I sat in the pew at St Sava Serbian Orthodox Church following a long service of standing and attending as the “godfather” after the baptism of my nephew Gerald Allen. Everyone else but the sponsors sat in the congregation including the parents. The sponsors went through an almost full hour ceremony which was steeped in meaning and tradition. What struck me most was the connection with the past the service invoked and the meaning it brought to the event in many different ways. It was so unlike the typical baptism in many other Christian churches which includes about 10 minutes of a normal church service. It wasn’t just a baptism, for in the Serbian Orthodox Church, where he was baptized, there are actually two sacraments performed: baptism and chrismation. Even though I hear “christening” often I never understood it until today.
The service began outside the sanctuary with exorcisms for both the mother and the sponsors for “in order for one to belong to God, one must be completely separated from Satan.” Also many things were done in triplicate for Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This emphasis on “three” carried over to the actual application of water as Gerald was immersed three times. They actually had what my brother referred to jokingly as “the Stanley cup” where Gerald was almost fully immersed. “The life into which one is born in baptism is the life of the Holy Trinity…one in essence and undivided.”
According to orthodoxy, baptism is rebirth while chrismation is the bestowing of the Holy Spirit which gives power to live a new life. Gerald was anointed with special oil called Holy Chrism which represented the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
As I think more about it chrismation is so important and so often neglected. And it’s definitely not a sacrament for most of Christianity. Luther talks about living in our baptismal grace or remembering our baptismal identity as a child of God, but maybe what we really need is more emphasis on the power in which we can live in this identity. It’s so easy for Satan to make us believe we can do it on our own and blur the separation of the old and new person until we struggle to live in our baptismal grace under our own power instead of the power of the spirit.
Towards the end of the service came the cutting of hair. When the priest mentioned this included not just the baby but also sponsors I was a little panicked. Little Gerald Allen already has more hair than I do. Thankfully, I got out with my hair intact, but Gerald had hair removed in four places to form the sign of the cross. This was Gerald’s first offering: “an offering of himself…a sign of dedication, commitment, and obedience, as well as faithful service to God.” This tied right in to my readings this week in Romans: “use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Romans 6:13b)
Another word used often in the sacrament was the word “illumination.” It really struck me probably because I was holding a candle the entire service. The candle symbolized the Christians receiving Christ who is the light of the Word. How much we need this Christ light and the power of the Holy Spirit to in order to live that light.
