The
chapters ahead are more practical in nature than those before – teaching the
Christian and their leaders on how to perform particular Christian rites. Many in
the modern age have belittled liturgy and sacraments as ritualistic nonsense
and a distraction to the center of the Faith, Jesus Christ. I would caution
them with 2 things. First, these sacramental rites are not an end in themselves,
and in fact each has Christ at the center. Secondly, the very purpose of our
study of this text is to see how the early Christians practiced their faith,
and what they believe; if Christians in the early second century felt the
importance of following particular teachings on how to baptize, how to pray,
how to take communion, etc, then it goes without saying, we may want to follow
suit[1].
Thus we begin with Chapter Seven on Baptism:
Icon of Theophany, The Baptism of Christ
7:1 Concerning
baptism, you should baptize this way: After you have reviewed all these things,
baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in
flowing water.
7:2 But if you have no running water, baptize in other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, then in warm.
7:3 If you have very little, pour water three times on the head in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
7:4 Before the baptism, both the baptizer and the candidate for baptism, plus any others who can, should fast. The candidate should fast for one or two days beforehand.
7:2 But if you have no running water, baptize in other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, then in warm.
7:3 If you have very little, pour water three times on the head in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
7:4 Before the baptism, both the baptizer and the candidate for baptism, plus any others who can, should fast. The candidate should fast for one or two days beforehand.
Most modern Christians
would agree (most traditions) that Baptism is one of the most important steps a
Christian can take is his or her life. For those being baptized as adults the
opening verse of this chapter is important. For an adult baptism, one must
understand “all these things,” referring to the prior chapters, and must agree
to unite himself to Christ and be baptized for the remission of sins[2]. For
those baptized as infants[3] it
is the beginning of a life lived in the church, learning the path from the
Church, their parents, and their godparents – by the time the child is of age,
they will have learned the path of Christ and must take it upon themselves to
continue living the baptized life of a Christian[4]
(more on infant baptism in my other blog, Light from the Christian East). This chapter
reveals to us how the earliest Christians practiced this rite; it involves
primarily 3 things: Being baptized in the name of the Trinity and thus immersed
three times i.e. triple immersion, Baptism through water, and fasting
beforehand. 
Firstly, when being
baptized, the person will be immersed three times, each time invoking the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The most common and well known reference
to this is the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Interestingly
enough, most Catholics have given up triple immersion though they still invoke
the Trinity, and many Protestants have given up on using the name of the
Trinity and triple immersion all together;[5]
some even going as far as to say water baptism is unnecessary; which leads to
our next point. 
Secondly,
Baptism is to be by water. The Greek word for baptism (baptizo[6])
means to dip, to submerge, to sink. The text states this should occur in
running water (ie, river, “living water”), but if running water is not
available, than any other water is acceptable; likewise, if there is no cold
water, warm water will suffice. This shows us not only that there are preferred
methods of baptism, but also that the process is very practical. The use of
baptismal founts cropped up very early as many locations did not have running
rivers for baptism; areas that did have a river near by utilized them consistently.
And even if there is no fount, you can pour some water over the head three times;
the Church goes out of their way to make sure that baptism is accessible to
anybody, even in the desert. Some groups prefer to not use water baptism in lou
of “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” This seems to go against the teaching of
Christ when Jesus tells Nicodemus that “unless
one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven.[7]”
This is where the Orthodox derive the
difference between the sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation[8]
(Gift of the Holy Spirit). There are also other New Testament verses that refer
to baptism as “washing away” our sins; this would be an accurate description
when referring to water baptism[9].
Lastly,
because the early church believed that baptism held an existential change in
the person (John 3:5, Acts 2:38), the text ends with an instruction of preparation
for both the person being baptized and the clergy who is baptizing. The candidate
should fast 1-2 days beforehand. For the early church, and those Christians who
practice it today, fasting is a method of learning how to deny ones passions
and desires for worldly things; this does not mean that food or eating is bad,
just that it’s a good tool to help learn self denial and to refocus the time we
would spending eating on prayer or other spiritual activities. Thus, the
instruction for fasting before participating in a sacrament is given so that
the candidate for baptism can refocus their mind and heart towards the things
of God in preparation for such a wonderful event. Additionally, the text states
that “any who can” should also fast in preparation for the event. This shows
how extremely communal the early church was. The spiritual growth and well being
of a Christian involves the whole Church community; this is why modern
Christians who refuse to be a part of a larger Church organization are more apt
to spiritual decay and easily swayed by heresy[10].
I
am extremely encouraged when I read this text on baptism; for one, the Orthodox
Church is the only church that still practices baptism as instructed by the
early church. Secondly, it makes me feel that I have a direct connection with
my brothers and sisters in Christ from the earliest centuries of the church –
which is a common theme for me. If entering the Kingdom of God means I need to
be “born of water and the Spirit,” sign me up!
With Love,
Athanasios (Devin) Green
Athanasios (Devin) Green
[1]
Acts 2:42
[2]
Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16
[3] Though Orthodox & Catholics
practice Pedobaptism, there are still many Protestants that also still practice
infant baptism – though many Protestants would be aghast to learn this.
[4] Galatians
3:27
[5] Some
have often noted that baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ is the same as in
the name of the Trinity since they are unified as one; though the Orthodox
would not reject this understanding of the name of Jesus, most believe it is in
direct conflict with Matthew 28:19, and thus such a baptism is not one in the
name of the Triune Trinity.
[6]
Strong's 907 NT
[7] John
3:5
[8] While
Roman Catholics wait until the child reaches a certain age for Chrismation (or
Christening), the Orthodox conduct both sacraments at the same service, both
adult and infant; to be baptized and chrismated is to fulfill both categories
in John 3:5
[9]
Titus 3:5, Hebrews 10:22
[10] 1
Peter 5:8
