On Holy Baptism

 What is Baptism?

Baptism is the church sacred rite in which, through threefold immersion in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, a person who has repented of their sinful life and believed in Christ is given the grace of forgiveness of sins, is born into a grace-filled and God-pleasing life, and is thereby joined to the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic (Orthodox) Church of Christ.

From where does this sacred mystery of Holy Baptism originate in the Church of Christ?

The Savior promised to grant this mystery to believers and, in doing so, indicated its importance. Nicodemus, a learned Pharisee and secret disciple of Christ, as shown in the Gospel of John, could not comprehend how a person could be reborn to seek only the Kingdom of God and virtue. To Nicodemus's perplexity, the Savior responded by promising to grant the mystery of baptism, through which every person who believes in Christ can be reborn; but without this mystical sacred rite, no one can attain salvation.

"Most assuredly, I say to you," says the Savior, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

When did the Savior institute this promised mystery?

The Lord instituted it just before His ascension into heaven, saying to the Apostles and their successors: "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).

When did the Apostles begin to perform this sacred rite?

From the hour when the promised Holy Spirit descended upon the believers in Christ and the Church of Christ began on earth. The Apostle Peter delivered the first sermon, in which all listeners were called to repent of their sins, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and join the community of believers, i.e., the Church (Acts 2:38–41).

What is necessary for the performance of the mystery of baptism?

Firstly, what is necessary for the mystery of baptism is repentance or contrition of a person for their sinful life; therefore, the Apostle cried out: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized" (Acts 2:38); and in another place, the same Apostle says: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).

Secondly, for holy baptism, faith in the Savior and faith in salvation and His Church are necessary.

"He who believes and is baptized," said the Lord, "will be saved" (Mark 16:16). Therefore, the Apostle Philip also said to the eunuch: "If you believe with all your heart, you may" be baptized (Acts 8:37).

Likewise, the Apostle Paul and Silas said to the jailer: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31), and then baptized him (Acts 16:33).

Thirdly, for baptism, a "promise of a good conscience toward God" is needed, a promise to undertake the struggle of virtue. Therefore, the Apostle Peter says that "baptism... is not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21). And the Apostle Paul writes: "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 6:4).

Fourthly, for baptism, the immersion of the believer in the waters of baptism is necessary. When the Apostle Philip baptized the eunuch, "both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38).

Fifthly, the one performing the sacred rite must baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

What happens in the mystery of baptism?

Firstly, in holy baptism, the forgiveness of sins is granted, as the Apostle Peter said: "Let every one of you be baptized... for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). The sins of the person being baptized are washed away in the water of baptism. Therefore, the Apostle Ananias said to Paul, who was called by the Savior Himself: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). "And such were some of you," writes the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian Christians. "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified" (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

Secondly, the baptized person is joined to the community of true confessors of Christ, i.e., to the Orthodox Church.

Thus, Holy Scripture speaks of the results of the Apostle Peter's sermon: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added... And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:41–47). Therefore, the Apostle Paul also explains that "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body," which is the Church (Colossians 1:24). "Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). Just as a wild tree, grafted onto a good tree, is nourished by the good sap of the latter, so those who are baptized are grafted into the good olive tree (the Church), whose root and trunk is Christ, receiving the opportunity to be nourished by the sap from Christ and to bear good fruit (cf. John 15:1, 4–7; Romans 11:24). To the baptized person is granted "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

What is the order of the sacred rite of baptism?

First, the catechumenate (instruction) of the person to be baptized takes place; prayers are offered that the Lord may dispose their soul towards Christianity; by prayer, the diabolical power is forbidden from turning them away from salvation; and the catechumen, or the sponsors who presented them, renounce satan and all his works, and also confess the faith of the Holy Church by reciting the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. After this, the baptism itself is performed. They pray for the sanctification of the baptismal water, bless oil prayerfully, anoint parts of the body with it, and baptize in the consecrated water, immersing the person three times while pronouncing the words: "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." After reading Psalm 31, white garments are placed on the newly baptized, as a sign of their blamelessness and purity, and a pledge that the Lord has made them white (cleansed) by His grace. Following the rite of baptism, the mystery of Chrismation is performed.

Why is oil consecrated and used to anoint the person being baptized in the form of a cross at baptism?

Baptism itself was once prefigured by the flood: just as only Noah and his family were saved from the universal flood in the ark, so now, only baptism can deliver one from perishing under the power of the devil, through which a person comes from darkness into marvelous light, from the power of satan to God, into His Church. And just as the olive branch, brought by the dove released from the ark (Genesis 8:11), was once the herald of the end of the flood and the beginning of salvation for Noah, so for the one being baptized, the anointing with consecrated oil is the herald of salvation from the power of the devil. Therefore, this oil is called the "oil of gladness," i.e., the messenger of good, saving joy.

Do all sectarians recognize the mystery of baptism?

Baptists and Adventists recognize baptism, but they understand it not in an Orthodox way, not in a Christian way; the Pashkovtsy (Evangelicals) consider baptism not obligatory; the Tolstoyans and Molokans completely reject it; and the Skoptsy replace baptism with castration.

How do Baptists and Adventists understand baptism?

They consider baptism merely a simple, grace-less ritual, a symbol, and therefore an empty act, a kind of figurative representation of spiritual regeneration. They say: baptism only shows that the person intending to be baptized has already been washed from sins by the Blood of Christ; hence it is clear that, according to them, baptism is performed only for appearance's sake.

Is this understanding of the Baptists and Adventists correct?

No, it is not correct. Baptism is not a simple ritual, not a grace-less act, as the sectarians think. The Lord did not institute any actions resembling play-acting; everything that the Savior commanded the Church is performed for believers to receive the grace-filled power of God. So it is with the mystery of baptism. The Apostle Paul speaks of the mystery of baptism not in a Baptist way; he does not call it a symbol, but directly considers it a regenerating (cf. John 3:5) sacred rite: "Let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). The Baptists say that baptism only signifies that God has already forgiven sins, but the Apostle Peter says that baptism is needed "for the remission of sins." It is not for nothing that the Savior calls baptism regeneration "of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). So, baptism is not a figurative representation, not a comedy, but regeneration "of water and the Spirit." Therefore, the Apostle Ananias also said to the Apostle Paul: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16).

If the Apostle Ananias had been a Baptist, he would have said, like all the Fetlers [a reference to a Baptist preacher]: "Arise, and be baptized as a sign that your sins are already forgiven, that they are already washed away." But the Apostle Ananias did not speak in a Baptist way, but from the Holy Spirit, in the Orthodox way: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16).

The Baptists and Adventists apparently want to correct and teach Christ and the Apostles!

Is it correct for the Pashkovtsy to assert that baptism is not obligatory, that one may or may not receive it?

No, the Pashkovtsy reason incorrectly. The Savior said that without holy baptism one cannot enter the Kingdom of God: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

What do the Pashkovtsy say in their defense when the Savior's teaching on baptism is declared to them?

The Pashkovtsy then say that one can receive the Holy Spirit and be saved even without baptism, just as Cornelius the centurion and his household did (Acts 10); the Pashkovtsy also refer to the thief on the cross who was saved without baptism (Luke 23:43).

Is the Pashkovtsy's reference to Cornelius the centurion correct?

No, it is not correct, because Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit miraculously. By this, the Lord taught the Apostles that Gentiles, who until that time were not accepted, could be received into the Church. However, Cornelius and his household, although they miraculously received the Holy Spirit, nonetheless did not do without baptism (Acts 10:48), by which their sins were forgiven, and thanks to which they were joined to the Body of Christ—the Church.

Is the Pashkovtsy's reference to the penitent thief correct?

No, it is not correct, because the thief was saved before the institution of holy baptism. The mystery of baptism was instituted by the Savior just before His ascension into heaven, and the Apostles began to perform baptism after the descent of the Holy Spirit, whereas the thief was saved even before the Resurrection of Christ.

On what basis do the Tolstoyans and Molokans reject baptism?

They say that by baptism in Holy Scripture, teaching is meant.

Is such an opinion correct?

No, it is not correct and is completely inconsistent with Holy Scripture. In Holy Scripture, teaching is everywhere distinguished from baptism: teaching is one thing, and baptism is quite another. The Savior said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19).

The Apostle Paul distinguishes baptism from preaching or teaching: "I thank God," he writes, "that I baptized none of you... For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 1:14–17). If baptism is teaching, then did the Apostle Paul teach no one?! Did the Lord not send the Apostle to teach?!

What other confirmation of their error do the Tolstoyans and Molokans bring?

They say that by water in Holy Scripture, teaching is always meant, for example, in the conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4); therefore, baptism supposedly must be understood as teaching.

Is such a justification correct?

No, it is not correct. Firstly, because by water in the conversation with the Samaritan woman, the Savior does not mean teaching, but rather the grace of God, as can be seen from similar words of Christ about the water of life in another place: "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:37–39). Secondly, the Tolstoyans cannot refer to the conversation with the Samaritan woman to reject baptism because the Lord was not speaking to the Samaritan woman about the mystery of baptism, but generally about salvation in His Church. Thirdly, the Tolstoyans and Molokans incorrectly consider baptism to be teaching because the baptism commanded by the Lord (Matthew 28:19) was performed by the Apostles through immersion, as the eunuch was immersed by the Apostle Philip. In the 8th chapter of Acts, it is very clearly indicated that holy baptism is performed by immersion in water (Acts 8).

How else do the Tolstoyans and Molokans justify their lack of water baptism?

They say that baptism in Scripture means torment, suffering. Whoever suffers for Christ is a baptized Christian. The Lord asked the Apostles: "Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They answered, "We can." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized" (Mark 10:38–39). Clearly, the sectarians say, that by baptism here is meant suffering for Christ.

How should one answer the sectarians?

Here (in the Gospel of Mark 10:38–39), suffering is indeed called baptism, but this refers not to the sacred rite of baptism which the Lord instituted before His ascension. Suffering for Christ is one thing, and baptism into Christ is another. And that the Savior, in the mystery of baptism which He commanded (Matthew 28:19), means not suffering, but baptism in water, is clear from the very words of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them." 

Surely the Apostles were not commanded to teach and torment people?! 

Of course not!

Is it correct for the Skoptsy to reason when they say that baptism should be understood as castration?

No, it is not correct, because from Acts 8, it is clear that the Apostle Philip baptized the eunuch in water, and did not castrate him; besides, the eunuch was already a castrate and there was no need to castrate him, but he was in need of baptism.

Source: A Good Confession: An Orthodox Anti-Sectarian Catechism / N. Varzhansky. - Reprint reproduction of the 1910 edition. - Moscow: Blagovest, 1998. - 350 p. : ill.