are received by Baptism, on the grounds that sacraments performed outside the canonical boundaries of the Church have no grace. This position appeals to St. Cyprian of Carthage and the Pedalion (Rudder) of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite.
  • Moderate practice (the norm in most jurisdictions): Roman Catholics are received by Chrismation; Protestants with valid Trinitarian baptism are received by Chrismation or, in some cases, by Baptism depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances.
  • The principle of economia: The Church may apply “economy” (oikonomia) — pastoral flexibility — in accepting the baptisms of heterodox Christians, without thereby making a dogmatic statement about the validity of sacraments outside the Church. This is distinct from affirming the existence of sacramental grace in heterodox communities.

(Canon 95 of the Quinisext Council [Trullo, 692]; Canon 7 of the Second Ecumenical Council [Constantinople, 381]; Canon 1 of St. Basil the Great)

See Also

References

  • Schmemann, Alexander. Of Water and the Spirit: A Liturgical Study of Baptism. Crestwood: SVS Press, 1974.
  • Pomazansky, Michael. Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (Part II, ch. 8, “The Holy Mysteries or Sacraments.”)
  • Apostolic Canon 50 (49) (The Rudder [Pedalion], trans. Cummings).
  • Orthodox Church in America. “A Brief History of Chrism Consecration in the Orthodox Church in America” (oca.org).
  • Canon 7 of the Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople, 381).
  • Canon 95 of the Quinisext Council (Trullo, 692).
  • Canon 1 of St. Basil the Great (Canonical Epistles).
  • Ware, Kallistos. The Orthodox Church. London: Penguin, 1993.