Baptism of Manuel Mark

You’d hardly know it from the lack of attention that it has received here, but a few weeks ago Manny passed through the most important event to occur in his life, namely, his baptism into the Orthodox Church. (I’ve been waiting to find the time to write a substantial post and upload photos, only to discover that I can’t upload the photos I wanted; admittedly that may be primarily because I’m not so good with this computer-thingy. Grrrr. E-mail me if you want to see them.) In our humble opinion, the baptism was especially beautiful because it occurred on Epiphany, the feast that celebrates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, in which the worship of the Trinity was initiated. Also, Manuel meaning “God with us”, everything ties together quite nicely! Following is the hymn for Epiphany.

When Thou , O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, and called Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and hast enlightened the world, glory be to Thee.

As I sat down to write this post, I found myself struggling with the best way to convey to my Protestant family and friends the absolute importance of the sacrament of Baptism in the Orthodox Church. Baptism is not a mere symbol of one’s having already been “saved”; rather, it is salvation itself. Our beautiful son, Manuel Mark, “passed from death unto life” upon his Baptism. To help explain, I turn the topic over to hands more capable than my own. Please make the time to follow the links after these excerpts.

“Holy Baptism is the first of seven Sacraments in the Orthodox Christian Church. Together with the Sacrament of Holy Chrism it joins the candidate to the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Some people argue that the only valid baptism is that of an adult who believes in Christ first. They argue that to baptise a helpless infant only a few weeks old who is unable to believe is meaningless. So why baptise a baby when it doesn't know yet what is happening? Why not wait for the baby to grow and believe in Christ and ask for baptism? If we were to follow this line of reasoning, we wouldn’t inoculate the baby against diphtheria until he grows up and asks for it! But we know better. Baptising infants before they know what is going on is an expression of God's great love for us. It shows that God loves us and accepts us before we can ever know and love Him. It shows that we are wanted and loved by God from the very moment of our birth. Nothing shows the nature of God's grace more than infant baptism. The Orthodox Church does not belittle personal faith in an adult who seeks baptism, but instead insists that the whole emphasis of baptism is not on what the baby does or the parents or the godparents, but on what God does. The fact that we are Christians is not due to any act on our part; it is due to the act of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Of course Baptism demands a personal response on the part of the baptised child when it reaches the age of reason. The child must accept what God did for him or her in Baptism. Baptism is not a divine pass that will get us into Heaven automatically. It must be followed by a personal awareness or awakening to the many gifts of God's love bestowed upon us through this great sacrament.”
(from http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Baptism.htm)

Further:

“Although an opponent of infant baptism, Dr. Jewett, in his book Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace, makes a very logical conclusion about baptism if it is understood to be a release of supernatural power:

'... one believes that baptism washes away the guilt of eternal sin, so that any one departing this life without it is in danger of eternal damnation, he will have good reason to conclude that infants should be baptized. In fact, the question of infant baptism can hardly be raised without such a sacramental theology, since an affirmative answer is a foregone conclusion.'

Certainly if there were a taint of sin upon each who is born in this world, there would be a need for every person to be cleansed from this impurity before leaving the temporal life. The Bible's "sacramental theology" states that there is such a need since '... through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men.' (Romans 5:12) For this reason ' ... there are none righteous, not even one' (i.e. not infants). (Romans 3:10) How are these young ones saved from the sin they have received from Adam's race? They are saved through the regenerative power of baptism and the faith of the Church (i.e. the Christian faithful):

'He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration baptism) and renewing by the Holy Spirit.' (Titus 3:5)

'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.' (Acts 2:38)

'Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." ' (John 3:5)

'... when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water, and corresponding to that, baptism now saves you.' (1 Peter 3:20,21)

Baptism is not just a symbolic testimony of what God has done in the heart of an adult believer, but is in itself a dynamic means of actually effecting the power of the Gospel (the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) in a life (Romans 6:4). Christian baptism is the means whereby we encounter and identify with Jesus Christ Himself. This is one of the reasons why Paul explains baptism as the manner in which we genuinely 'put on' or 'clothe' ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). This is not just a metaphor, the Lord actually transforms a person through his baptism.”
(from http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7067.asp)