Preparing for baptism

[Adrian Martin]

Dear brethren in Christ, I am going to be baptized very soon into the Orthodox Church of Christ. How should I prepare myself?

[Mary]

Dear brethren in Christ, I am going to be baptized very soon into the Orthodox Church of Christ. How should I prepare myself?

Dear Adrian,

What parish do you attend? How long have you been a catechumen? A priest shouldn't baptise anyone who isn't ready for baptism. If you've been meeting with your priest, and he has decided it's time for you to be baptised, then you've been prepared. The only thing you'll actually need to "do" is prepare your life confession, which you'll have to do sometime just before your baptism, but he should've already told you that.

Other than that, you'll need a sponsor and towel and a white gown to wear after you've come out of the water. But you probably know all that as well. There's nothing else to worry about.

In Christ,
Mary.

[Andreas Moran]

you'll need a sponsor and towel and a white gown to wear after you've come out of the water
. . . and a cross to wear at all times. Remember to have the correct Ablution after eight days.

[Adrian Martin]

. . . and a cross to wear at all times. Remember to have the correct Ablution after eight days.

Dear Andreas,

What do you mean by 'Ablution after eight days'? I haven't heard of this custom before...

[Andreas Moran]

Dear Adrian,

What I describe here is what I have seen and I believe it is the full and proper way (and surely for such a thing there is no other way unless circumstances don't allow). You will be baptised - immersed - in some container full of water into which the priest will pour oil and bless the water with the oil in it. You should make sure that you are fully immersed three times when the priest invokes the Holy Trinity. When you get out, you will need to change the wet and rather oily robe which you must, however, keep together with the towel you use to dry. You will change into a new white robe - the robe of light. In this you will be chrismated. Because the water and oil of the baptism were blessed, you should not wash, shower or bathe for eight days, if possible (or, at least three). The Eighth Day is significant, of course. The Ablution is a washing of the remaining oil from the body. The water from that washing should be disposed of in the same way as the water from the baptism - poured into the earth. The towel you use to dry should be kept together with the robe in which you were baptised.

[Herman Blaydoe]

Your Local Traditions May Vary.

Right, wrong or indifferent, many jurisdictions do the ablution immediately after the baptism/chrismation. The notion of going without bathing for eight days is abhorent to "modern" sensibilities, I guess. The eight days is, of course, the ancient practice. I am not here to debate the "correctness" of this practice, but merely to mention that it exists. Check with your local priest/bishop.

[Andreas Moran]

I'd certainly try to go the three days.

[Adrian Martin]

Thank you very much for your posts. I have officially been made a catechumen last Wednesday on St. Nicholas' day, and I will be baptized (in the ocean) this Saturday.

[Paul Cowan]

God bless you Adrian. Wear some thermal underwear.

[Olga]

Congratulations, Adrian! I would second Paul's advice, unless you live in Florida or some other temperate state.

[Adrian Martin]

God bless you Adrian. Wear some thermal underwear.

I live in Hawaii! No need for thermal underwear. In fact, I just got back from my parish retreat (we rented a beach house); the weather was quite lovely.

[Matthew Panchisin]

Dear Adrian,

Congratulations! I'm so pleased here to hear of your holy illumination.

God be with you always, I'm sure many will be keeping you in their prayers.

In Christ,

Matthew Panchisin

[Nina]

Congratulations dear Adrian and many God pleasing years and many blessings from Him to you! (In GO tradition) We say also for newly baptized infants "May he be a good Christian!" but I am not sure if I can say this for an adult...

[Nicolaj]

Congratulations! May you be a good Christian!

Christos voskrese! Nicolaj

[Adrian Martin]

Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. At around 10am I was baptized into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. It was, to put it briefly, a tremendous experience. My baptismal name is John, after St. John Chrysostom.

[Andreas Moran]

Thank God! His Church ever gives increase! Welcome, brother in Christ!

[Ken McRae]

The only thing you'll actually need to "do" is prepare your life confession, which you'll have to do sometime just before your baptism, but he should've already told you that.

How does one make a good or saving confession of 40 plus years of particular sins? In the Catholic church, a person must name each particular sin by name, and attach a specific number to it, concerning how many times they were commited during one's lifetime. It seems to me that such a confession, for the "average" person, would literally take several hours, if not days to give?

So how does a convert of some 40 or 50 years of age prepare and confess a long life's worth of particular sins? And what kind of detail is required in their first confession? For example, under the category of sexual sins, how much explicit detail is required in this first confession? For example, if a person is guilty of fornication, must he or she divulge the relevant details, as to how, when, with whom, and where?

[Ken McRae]

How does one make a good or saving confession of 40 plus years of particular sins? In the Catholic church, a person must name each particular sin ...

Well, I have since taken the time to read pretty much every thread on this website concerning the practice of confession; and I think I now have a "slightly" better idea of the Orthodox praxis than I had before posting the above questions. Still, I am having some minor difficulty seeing how some of the examples of confession given in those threads meet the criteria of a 'good' confession, as they appeared to very barely, if at all, meet the minimum criteria of what counts as a 'good' confession, according to the Orthodox tradition.

In one of those threads, Fr. David Moser raises the point about sins which have no clear and precise 'name,' that allows them to be both clearly and conveniently identified. This is a topic discussed also by Fr. Josiah Trenham, in his online pastoral lecture about Repentance and Confession (http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/frjosiah-trenham-talks-to-clergy-about-confession-and-repentance.aspx). One concrete example he gives of this kind of "unnamed" sin is 'surrogate motherhood,' where a woman receives money or payment to have another woman's baby for her. At any rate, I'd like to know the name of a good Orthodox "catalogue of sins."

[Father David Moser]

How does one make a good or saving confession of 40 plus years of particular sins? ...
So how does a convert of some 40 or 50 years of age prepare and confess a long life's worth of particular sins? And what kind of detail is required in their first confession?...

When I am in this situation with an adult convert, I encourage a more general approach, confessing the sins in general terms (I have lied, I have judged, I have been disobedient etc) and then providing maybe one or two specific examples that are typical of how that sin manifests in the person. As a priest, I may then ask for more detail if it seems beneficial. As to the example that you mentioned of fornication - I will have people confess that they have had an affair and that is sufficient. Usually I will ask, if the affair is ended, whether or not you still see that other person socially, whether or not the spouse is aware etc just to get an idea of what's going on. If the affair is not ended, then I will instruct the person that it must end immediately and extract a promise that there will be no more interaction with that person other than the minimal amount necessary to end it.


In one of those threads, Fr. David Moser raises the point about sins which have no clear and precise 'name,' that allows them to be both clearly and conveniently identified.

I hope I was helpful? There are a number of good confessional aids, ask your priest for one prior to your confession so that you can prepare. I usually suggest going through the confessional prayers in the evening prayer rule or using the "Confession before a spiritual father" of St Dimitri of Rostov. But ask your priest for some kind of aid in preparing, I think that is best.

Oh, and you also mentioned surrogate motherhood- I would suggest reading the "basis of the social concept (http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?mid=90)" of the Russian Orthodox Church as this document addresses the view of the Church on many of the modern social/ethical/technical issues of our time.

Fr David Moser

[Paul Cowan]

At any rate, I'd like to know the name of a good Orthodox "catalogue of sins."

Man is quite ingenious. He is capable of coming up with many new and varied sins. But this is the cliff note's version.


Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Here are some things to ponder (http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8476.asp)as you read the above.

Let your conscious be your guide. It is this which will judge you in the end.

Paul

[Andreas Moran]

My first confession before reception was certainly brief. Later, when (as is common) I wondered if I had said everything or enough, Bishop Eirenaios said, 'I knew your confession was to be shallow. But there will come a day when you will make a deep confession'. When I mentioned this to Archimandrite Zacharias some years later, he said this was classic teaching. The Holy Fathers recommend that with sins of sensuality, details are best avoided.

[Ken McRae]

I hope I was helpful?

Dear Fr David,

Sorry for the delayed reply. On top of my being without computer access for days at a time, I somehow managed to get lost amidst my flurry of recent posts; but, yes, your reply was most helpful to me, indeed. Many sincere thanks to you for taking the time to assist in this matter!



There are a number of good confessional aids, ask your priest for one prior to your confession so that you can prepare. I usually suggest going through the confessional prayers in the evening prayer rule or using the "Confession before a spiritual father" of St Dimitri of Rostov. But ask your priest for some kind of aid in preparing, I think that is best.

I'll be sure to do as you've recommended here, Fr. I have recently noticed that a manual on confession, by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, has just been published. It seemed like a good book to have, so I went ahead and ordered a copy of it, trusting the Lord will use it to assist me in my preparation. Along with that text, I also ordered a copy of Metropolitan Hierotheos' catechism for adults entering the Orthodox Church.



Oh, and you also mentioned surrogate motherhood- I would suggest reading the "basis of the social concept (http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?mid=90)" of the Russian Orthodox Church as this document addresses the view of the Church on many of the modern social/ethical/technical issues of our time.

Yes, this is precisely the kind of "contemporary" document I was hoping for. It will be of invaluable assistance to me, I'm sure. Once again, though, many thanks to you again, and to everyone else, for the very practical assistance. It is deeply appreciated!

[Anthony Stokes]

I'll be sure to do as you've recommended here, Fr. I have recently noticed that a manual on confession, by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, has just been published. It seemed like a good book to have, so I went ahead and ordered a copy of it, trusting the Lord will use it to assist me in my preparation.


Ken,
If you are referring to the Exomologetarion, I, as I am sure others will, offer the advice to work your way up to that book. A large portion of the book is an "updating" of canons on penances for different sins, something is left up to the priest. Many of St. Nicodemus' penances are not the norm today, such as most penances involving 250 prostrations a day and xerophagy for a month, etc. Just a word of advice. It can be quite overwhelming taken out of context and applied to today's world.

Sbdn. Anthony

[Andreas Moran]

I have found the book, 'Confession' by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) very useful.

[Ken McRae]

Ken,
If you are referring to the Exomologetarion, I, as I am sure others will, offer the advice to work your way up to that book. A large portion of the book is an "updating" of canons on penances for different sins, something is left up to the priest. Many of St. Nicodemus' penances are not the norm today, such as most penances involving 250 prostrations a day and xerophagy for a month, etc. Just a word of advice. It can be quite overwhelming taken out of context and applied to today's world.

Many thanks, Sbdn. Anthony, for the caution(ary). While my chief attraction to it was its potential use as a catalog of sins. I am well acquainted with the decalogue, which is itself summarized by Christ under the two great commandments; while King David, in the Bk of Psalms, states very explicitly that he has sinned against none but God Himself; in effect saying what Fr David has suggested elsewhere, how there is some legitimate sense in which there is really just one sin, that is, the sin of disobedience to God.

As we all know, though, there exists, in some other legitimate sense, literally hundreds, if not thousands of particular sins, with names; and I was hoping St. Nicodemus' book would assist me in the cataloging of such. Either way, I trust he'll not disappoint, and that I'll profit by his labour, if the Lord will bless my study of him.

[Evangelia P.]

Dear All,

This is a very practical question - My fiancee is due to be baptised in a couple of weeks. We are both extremely excited, nervous and happy about the forthcoming day!

Our priest has asked us to get him a white baptismal robe - I am struggling to find where to buy one. I have searched the internet but havent had much luck.

Can anyone recomend a website or shop? I live in London, UK.

Thanks in advance for your help

Love, Evangelia

[Ryan]

When I searched on Google for "baptismal robe," I found a lot of sites selling such robes. They're a little pricey, it seems to me. They aren't Orthodox but I'm sure they would work. That said, when we couldn't find a robe for my own baptism, I ended up just getting a huge white T-shirt and some white shorts.