Translation from the Book

Ὁ Θεός στήν ἱστορία τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, Βοήθημα Κατωτέρου Κατηχητικοῦ Γ΄,

ἐκδ. «Χριστιανική Ἐλπίς» Ὀρθόδοξη Ἀδελφότητα, Θεσσαλονίκη 2016, σσ. 85-90

  In Kongo, a city of Africa, orthodox missionaries have been preaching about Christ and His Gospel for many years. After a group Baptism, when a lot of Africans were baptised, a little child approached a missionary named Aggeliki. His eyes were full of anxiousness.
  “Sister, when is my turn to get baptised?”
  “But you haven’t asked to get baptised, little one” she kindly responded.
  “I didn’t know, sister, I didn't know I had to ask...Can I get baptised now?”
  The missionary explained to him that he needed his parents’ permission. The little boy left feeling sad because his parents objected to it. Would he be able to change their mind?
  His desire to get baptised was so strong that he actually managed to get their approval. He got baptised and he was named after St Basil the Great. From the day of his Baptism he was like a new boy, his face was glowing! He was excited because he felt the God of the Heavens as his own father! His heart was full of love for Christ and for all the people.
However, after a while, he came back to Aggeliki, anxious again.
  “Sister, my little sister is very sick, she is going to die.”
  “I’m so sorry to hear that Basil” she responded gently.
  “But she isn’t baptised. How can we get her baptised?” he continued.
  “Does she want to?”
  “She doesn't know about all that... she doesn’t go to the school of the Mission. But she can’t die without being baptised, can she? It’s so terrible!”
  “Let’s pray for her Basil and Christ may help her.”
  A few days later Basil’s eyes were red, full of tears. He fell into Aggeliki’s arms when he saw her.
  “My sister is dead” he said out of breath.
  The missionary caressed his curly black hair.
  “I did something, but I don’t know if it was the right thing to do...For the past couple days my sister had been so weak that she couldn’t even open her eyes. I watched her die and I prayed to Christ for her. Then I caressed her forehead and asked her if she wanted to get baptised. She didn’t respond. I don’t know if she could hear me. I shook her a bit and asked again. I told her: “Christ loves you and He wants to save you. He wants to keep you close to Him in heaven where nobody dies”. She opened her eyes a bit and nodded as if she was saying yes. I took the glass of water that was by her side and poured it on her head and said 'In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.' The priest had told us that we are allowed to do this in case of an emergency. Was it the right thing to do sister?”
  He asked with tearful eyes, but Aggeliki couldn’t respond because her eyes were full of tears, too. She thanked God from the bottom of her heart because little Basil had fully understood the value of Baptism. Thanks to him, his little sister was in the arms of God, along with saints, as a citizen of heaven!

The Mystery of Baptism

  Have you ever thought what a great blessing it is to have been baptised since we were babies? Since then, we are God’s children. Since the day we got baptised, we have been able to receive the Holy Communion, His flesh and His Blood. There are children, even in our country, who can’t enter the church during liturgy, because they aren’t baptised.
  Our Baptism is one of the most important events in our life. Celebrating Christ’s Baptism, which signifies the end of the period of the Holy Twelve Days, is the perfect timing to approach this great Mystery of our Church. Consequently, every time we are invited as guests to a Baptism, we will realize the marvellous event better and our joy will be greater.
  Right before the mystery of Baptism begins, Catechism takes place at the narthex of the church. The priest asks “Do you renounce satan?” and then “Do you join Christ?”. The child, who is usually an infant, can’t answer for himself/herself. The person who answers these questions is the godparent. The godparents proclaim their faith by reciting the Creed. From then on, they have the sacred task to guide their godchildren, to help them learn about their faith, to encourage them to attend Sunday school.
  After the completion of the Catechism, the priest stands in front of the Baptismal font and prays for all the people. He also reads two blessings for the water and the oil. They both have a symbolic meaning. Wrestlers used to apply oil on their skin before they entered the arena. Likewise, the child’s whole body is anointed with oil to prepare him/her for wreslting against sin. Water is used for cleaning, so the water of Baptism cleanses us of sin with the power of the Holy Spirit.
  Then the Baptism is administerd. Three times the priest immerses the child in the water of the font and lifts him/her up saying “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This is done three times because our God is Triune; one God but three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Also, these three immersions in the water symbolise the Christ’s three-day death and His Resurrection. The child symbolically joins Christ by being immersed in the water and then lifted up; in this way, he/she dies along with Christ and is resurrected along with Christ. The child is now a new person, a newly enlightened christian.
  Then the mystery of Confirmation follows. The priest anoints the main body parts with the Holy Oil, a sanctified fragrant oil. In this way he puts the Holy Spirit’s seal on the new christian. He seals the forehead in order for the christian to always have virtuous thoughts, the hands to always do the right thing, the legs to follow Christ’s path, the chest to always love God.
After the Confirmation, the priest cuts off some of the baby’s hair and with the sign of cross throws it in the water of the font. This act declares that the new christian is determined to cut off his sinful desires and devote himself/herself completely to God.
  Then the priest, along with the godparent who is holding the baby, circle the font three times while the choir is chanting “As many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia.” This hymn is usually chanted on great holidays like Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter because in old times group Baptism took place on these holidays. What does it mean that we have put on Christ? It means that we think, we wish, we decide, we lead our lives as Christ would. By doing so we become true christians and we honor the holy Baptism we received.
Throughout the mystery of Baptism some children hold lit candles. This act symbolizes the mission of the new christian which is to be a light of Christ in the world. Then, the baby is dressed in clean white clothes which symbolise the cleansing and the sanctity of his/her soul. The priest puts the cross on the baptised child; the cross is the most sacred symbol of our faith and the most valuable guardian.
  It is truly amazing; after our Baptism we are no longer simple people, we are the children of Christ our king, white and shiny in body and soul! We are able to earn paradise again; the paradise that Adam and Eve lost due to their disobedience to God. The mystery of Baptism cleanses us from this very first sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve, the original sin. Since we are excused from that, we become the children of God again and we are members of His family, the Church.
  May we keep our souls pure and enlightened by the Christ’s light throughout our lives as they were on the day of our Baptism.

In the font of the Church
I become Your child.
Help me, Christ
to keep my soul enlightened and clean
throughout my life.