Liturgical Theology, Question 1

Is Baptism a “private” or an “ecclesial” event? How is Baptism connected to the Eucharist? Does the contemporary Orthodox practice to which you have been exposed make this clear?

In this instance, the question presented has three parts. This answer will address each part in turn.

A) Is Baptism a “private” or an “ecclesial” event?

All experience is in essence private, particularly the experience of baptism, or illumination, in the believer. To that extent, Baptism may be considered to be a “private” event. Unfortunately, a number of Orthodox and Eastern Catholics have considered the baptism of their children to be a “private” or “familial” event, to be performed after the Divine Liturgy, or outside of it.

It could be argued that this familial practice or point of view could be decried, according to the Church’s underlying Greek ethos: that ethos holds, with Aristotle, that Man is a social being; that any attempt to privatize humans or to separate them from society is a diminishment of both Man and society; and that the very attempt is idiotic (in this context, it should be noted that the word idiot is derived from the Greek word idiotes, meaning a private individual.)

But in addition to the above described ethos, both the early Church, and contemporary Orthodox theologians in studying that Church, believe that Baptism is primarily an ecclesial event, one which properly is preceded by catachesis by the Church; in which the baptizand receives the mysteries of illumination, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Eucharist; and finally, by which the one baptized has put on Christ and becomes a member of His mystical Body. In particular, the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann, has expressed this belief briefly in his collection of essays, For the Life of the World, and in greater detail in his work on Baptism: Of Water and the Spirit.

To further explain how Baptism is an ecclesial and not a private event, it will be necessary to indicate how Baptism is connected to the Eucharist. That will be attempted in the next section.

B) How is Baptism connected to the Eucharist?

In Orthodox theology and worship, Baptism is connected to the Eucharist in three ways: as a prerequisite, as a part of Orthodox liturgical praxis, and in terms of the Eucharist’s historical and functional development.

Baptism has first been a prerequisite, in that the Church from its inception, as indicated both in Scripture and Holy Tradition, has permitted only those baptized in the Church to receive the Eucharist.

Further, Baptism is connected to Eucharist in Orthodox praxis in that, unlike Western Christianity, (which has reserved Baptism for infancy, Eucharist for the age of seven, and Chrismation (or Confirmation) for the age of thirteen to fourteen), in Orthodox praxis, all three mysteries are imparted to the recipient at the same time.

Finally, and most importantly, Baptism is connected to the Eucharist in terms of the historical and functional development of the Eucharistic service, particularly those of the major feasts.

As Fr. Schmemann pointed out in Chapter 1 of his work, Of Water and the Spirit, in the early Church, Baptism was usually done of adult converts, after a long period of instruction and preparation, or catachesis, and originally during Pascha or Lazarus Sunday (although later this was extended to Nativity, Theophany and Pentecost). The Baptism was then performed outside of the church, and then a procession was made into the Church, where the festal Liturgy was served, the newly baptized were chrismated, and then received the Eucharist during the Eucharist of the Faithful. Survivals of this practice are found, inter alia, in the use of the hymn “As many as have been baptized into Christ” during the feasts mentioned above.

While with the development of infant baptism, there was an increasing loss of awareness of this sacramental interdependence of Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist, through the efforts of theologians such as the late Fr. Schmemann, churches are beginning to restore such awareness. As shall be shown below, I believe that my local church has been a part of that effort.

C) Does the contemporary Orthodox practice to which you have been exposed make this clear?

I believe that I have been fortunate to have attended my church for the past twenty years, and to have begun my attendance on the very week that its present pastor began serving the Divine Liturgy. During that time also, I have been either a singer or a choir director at that Church (I would like to note here that both the liturgical texts and music used at my church are drawn mostly from the OCA texts, with the remainder being taken from the Antiochian texts). As a result, I have had more than ample opportunity to observe my priest’s pastoral choices and actions.

In this regard, I have noted that the number of private baptisms which he served were few. I ventured to ask my priest why that was so, and he said that when people came to him to be baptized, or have their children baptized, he gave them the choice of a private or an ecclesial service. Most chose an ecclesial service.

As for the baptism of children under the age of two, my priest would perform the baptism soon after it had been requested, by a combined baptismal service and Divine Liturgy. Basically, this was accomplished by performing the rite of baptism through the chanting of the hymn “As many as have been baptized into Christ”, continuing with the prokeimenon, Epistle and Gospel of Baptism, the acts of Baptism and Chrismation, and then going on to the Litanies before the Cherubic Hymn and continuing with the remainder of the Divine Liturgy. Usually, the parents would provide a meal for the congregation afterwards.

But for adults who sought baptism, he would first make sure that they received a thorough catachesis (taking usually between one to three years, depending on the individual’s needs), and then incorporate the baptismal service into one of the following festal liturgies: The Nativity of the Lord, The Baptism of the Lord, Lazarus Sunday, Pascha, or Pentecost. In these cases, he would not cut anything from the festal liturgy in question, but would basically reduce the part of the Baptism to essential parts of the prayers of exorcism, the blessing of the waters, the baptism and chrismation, and the reception of the Eucharist at the Eucharist of the Faithful.

I have had the opportunity of helping to serve at such services, and I have found them to be both moving and illuminating. By the many times that I have stood with the congregation facing West and renouncing Satan, turning to the East and accepting Christ, by witnessing the blessing of the waters and the baptism of others (including the one who is now my wife), I believe that I have experienced thereby a connection with the praxis of the Early Church, and a confirmation of my own baptism, which was done at my infancy, and which I cannot now remember.