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[[Category==Further reading==* Richard E. DeMaris. ''"Corinthian Religion and Baptism for the Dead (1 Corinthians 15:Sacraments]]29): Insights from Archaeology and Anthropology."'' '''Journal of Biblical Literature.''' Vol. 114, No. 4 (Winter, 1995), pp.661-682.
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{{spirituality}}
Christian '''Baptism''' is the [[sacramentHoly Mysteries|mystery]] of starting anew, of dying to an old way of life and being born again into a new way of life, in Christ. In the Orthodox Church, baptism is "for the remission of sins" (cf. the [[Nicene Creed]]) and for entrance into the Church; the person being baptized is cleansed of all sins and is united to Christ; through the waters of baptism he or she is mysteriously crucified and buried with Christ, and is raised with him to newness of life, having "put on" Christ (that is, having been clothed in Christ). The cleansing of sins includes the washing away of the ancestral sin.
==Orthodox teaching on baptism==
The word baptize derives from [http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=907 baptizo], the transliterated form of the Greek word βάπτειν or baptivzw. In a historical context, it means "to dip, plunge, or immerse" something entirely, e.g. into water. Although commonly associated with Christian baptism, the word is known to have been used in other contexts. For instance, a 2nd century author named [[Wikipedia:Nicander|Nicander]] wrote down a pickle recipe which illustrates the common use of the word. He first says that the pickle should be dipped (bapto) into boiling water, followed by a complete submersion (baptizo) in a vinegar solution. The word was also used to explain the process of submerging cloth into a colored dye. The Christian ritual of water baptism traces back to Saint [[John the Forerunner]], who the [[Holy Scripture | Bible]] says baptized many, including Jesus. Certain forms of baptism were practiced in the Old Testament. Additionally, baptism was practiced in some pagan religions as a sign of death and rebirth.
==Baptism as a SacramentMystery==
In contrast to a common Protestant viewpoint, baptism is more than just a symbolic act of burial and resurrection, but an actual supernatural transformation. Baptism is believed to impart cleansing (remission) of sins and union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection (see [http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Romans%206:3-5;&version=9; Romans 6:3-5]; [http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Colossians%202:12,%203:1-4;&version=9; Colossians 2:12, 3:1-4]).
[[Image:Transfiguration_Baptism.jpg|thumb|150px|Full immersion is a hallmark of an Orthodox baptism.]]
Baptism is normally performed by the three-fold immersion of a person in the name of the [[Holy Trinity]]; in other words, a person is immersed "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," with one immersion at the mention of each person of the Holy Trinity. Baptism by pouring of water, instead of by full immersion, is not the norm for baptism in the Orthodox Church as it is in the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] and in some Protestant churches, except in cases of necessity, where no alternative exists (please see below). Baptism is immediately followed by [[Chrismationchrismation]] and [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]] at the next [[Divine Liturgy]], regardless of age. Although baptism is a separate mystery (sacrament) from chrismation, normally when it is said that someone "has been baptized" this is understood to include not only baptism but chrismation as well. In some practices, first communion is also administered at once.
===Catechumen===
===Infant Baptism===
The Orthodox also practice [[infant baptism ]] on the basis of various texts (e.g. [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 19:14) which are interpreted to condone full Church membership for children. This is generally based on a confession of faith for a child by his or her [[godparent]]s. The Orthodox Church baptizes infants for the same reasons and with the same results as she baptizes adults.
===Validity of a baptism===
Because the Sacrament Mystery of Baptism has actual spiritual and salvific effects, certain criteria must be complied with for it to be valid (i.e., to actually have those effects). Baptism in water is assumed. Violation of some rules regarding baptism render the baptism illicit (i.e., a violation of the [[canon law|church's laws]], and a [[sin]] for those who willingly and knowingly participate in it), and yet still valid. For example, if a [[priest]] introduces some unauthorized variation in the ceremony, the baptism is still valid so long as certain key criteria are still met, even though the priest has violated the church's law and thus sinned, and so have the other participants if they know the priest's behaviour is illict.
Normally baptism is by triple immersion, and a licit baptism must be performed by a priest or a [[deacon]]. But in case of necessity, as in clinical or other settings where there is a risk of imminent death and baptism by immersion is impractical, or where a deep pool of water is really unavailable, a person may properly be baptized by an Orthodox Christian clergyman or layman by pouring water three times on the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The proper formula must be recited: "The servant of God [Name] is baptized in the name of the Father [immerse, or pour]. Amen. And of the Son [immerse, or pour]. Amen. And of the Holy Spirit [immerse, or pour]. Amen"; other acceptable forms include "Let this servant of Christ be baptized..." or "This person is baptized by my hands..." Roman Catholics use the form "I baptize you..." However, neither church repeats baptisms performed by the other. The Catholic Church teaches that the use of the verb "baptize" is essential.
Sprinkling, however, is not allowed under any circumstances. There is disagreement about this, however, with some theologians arguing that sprinkling -- even sprinking on a part of the body other than the head -- in an emergency would also be valid.
The ritual of baptism is prefigured in the purification rites of Jewish law and tradition. In the Tanakh and tradition of the teachers of the Torah, a ritual bath for purification from uncleanness used to be required under specified circumstances in order to be restored to a condition of ritual purity. For example, women after menses, and after a number of blood-free days following child-birth, were washed in a ritual bath, called a mikvah. Those who became ritually defiled by contact with something infectious, would also use the mikveh as part of their healing. Washing was also required for converts. Through practices such as these, immersion in the mikveh came to represent purification and restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community (Book of Numbers Chapter 19). Traditional conversion to Judaism also requires a mikvah, so for converts Jewish initiation is in some ways similar to Christian initiation, although the term baptism is not used to describe the Jewish conversion.
Furthermore, the early church often contrasted the rite of baptism to that of circumcision.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12
"We are circumcised not with a fleshly circumcision but with the circumcision of Christ, that is, we are born again into a new man; for, being buried with Him in His baptism, we must die to the old man, because the regeneration of baptism has the force of resurrection." Hilary of Poitiers, Trinity, 9:9 (A.D. 359).
"And if any one seek for divine authority in this matter, though what is held by the whole Church, and that not as instituted by Councils, but as a matter of invariable custom, is rightly held to have been handed down by apostolical authority, still we can form a true conjecture of the value of the sacrament of baptism in the case of infants, from the parallel of circumcision, which was received by God's earlier people, and before receiving which Abraham was justified, as Cornelius also was enriched with the gift of the Holy Spirit before he was baptized." Augustine, On Baptism against the Donatist, 4:24:31 (A.D. 400).
==Baptism in the Gospels==
<blockquote>"To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save. No one is baptized in order to become a prince, but as the words say, to 'be saved.' To be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil and to enter into the kingdom of Christ and live with him forever."</blockquote>
==See also==
* [[Infant baptism]]
* [[Chrismation]]
* [[Churching]]
* [[Godparent]]
==External links==
===Baptism and Ecumenism===
*[http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/faverg.html Becoming a Christian: The Ecumenical Implications of Our Common Baptism]
* Archimandrite Ambrosius (Pogodin). [http://www.holy-trinity.org/ecclesiology/pogodin-reception/reception-ch4.html On the Question of the Order of Reception of Persons into the Orthodox Church, Coming to Her from Other Christian Churches]. Transl. from the Russian by Alvian N. Smirensky. '''Vestnik Russkogo Khristianskogo Dvizheniya (Messenger of the Russian Christian Movement).''' Paris-New York-Moscow, Nos. 173 (I-1996) and 174 (II-1996/I-1997).
[[Category:Sacraments]]
[[el:Βάπτισμα]]
[[es:Bautismo]]
[[fr:Baptême]]
[[it:Battesimo]]
[[ro:Botez]]