Крещение

§ 139. The concept of sacrament. Setting it up Divine establishment of the sacrament of baptism. The first place in the series of sacred rites that serve to sanctify a person is baptism. It serves as a door that introduces those called by the grace of God to salvation into the grace-filled kingdom of Christ (John 3:5), a line dividing Christians from Jews and pagans. Without accepting this sacrament, not a single person can become a member of the body of Christ - the church, or have participation in other sacraments. Baptism is a sacrament in which a sinner, born with damage inherited from his parents, but who believes in Christ, by immersing his body three times in water, with the invocation of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dies to a carnal and sinful life and is reborn from the Holy Spirit into a spiritual, holy life (Katih. On Baptism), or, more separately, is cleansed by the Holy Spirit from all previous ones sins and the condemnation or curse for sin is removed from him: he becomes the son of God and the heir of the kingdom of heaven (Proverbs 102; Last Eastern Patriarch 16). Baptism, as a sacrament of the Church of Christ, could and really was established by the Founder of the Church. There was and could not be such a sacrament in the pre-Christian world, but there could only be rituals similar to its external side (for example, the Jewish baptism of proselytes, the baptism of John). Having been baptized Himself in the Jordan with the baptism of John, I. Christ has already sanctified the water and baptism. In a conversation with Nicodemus, He gave the clearest indication of the future establishment of the sacrament itself: Amen, amen, I say to you: unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus's verb to Him: How can a man be born, old? Can food enter its mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say to you: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God: that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:3-6). But the very establishment of baptism, as a sacrament, dates back to those days between the resurrection and the ascension of the Redeemer, when He, full of authority and power, said to His disciples: all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth: therefore, as you go, teach all tongues, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that you may observe them often, according to all the commandments given to you (Matthew 28:18-20). He who has faith and the cross will be saved, but he who does not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16). But although the commandment and authority to perform the sacrament was given to the apostles before the ascension of the Savior, the very performance of Christian baptism could not have followed until the apostles themselves received the baptism of the Holy Spirit: John baptized with water, - the Savior told them, - but you will not be baptized with the Holy Spirit for many of these days... You will receive the power that the Holy Spirit has found on you, and you will be a witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the last of the earth (Acts 1:5, 8). On the day of Pentecost this solemn baptism of the apostles with the Holy Spirit took place. At this time, the divine establishment of the great Christian sacrament was completed and forever established. Having themselves received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the apostles began to constantly perform baptism. On the day of Pentecost St. Peter said to those who believed in Christ: repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins... And those who were baptized... on that day were as many as three thousand souls (Acts 2:38, 41). St. Philip baptized a eunuch (8, 38), ap. Peter - Cornelius the centurion with his family and others (10, 47–48), ap. Paul - Lydia and her household (16, 15), the prison guard with his household (33 v.), Crispus with his entire household (18, 8), Stephen's house (1 Cor. 1:16), some disciples in Ephesus, who were previously baptized with the baptism of John (Acts 19:1-15), etc. Thus, having received the commandment about baptism from the Lord, the apostles transmitted it to the entire church; with the spread of the church throughout the world, and this institution of the Lord spread throughout all countries of the world and is invariably preserved to this day by the church of Christ. § 140. The visible side of baptism The substance of the sacrament. - Sacred rite. - Name of the sacrament. - History of the establishment of the sacred rite. - Formula of baptism. Baptism in the Orthodox Church is now performed according to the rite, which also includes such rites with which the promise of the grace of redemption is not connected by the Establisher of baptism (annunciation, exorcism, renunciation of the devil and union with Christ, confession of faith, anointing with oil, putting on white clothes). “The most important thing in the sacred rite of baptism” is “the threefold immersion (of the baptized person) in water, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Katih. About baptism). The visible, perfective side of the sacrament of baptism thus includes: I) the use of a certain substance for the sacrament, II) the image or method (visible action) of washing with water and III) the perfect words (formula) of baptism. I. The substance for baptism is natural, simple and pure water, consecrated by a special sacred rite, as the closest symbol of the grace of the Holy Spirit, cleansing the impurities of sin. This is how it should be according to the clear commandment of the Savior: unless someone is born of water and the Spirit. He Himself was baptized in water. The apostles performed baptism in water. In subsequent times, the church sacredly followed the commandment of the Savior and the example of the apostles, performing baptism in water. Water is the best symbol for teaching regenerating grace - one with which all humanity has been accustomed since ancient times to connect the concept of life-giving, regenerating power and which in its very nature has the property of purifying and revitalizing. II. Despite the universal recognition by the Church that baptism should be performed with water, the method of using water during baptism was not and still is not the same everywhere. There were and still exist two methods of baptism with water: the method of immersing the whole body in water and the method of pouring or sprinkling with water. The Orthodox Church teaches that baptism must be performed by immersing the person being baptized in water three times. This way of performing baptism has solid foundations both in Scripture and in Tradition. The example of baptism was given to the believers by the founder of the sacrament. The evangelists, narrating the baptism of Jesus Christ, say: having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water (Matthew 3:16), and when he came out of the water, he immediately saw the heavens opening (Mark 1:10). This ascent by itself presupposes the descent of I. Christ into the water, and this latter, obviously, was required for immersion in it, and not for dousing it. John baptized, according to the evangelist, in Oenon near Salim, because there were many bahus (John 3:23). There is no doubt that John chose this rich place for the baptism of the Jews because it was more convenient to baptize by immersion here. This is how I. Christ, of course, received baptism from John. The apostles performed baptism, one must think, also through immersion. In the book of Acts. about the baptism of the eunuch by Philip it is said: and they both took water, Philip and the wife; and baptize him. When he came out of the water, the Holy Spirit attacked (descended) on the prisoner (8; 38–39). The expressions: snidosta into the water and izidasta from the water obviously indicate baptism not through pouring or sprinkling, but through immersion. The name of baptism in the New Testament is always the words βαπτισμός or βάπτισμα, and the very action or method of performing baptism with the word βαπτίζω (in the words of the establishment of the sacrament - βαπτίζοντες) also lead to the conclusion that baptism must be performed through immersion. Βαπτίζω or βάπτω, in its usage, always means “immerse.” They have the same meaning in the New Testament (in the New Testament, βαπτίζω is used about 30 times and βάπτω – 3 times). Hence βαπτισμός or βάπτισμα literally means “immersion.” This is how this word was understood by the ancient church, which is why baptism itself was performed by immersion. The immersion must be three times. The most ancient monuments of Tradition originate the threefold immersion in baptism either from the apostles or even from the establishment of baptism in this particular form. In "Apost. rules”, triple immersion is recognized as “the Lord’s institution” (49 pr.). It says here: “if anyone, a bishop or presbyter, performs not three immersions of a single sacrament, but one immersion given into the death of the Lord, let him be cast out” (50 pr.). Another way to use water during baptism is to perform baptism through pouring. There is no indication in the apostolic writings that the apostles ever baptized through pouring. Although the ancient church allowed the possibility of performing baptism through pouring, it was only in exceptional cases. Thus, in the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” there is permission to baptize through pouring, but only when there is a lack of water (Chapter 7). In the acts of martyrdom of the 3rd century. Cases of baptism through pouring are often cited, but they are cited as deviations from the generally accepted method of baptism - through immersion, caused by special circumstances. Novatus (a Roman presbyter) was baptized through pouring, but because he was overcome by a serious illness and was in danger of dying, so his baptism took place on the very bed on which he lay. However, recognizing such baptism as valid, many of the 3rd century pastors. treated him with obvious disapproval. This is evident, among other things, from the fact that St. Cyprian of Carthage was even forced to deliberately explain that baptism does not lose its power even if it is performed by pouring (letter to Bishop Magnus). Likewise, when the aforementioned Novatus, by the good will of the Bishop of Rome, was ordained to the rank of presbyter, the people and clergy, without denying the reality of his baptism, expressed that the “clinic” (the person baptized through dousing was usually called κλίνικος, from κλίνη - bed, bed) should not be erected on any church degree. In the 4th century. a positive rule has already appeared prohibiting the elevation of such persons to sacred degrees (Neokes. sob. 12 rights.). Likewise, in the following centuries, although the church allowed baptism by pouring, it was only in particularly constraining circumstances - as an exception to the general rule. But she condemned, and the Orthodox Church still condemns, the use of pouring instead of immersion not out of necessity, as, for example, when baptizing a sick person, but in such cases when baptism could be performed through immersion. As for the Western Church, immersion was the generally accepted method of performing baptism in it for a long time. The custom of baptism by immersion began to lose its force in the West only in the 13th century, and baptism by immersion finally came into force there only in the 17th century. The use of pouring instead of immersion also penetrated into the Russian church (in the 13th-16th centuries), especially in the regions neighboring the Latin west. But church councils (for example, Vladimir, Stoglavy) and church pastors (for example, Metropolitan Cyprian and Photius) issued strict condemnations of performing baptism unnecessarily through pouring. If in some areas (in the south and south-west of Russia) baptism is still sometimes performed, foolishly imitating Latin, through dousing or by immersion-pouring (they place the person being baptized in water in a font and then pour water on his head three times), then this should be considered as abuse and self-will, subject to strict condemnation. III. Immersion in water, even three times, is not yet a sacrament. It becomes a sacrament of the church with the utterance by the legal celebrant of baptism of the most holy name of the triune God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and according to the rite of baptism in the Orthodox Church in the following formula: “N (name) is baptized in the name of the Father (first immersion) and the Son (second immersion), and the Holy Spirit” (third immersion). These significant words, in connection with immersion, impart to baptism the power of the sacrament. The basis for the use of such perfect words is given in the Savior’s commandment to the apostles, so that they baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “If anyone, a bishop or a presbyter, says the Apostle. rules,” baptizes not according to the Lord’s institution, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but in three beginningless ones, or in three sons, or in three comforters, so that he may be cast out” (49 pr.). And according to St. Athanasius V.: “Whoever separates anything from the Trinity and is baptized into the one name of the Father, or into the one name of the Son, or into the Father and the Son without the Spirit, receives nothing... for achievement is in the Trinity.” (To Serap. I, 30). § 141. Invisible effects of baptism Grace that justifies and cleanses from sins. – Sanctification of man. - Union with Christ. Just as during the baptism of I. Christ on the Jordan, the Holy Spirit apparently descended on Him in the form of a dove, and during the performance of baptism, the baptized person is mysteriously given the special grace of God. The effect of God's grace on the baptized person consists, first of all, in the justification or cleansing of him from sins, both from the original and from all personal sins committed before baptism. Yes, app. Peter urges the Jews who believed in the gospel: repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; sn. 1 Pet 3:21), that is, for justification. Ap. Ananias says to Saul: Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 22:16). Ap. Paul, having reminded the pagan Corinthian Christians what sinners some of them were before baptism, then says about the effect of baptism: but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11). The same apostle writes that Christ sanctified the church by cleansing it with the washing of water in the verb, i.e. that baptism in connection with a certain verb (the pronouncing of certain words) has the power of cleansing from all filth, vice or anything like that, otherwise, it bestows holiness on the baptized person (Eph. 5:26-27). The same justifying and sanctifying effect of the grace of baptism is depicted in Scripture as a complete renewal, reconstruction or rebirth of the nature of fallen man, as a resurrection from the dead, and the justified and sanctified is called a new man, created by God in righteousness and in the likeness of the truth (Eph.4:24), regenerated (John 3:3-6; Titus 3, 3-5), dead to sin and raised to righteousness ( Rom.6:2–18; Eph.2:1–6; Col.2:11–13), as well as the new creation (2 Cor.5:17). Other grace-filled fruits of baptism are also determined by the justification and sanctification of a person. He who is baptized, like a wild olive to a good olive tree, is grafted into Christ (Rom. 11:24) and becomes a member of His body - the church: by one Spirit we are baptized into one body, whether Jews, Greeks, slaves, or freemen; and we have all been filled with one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). Through joining the body of Christ - the church and uniting with Christ, he begins to enjoy the rights to the gifts of God's love, revealed through Christ for His church - all the benefits of the New Testament. By entering into the closest union with Christ, believers through baptism are reunited or reconciled with God. From the children of the wrath of God by nature, they, as cleansed from all sinful filth by the action of the Spirit of God in baptism, become close to God (Eph. 2:19), children of God. The little ones received Him (I. Christ), giving them the realm to become children of God, believing in His name, who were not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of manly lust, but were born of God (John 1:12–13; fn. Gal.3:26–27). Finally, those who are baptized as children of God are made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Baptism will save them from eternal condemnation for sins and makes them heirs of eternal life and the glorification that is bestowed on the Redeemer according to His humanity. “Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved,” said the Savior, “but whoever does not have faith, why cannot be baptized, will be condemned.” § 142. The necessity of baptism for everyone. Infant baptism. Baptism of blood. The uniqueness of baptism The need for the new birth of water and the Spirit. - Rationale for infant baptism. – Martyrdom for Christ. - The uniqueness of baptism. I. “We believe that baptism, commanded by the Lord and performed in the name of the Holy Trinity, is necessary. And without him no one can be saved, as the Lord says: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Eastern Patr. Chapter 16). All people need rebirth, as the descendants of the fallen Adam, and it is impossible in any natural way, but baptism is indicated as a supernatural means for this. That is why everyone who seeks salvation should be baptized, without distinction of gender or nationality, without distinction of whether someone was born in Christianity, or in Judaism, or paganism. And I. Christ, as the Savior of the world, gave the apostles the commandment to teach the faith and baptize all languages. Therefore, the opinion (of the Reformed people) should be recognized as incorrect that the sacrament of baptism is necessary only because it was commanded by Jesus Christ, and not at all because no one can be saved without it. That is why baptism is commanded to be necessary for salvation, because besides baptism there is no other means of assimilating the merits of Christ. Equally completely false are the statements of various kinds of sectarians (for example. Doukhobors, Molokans, etc.), as if there is no need for water baptism because it can be replaced by spiritual baptism, or renewal by spiritual water, i.e., the teachings of I. Christ, or that if it is necessary to perform water baptism, then only on those converting from non-Christianity to Christianity, and not on those born in Christianity (the teaching of the Socinians). According to the Savior’s commandment, the apostles recognized baptism as necessary for everyone and taught it even to those who were worthy to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit before baptism (Acts 10:45–48). II. Believing in the necessity of baptism for everyone, the church teaches that baptism “is also necessary for infants, for they too are subject to original sin and without baptism cannot receive remission of this sin. And the Lord, showing this, said, without any exception, simply: whoever is not born, that is, at the coming of the Savior Christ, all who have to enter the kingdom of heaven must be reborn” (Ecclesiastical paragraph 16). Having a basis in the doctrine of the universality of original sin and the need for rebirth for everyone, the custom of infant baptism is also justified by some specific instructions from Scripture, in which one can see the revelation of God’s will about infants. Thus, when God deigned to conclude His covenant with Abraham and his seed, he established circumcision as a sign of this covenant and the introductory act into it, commanding it to be performed on infants on the eighth day from birth (Gen. 17:11-12), so that they too would be brought into a covenant with God. In the New Testament, the door that introduces a person into a covenant with God is circumcision made without hands - baptism, which took the place of circumcision and the prototype of which was the circumcision of the Old Testament (Col. 2:11-12). And if circumcision was performed on infants, then baptism should also be performed on them. The Gospel story shows that I. Christ did not consider infants alien to His blessed kingdom, and did not remove them from it and Himself. On the contrary, He said about them that such is the kingdom of God: leave the children to come to Me and do not scold them (Luke 18:15-16). That even infants are capable of receiving and retaining grace, there are also indications of this in Scripture. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41). If grace dwelt in one baby, it can dwell in all. Examples of the sanctification of infants in the mother's womb and in the Old Testament are indicated (Jer. 1:5). The Lord I. Christ Himself, during His earthly life, poured out His grace on infants, for when one day they brought children to Him, He, their volume, laid His hand on them, blessing them (Mark 10:16), and the visible blessing of the Lord was always accompanied by an outpouring of grace on the blessed object (Matthew 14:19–20; 26, 26; Mark 8:7–8). In the church, infant baptism has been in use since apostolic times. The apostles sometimes baptized entire families, for example, the house of Lydia (Acts 16:14–15), the house of the Stephens (30–39 vv.). There is no reason to reject the likelihood of the assumption that in these families there were not only adults, but also children, and that these latter were not left without baptism at the baptism of adults. The need for infant baptism was also approved by conciliar definitions. “Whoever rejects, say the fathers of the Council of Carthage (418), the need for the baptism of small children and newborn children from their mother’s womb, let him be anathema” (124 pr.). At the same council it was decided (Project 83) to baptize those infants about whom it is unknown whether they were baptized, such as, for example, infants abandoned by their parents; this definition was confirmed by the Council of Trullo (project 84). In these cases, that is, when it is not known for certain and it is impossible to establish whether the baby has been baptized, baptism is performed using conditional words: “a servant of God is baptized, even if he has not yet been baptized.” The custom of baptizing infants is rejected by various sectarians (Anabaptists and Mennonites descended from them). Holy Scripture, they say, requires repentance and faith from those approaching baptism, but infants cannot fulfill these requirements. It is enough to note the following. Baptism cannot be considered unnecessary and invalid if the infants being baptized do not have faith and repentance. According to Orthodox teaching, the sacrament of baptism in itself and in itself is sufficient to produce beneficial effects in an infant - to cleanse him of original sin, to revive and sanctify him. This is, first of all. Secondly, since infants are not yet capable of either having or testifying to their faith and repentance before baptism, baptism is performed on them according to the faith of their parents and recipients. The faith of the recipients in itself does not contribute anything to the grace-filled influence of the sacrament, but their obligation and guarantee to the church - to strengthen and confirm in infants the grace of baptism received (without their participation and influence), to cultivate faith and piety in those being baptized - replace the faith of the infants themselves, who are worthy of baptism for the sake of the faith of the recipients. Belief in such a replacement is justified by examples from gospel history. I. Christ, through the faith of others, healed the sick and those suffering from unclean spirits. Such, for example, are the healings of: the demon-possessed daughter of a Canaanite wife (Matthew 15:12–28), one possessed by a dumb spirit (Mark 9:17–26), a paralytic brought to the Lord through the roof of a house, whose healing from a bodily illness was combined with the resolution of the sins of his soul (Mark 2:3–5; Luke 5:18–20, 24). They also point to the example of I. Christ, who was baptized when He was about thirty years old (Luke 3:23). But from this we cannot conclude that baptism should be taught only to adults, and not to infants. The example of I. Christ is obligatory for us, but there cannot be a perfect rapprochement between His actions and ours, and this is because in His actions, as the God-man and Redeemer, many had their own special reasons that have no application to us. III. Although baptism with water in the name of the Holy Trinity is the divinely established order of salvation for everyone living after the coming of Christ, however, in special, extraordinary circumstances, God accomplishes salvation outside of this order. The Church believed and believes that it has the power of so-called water baptism. baptism of blood, or martyrdom, when someone tormented for faith in Christ dies in the midst of suffering before receiving baptism with water. The church has always appropriated this power to martyrdom for Christ and to those who were preparing for baptism, but before baptism, those who received the crowns of martyrdom, canonized them. On the same basis, she honors (December 29) fourteen thousand infants who were killed by Herod in Bethlehem for Christ. The basis for calling martyrdom baptism of blood are the words of the Savior, where He called the bloody feat for faith baptism: can I drink the cup that I drink, and with baptism, in which I am baptized, am I baptized (Mk. 10:38; fn. John 15:13; Matt. 16:25). The basis for faith in the saving power of this baptism in relation to the remission of sins is the promise of eternal blessings for confessing Christ, for example: everyone who confessed Me before men, let us confess him also before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32); Whoever loses his soul (life) for the sake of me and the gospel, he will save it (Mark 8:35; cf. Matt. 10:30; 16, 25); bliss of expelling righteousness for the sake of them, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Matthew 5:10). And during the baptism of blood, the martyrs actually confess Christ before men, destroy their lives for the sake of Him and the gospel, and endure persecution for the sake of righteousness. IV. The Church teaches to profess “one baptism,” one in the sense that baptism is given to every person once. It puts an “indelible seal” and therefore, if done correctly, is not repeated for anyone, “even if he (the baptized) after this (baptism) committed a thousand sins or even rejected the faith itself. He who wishes to turn to the Lord perceives his lost sonhood through the sacrament of repentance” (Last Eastern Patr. 16). Revelation teaches that baptism is birth into spiritual life. If they are born physically once, then, of course, the same must be the property of spiritual birth, and if the promises of God are unchangeable, then it is inappropriate to demand their renewal. Further, baptism, according to the Apostle, is participation in the death and burial of I. Christ: if we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into His death. We buried Him by baptism into death (Rom. 6:3–4). But “just as the Lord once died, so one day one must also be baptized... All who, having been baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,... are rebaptized again, all of them crucify Christ again” (Damascene. Accurate ex. c. IV, 9). Finally, the apostle directly teaches: there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:5). The Church protected the uniqueness of baptism with special rules, which order that the bishop and presbyter guilty of rebaptism be deposed (Ap. pr. 47; fn. Carth. sob. 59 pr.). § 143. Features of heterodox teachings about baptism and its beneficial effects Features of the Roman Catholic teaching on baptism: the introduction of new rites into the rite, baptism by pouring, changing the formula of perfect words. – Change in the subject of the celebrant of the sacrament: instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, the celebrant is a priest. – Features of the Lutheran and Reformed doctrine of baptism. In Western Christian confessions, the teaching about the sacrament of baptism and its beneficial effects is contained with some deviations from the teaching of the ancient universal church, invariably preserved by the Greek-Eastern church. I. The Roman Church gives the same concept as the Orthodox about the essence of this sacrament and its grace-filled fruits, differently, however, understanding the righteousness bestowed in baptism (fn. § 121). Nor did she preserve in all its purity the apostolic tradition about the method of performing the sacrament. In addition to introducing unique rites of secondary importance into the rite of baptism (for example, salt is put into the mouth of the person being baptized, as if as a symbol of purity and wisdom, his ears and nostrils are anointed with saliva), she deviated from the commonly used ancient method of washing with water in baptism and changed the formula of the sacramental words. Instead of immersing the baptized person three times in water, it accepted and legalized baptism through pouring or sprinkling, i.e., a method of baptism that in the ancient church was used only in exceptional cases. Sanctified by the example of I. Christ, the ancient method of performing the sacrament, i.e. through immersion, better expresses the essential idea of ​​the sacrament - that in baptism a person dies to a carnal, sinful life, and is reborn to a spiritual life of grace, is buried and resurrected with Christ, than the pouring or sprinkling introduced by the Western Church in later times (XIII-XVII centuries), without prohibition, however, from using immersion. Equally, only during immersion can one think in oneself and imagine a comprehensive and complete washing of the impurity of an object, while sprinkling does not express the completeness and comprehensiveness of the cleansing of sins and the grace-filled rebirth of a person that takes place in baptism. To justify the pouring method of baptism, they usually point to the convenience of this method and the inconvenience of immersion, the feeling of bashfulness of the recipients, the weakness of the baptized children, the danger of a cold for the baptized, especially in cold water and cold countries, etc. But in matters of religion and the church, one must comply with the revealed teachings and decrees of the church, and not with the demands of convenience, especially since the indicated inconveniences are partly imaginary, partly easily eliminated without replacing immersion with dousing. The ancient formula of the final words of the sacrament was changed by the Latin Church into the following: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen". Obviously, the ancient formula more decently and better expresses the idea that the power of the sacrament depends on the grace of God, and not on the personality of the priest, that the invisible and real performer of the sacrament is Christ the Savior, and the ministers of the church are only his visible instruments. It completely eliminates any soaring thought about the personal importance of the visible performer of the sacrament and directly sends the baptized person to the author of the sacraments, I. Christ, about whom the Forerunner says: He baptizes you with the Holy Spirit. The use of the sacramental formula in the first person was also condemned by ancient teachers. Yes, blessed one. Augustine said: “Christ, forgiving the sins of Magdalene (Luke 7:48), did not say; I forgive you your sins, but they are forgiven, and thereby showed an example of humility, for He foresaw that proud people would appear who would say: I justify, I sanctify, I forgive sins,” etc. (De bapt. V, 7). St. Chrysostom notes: “Christ did not say: I baptize you (the apostles) with the Holy Spirit, but: you must be baptized, thereby teaching us humility about ourselves” (On Acts of the Dem. I, 5). II. Protestantism, having retained baptism among the sacraments with the main features of the Roman Church in the way it was performed (pouring instead of immersion and the use of perfect words in the first person), distorted the true teaching of revelation and the church about the grace-filled actions of this sacrament. Thus, Lutheranism recognizes that in baptism, a person who believes in Christ is given justification from original and personal sins, the curse and wrath of God are removed from him, he is adopted by God and becomes an heir to eternal bliss. Therefore, they recognize baptism as necessary for salvation, in particular for infants 64. But the justification granted to the sinner is not understood in the sense of actually cleansing him from sins, but only in the sense of external forgiveness of them, in declaring him righteous before the judgment of God for the sake of the merits of I. Christ. In the depths of his being, the justified remains with the same corruption with which he was born, only this sinfulness is not imputed to him. The evil of original sin is thus not destroyed by the justification given in baptism (fn. § 122). But even such justification is granted in fact by virtue of the immediate faith of the baptized in the word of God, inherent in water and baptism: faith is, “so to speak, the hand with which one receives what God gives in the sacrament; and just as one cannot accept any earthly gift without the hand, so one cannot accept a heavenly gift without faith” (Cat. M. IV p. De bapt.). As for baptism in itself, independent of faith, it is not a conductor or instrument for communicating the grace of justification, but only an external sign (symbol) or visible confirmation of the forgiveness of sins, externally given to the baptized person to the strength and for the arousal of his faith. Hence, there is no substantive difference between the baptized and the unbaptized; and the latter, as redeemed by the blood of the Savior, are the same “righteous” as the baptized, only they do not know about their justification until grace imparts to them faith in the gospel. Reformation attaches even less importance to baptism than Lutheranism. Thus, according to Zwingli’s view: “through baptism nothing more is accomplished than the designation (consignatio) of the one who is included in the church; but this still does not eliminate any sins.” Calvin, in order to prevent the action of grace on those not predestined to salvation, taught that “baptism is only an external washing, without any internal grace-filled washing.” The grace of justification, according to the Reformed view, is granted independently of baptism, according to one faith. From here Reformation came to the assertion that baptism is not necessary even for the predestined, or, if it is necessary, it is only because it was commanded by Jesus Christ, and not at all because without it no one can be saved. The essence of justification by grace is understood by Reformation in the same way as by Lutheranism. Protestantism has strayed so far from the revealed truth in its teaching on baptism. With the idea that the grace of justification is communicated independently of washing with water in the name of the Holy Trinity, baptism is reduced, in fact, to a number of church rites, although it is called a sacrament by Protestants. The Protestant understanding of the essence of justification, the granting of which the believer is “certified” by baptism, is devoid of a moral character. It is therefore right that the Eastern patriarchs in their “Epistle” call Protestant justification “extreme wickedness”, “a refutation of the faith, and not a confession of it” (Part 16) 65. Infant baptism, however, is not reconciled with the Lutheran view of the essence of the sacraments. The authority of the apostolic tradition and the voice of conscience forced the Lutherans to admit this inconsistency in their doctrine. As for the teaching on baptism of the Anglican Church, in the “Members of the Faith” (XXVII chapter) it is not expressed clearly enough: it does not completely eliminate the Protestant (so-called “absignatory”) view of the sacrament, but it can also be understood in the Orthodox sense, i.e., that baptism is really a means or instrument of rebirth and grace-filled adoption to God. According to its rules, baptism is performed through three times immersion in water, but in reality, it is often performed through three times dousing and it is even customary to sprinkle water from the fingers of the person being baptized. The perfective formula is in the first person. Sn. Right Dogma. God. IV vol. § 147. You might be interested in: