Section 04: Initiation Rites
The rite-by-rite section: what the Jerusalem liturgy of Christian initiation actually looked like, as described in the Mystagogical Catecheses. The renunciation of Satan and adherence to Christ, the stripping, the whole-body anointing, the threefold immersion — and then, decisively, the post-baptismal chrismation that makes Cyril’s see the earliest clear witness to the sealing with the Spirit as a distinct mystery.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
Contents
| File | Topic |
|---|---|
| Baptism and Renunciation | The water-rite as Cyril describes it: the apotaxis (facing west, the renunciation of Satan, his works, his pomp) and syntaxis (facing east, the act of allegiance to Christ); the stripping naked “imitating the naked Christ”; the pre-baptismal whole-body anointing with exorcised oil; the threefold immersion; the Romans 6 death-and-resurrection typology; the font as “at once a tomb and a mother” |
| Chrismation and the Seal | The post-baptismal anointing with the holy myron over forehead, ears, nostrils, and breast; the seal (sphragis) of the Holy Spirit; the parallel to Christ’s own anointing at the Jordan; the chrism “no longer simple ointment”; and the historical landmark — the earliest clear witness to chrismation as a distinct, Spirit-conferring mystery, with the dating/authorship caveat noted |
How to Use
- Read Baptism and Renunciation first for the water-rite in sequence, then Chrismation and the Seal for the anointing that follows it.
- Both files read the Mystagogical Catecheses as the Jerusalem rite Cyril’s see witnesses; each notes once that the Cyrilline authorship of those lectures is debated (see The Authorship Question) without letting that question obscure the rites themselves.
- The eucharist that completes initiation is treated in Section 05.
Cross-References
- For the eucharistic and liturgical setting these rites belong to, see Divine Liturgy
- For the Holy Spirit conferred in the seal, see Pneumatology
- For Cyril’s place among the Fathers, see Church Fathers
- For the five lectures these rites are drawn from, see Section 03: The Mystagogical Catecheses
- For the catechumenate that preceded the font, see The Catechumenate
References
- See each content file for full bibliographic entries. The primary source is the Mystagogical Catecheses (PG 33; SC 126, ed. Piédagnel; NPNF Series 2, Vol. 7; McCauley & Stephenson, FOTC 64; Yarnold, Cyril of Jerusalem, Routledge 2000). The principal modern studies are Juliette Day, The Baptismal Liturgy of Jerusalem (Ashgate 2007), and Edward Yarnold, The Awakening of the West (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994).