The Feast of the Theophany is the ancient celebration of the baptism of Christ by the Church. Indeed, the celebrations of the birth and baptism of Christ were juxtaposed in some places. Only in the West did the baptism of Christ fade from view and then was replaced by the visit of the Magi. In the Orthodox Church, the Feast of the Theophany is arguably as important as important as that of the Nativity. Much the same pattern of services is prescribed. Particular to Theophany is the Great Blessing of the Waters. Whether on the frozen surface of a Siberian lake or in the slightly warmer waters of the Mediterranean this is a great celebration of the sanctification of Creation and the recreation of human persons within it. It is vital, therefore, that we understand the importance of our own baptism and chrismation within the Orthodox Church, especially at this time when the Church performs baptisms and chrismations and invites her children to renew their vows along with the neophyte new members of the Body of Christ.

To Be Baptised

To be baptised is to be immersed and engaged in the death and resurrection of Christ; immersed because the waters of the Trinity must drown our old self which is condemned under the burden of death and decay so that the new resurrection self may be born and grow daily; engaged because none of this happens without our active energetic effort, counselled by the Church and permeated by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We should expect our once-for-all baptism, therefore, to be a daily renewal in the image and likeness of God; not just a cleansing from sin but a regeneration of our very natures in Christ.

To be baptised is to incorporated within the Body of Christ, the Church. Our baptism is not a solitary thing, a personal possession or state. St. Paul talks consistently through his letters of the corporate nature of our Christian lives. We are only Christians in any significant sense when we are “in the Body.” Baptism puts us there but we have to work at deepening our identity and commitment within the Church, for it is here, in the Church that we discover our new and true resurrection selves. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian as Wesley so eloquently declared in an Orthodox manner! Our Lord himself taught that He is the True Vine and we are the branches. Whoever heard of branches being severed from each other or, here, from the Stem and Root of Jesse, who is Christ?

To Be Chrismated

To be chrismated is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The great staretz and saint, Seraphim of Sarov declared that the whole purpose of the Christian life was “the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.” This may seem a little strange thing to say if we are supposed to receive the Holy Spirit at our chrismation. How can be acquire the Holy Spirit if we are already filled by Him at our chrismation? Much the same question can be asked of our forgiveness at baptism. If we are cleansed at our baptism, how can we be forgiven again? The answer to each question is similar in that we are called upon to renew daily the reality of both our baptism and our chrismation; by repentance, confession and ascetic endeavour with baptism and by eucharistic communion and unceasing prayer with chrismation. Therefore, our chrismation should be (and must be) a new Pentecost daily for each one of us within Christ’s Church.