FOS SUMMARY - The Lord of the Rings-Living the Sacraments
Baptism: Beginning the Journey to Theosis
by Dorothy Poli & Helen Tellas & Daniel Padovano
September 30, 2008
The Sacraments and Theosis
The Sacraments begin our deeper and deeper understanding of the mystery of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. The Sacramental Life of the Church is intended to lead to theosis, union with God. God gives us these tools and the grace to be transfigured more and more into His image and likeness. We can come into union with God the more and more holy we are as He is. Theosis begins with our baptism and continues even after death. We must constantly expand and grow for theosis to be achieved. One must regularly measure or assess one’s relationship and intimacy with Christ to see if it has grown. (Interestingly, priests frequently observe that individuals who are close to Christ die with less fear.)
The Sacraments are not neutral or impotent; they have causality either unto damnation or salvation. The Sacraments are appropriated by our actions. Misuse and misappropriation of the Sacraments can lead to disfigurement. The earnest use of the Sacraments leads to transfiguration. In The Lord of the Rings, Sméagol was disfigured by the ring while Frodo was transfigured.
St. John Climacus writing, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” (See FOS Summary April 1, 2008), is a metaphor for theosis. The biggest danger with one ascending the ladder, i.e. growing spiritually into a deeper relationship with Christ, is that one stops because they think their progress is good enough and they don’t need to continue further. This is much worse than falling off the Ladder. When we stop we stagnate spiritually; there is no movement or life and the risk of arrogance. However, falling off can serve to makes us humble. And when we get up and try again we grow stronger for the upward journey. A saint is not one who never falls but one who keeps getting up when he or she falls. In this process of getting up, Christ helps one rise higher.
Stages of Theosis: A believer’s spiritual journey of growth includes “Nepsis” or education through catechesis, i.e. learning the faith. Opsis, or illumination is where the learning is processed and digested and the believer is opened spiritually and intellectually. Finally, enosis or union with God is the ultimate destination where the believer has advanced on his/her spiritual journey to become God-like and in united to God.
Catechesis: Foundations in the Early Church
In the early Church, if one was interested in converting to Christianity, one had to be catechized (become ‘Catechumen’). The 40 days of Lent were established as catechesis for those becoming Christians as one would have to be tested on his or her knowledge. Once prepared, the catechumens were all baptized at the same time on Easter (there were no private baptisms). Originally, Easter was a 3 day celebration. The extra days of Holy Week were added for the Catechumens.
The word “catechumen” (kata icos) was derived from Homeric poetry where members of the chorus in ancient Greek theatre spoke in unison. The parallel in the Church is that its members listen to the sound of the Church in unison. The emphasis is not on speaking, but listening. The catechumens, prior to Baptism, listen from the outside. Once baptized, having been infused with the Holy Spirit, a catechumen listens from the inside to the universal truths. The Holy Spirit stirs within an individual, becomes his/her real teacher and leads him/her to the Church.
There are 3 phases and levels of learning when coming into the mystery of the Church. The Evangelical phase is inspirational, stirs the spirit and is represented by the Sermons. The Catechetical phase is based on the desire to learn and examples are theological books, seminars, FOS and the FOS Summaries for example. The Mystagogical level is beyond the Catechetical and refers to being led into the mystery and truth of God by the Holy Spirit. This is experiential through the Sacraments, hymns, prayer, church services or contemplation.
BAPTISM
Our baptism begins our sacramental living. Participation in the mysteries of God does not change with time. We step outside of time into something eternal. The baptismal waters of any baptism are theologically and mystically the same waters as those of the Jordan River 2000 years for the baptism used by Jesus.
Theological basis for baptism
The baptized are taking part in the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The baby is passing over from death to life as the Jews passed over from
The godparents, priest and baby go around the altar 3 times recalling the Jews carrying their children to pass over the water. This denotes total dependency on God and the gift God has bestowed upon us. We reject the notion of salvation as reward. Salvation is a gift and not something we can earn on our own. We are totally dependent on God for our salvation.
During baptism, the priest asks three times, “Do you reject Satan and accept Jesus?” At this point, the baby and godparents are facing west. When the ‘yes’ response is given, they then face east. Later, the godparents read the Creed as an affirmation of faith. The spitting symbolizes the rejection of Satan.
The priest blows over the water in reference to the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters of creation in Genesis. With His Death and Resurrection, Jesus separated old creation from new creation. No longer is the water chaos representing this world but the Garden of Eden. The priest ‘signs’ eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, feet (total 7) with the oil of God in order to open and release the senses to discern God for the rest of an individual’s life. The oil on the body of the baby is also put on in order to have Satan slip off as his first attempt to attack a new Christian is in the water.
The candle or ‘lambada’ should be one’s lambada for life. It should even be used during marriage and even one’s funeral. The ‘haris’ (grace) one receives during baptism continues through eternity after death.
The fullness of this initial journey is complete by which to live the rest of our lives.
Choice of Godparents
In a baptism, the priest represents the Church and the godparents represent the greater community. At the time of the early Church, there were no private baptisms and they were held on Easter, Christmas or Epiphany. (Even marriage was performed during the Divine Liturgy.) Godparents are considered part of the extended family of the Church and as such godparents were always members of the Eucharistic community. Godparents were rarely family members since they were already connected to the child and, therefore, implied stewards. The ‘mystery’ expands when we take the emphasis off of the ego and put it on the community.
Catholic vs. Protestant vs. Orthodox
We are all called to be child-like vis-à-vis God, i.e. we are unknowledgeable and dependent. Therefore, Orthodoxy has no problem with the child being unaware. The Protestants believe in a later, adult baptism because they emphasize recognition. The Catholics take a middle ground in performing infant baptisms but only allow Chrismation or Confirmation and Holy Communion once the child knows Jesus. The early Church Fathers said that we must give the fullness of Sacraments to the children because of their complete dependency on God and higher receptivity to the Kingdom.
Risk of infant death prior to baptism
In extreme cases where there has been no priest present, by the “economia” of the Church adults or children have baptized other children. They used a shoelace or string to represent the “petrohili” while reciting the “The Lord’s Prayer”. In Orthodoxy in general, the intention of the heart is what is most important.
The Orthodox Church also rejects the theology espoused by the Catholics that infants meeting a pre-baptized death are not saved. The Orthodox Church considers these children in the group of the innocents that were killed under Herod. The Greek Orthodox Church holds the baptism early only so that the child can begin his or her sacramental life.
FOS Summaries are synopses of discussions points, organized and presented conceptually, in a session's dialogue and Q&A among Fr. Frank and FOS participants. The Summaries' authors further elaborate on certain ideas from a theme offered by Fr. Frank. All Summaries are approved by Fr. Frank prior to e-mail distribution. Past summaries can be found on the Cathedral website at http://www.thecathedral.goarch.org/FOSSummary/.