Now we're back to a happy place. I'll admit it - I want to have it all figured out. I want to know the exact, correct truth. Therefore, I'm a bit of a Red Green sort of guy when it comes to theology and it's hard to say, "I don't know". To counter this, I'm quick to point out places where I might be wrong - incl. Baptism.
It's not Orthodox theology that I'm worried about.
I remember my courses at Purdue, while excellent, just whetted my appetite of Church history.
...It's all there, the Book of Life, the power of the Blood, and I would challenge you to show me a church that believes Satan/the Devil exists and combats him in such clear language...
What do you have against the Dutch?
It's the haircuts...He just doesn't like the haircuts....
Below is the reception into the Catechumenate. Note this isn't the Baptism, it's just the beginning of the preparation for Baptism that can take months (usually) or even years (sometimes)
I bet most protestants worth their salt would consider the Catechumenate "saved" before we ever get around to baptizing him based just on the prayers below. I post these just to show that the prayers of repentance and conversion while they may sound foreign, share more than the average Protestant might believe.
An underlying emphasis though is on unity and communion. No priest's prayer is considered efficacious unless accompanied by the Amen of the people. The work done is accomplished by all present through the power of the One who promises where 2 or 3 are gathered together, there he will be.
It's all there, the Book of Life, the power of the Blood, and I would challenge you to show me a church that believes Satan/the Devil exists and combats him in such clear language
Read the prayers and tell me what YOU think.
Orthodox Church in America
2012
Reception into the Catechumenate
The priest, vested in stole (and phelonion and cuffs if it be the custom) comes out of the
Sanctuary and goes to the vestibule of the Church where the sponsors with the child
await him.
The priest breathes gently in the face of the child. He makes the Sign of the Cross over
the child and lays his right hand upon the child’s head.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: In Thy Name, O Lord of truth, and in the Name of Thine Only begotten
Son, and of Thy holy Spirit, I lay my hand upon Thy servant,
______, who has been found worthy to flee unto Thy holy name, and
to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings. Remove far from him
(her) his (her) former delusion, and fill him (her) with the faith, hope
and love which are in Thee; that he (she) may know that Thou art the
only true God, with Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
and Thy Holy Spirit. Enable him (her) to walk in all Thy
commandments, and to fulfill those things which are well-pleasing
unto Thee; for if a man do those things, he shall find life in them.
Inscribe him (her) in Thy Book of Life, and unite him (her) to the flock
of Thine inheritance. May Thy holy Name be glorified in him (her),
together with that of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and of
Thy life-creating Spirit. Let Thine eyes ever regard him (her) with
mercy, and let Thine ears attend to the voice of his (her) supplication.
Let him (her) rejoice in the works of his (her) hands, and in all his (her)
generation; that he (she) may render praises unto Thee, may sing,
worship and glorify Thy great and exalted Name always, all the days
of his (her) life.
For all the Powers of Heaven sing praises unto Thee, and
Thine is the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
now and ever and unto ages of ages.
1
People: Amen.
First Exorcism
Priest: The Lord puts you under ban, O Devil: He Who came into the world,
and made His abode among men, that He might overthrow your
tyranny and deliver men. Who also upon the Tree did triumph over
the adverse powers, when the sun was darkened, and the earth did
quake, and the graves were opened, and the bodies of the Saints
arose; Who also by death annihilated Death, and overthrew him who
exercised the dominion of Death, that is you, the Devil. I charge you
by God, Who revealed the Tree of Life, and arrayed in ranks the
Cherubim and the flaming sword which turns all ways to guard it: be
under ban. For I charge you by Him who walked upon the surface of
the sea as if it were dry land, and laid under His ban the tempests of
the winds; Whose glance dries up the deep, and Whose command
makes the mountains melt away. The same now, through us, puts
you under ban. Fear, begone and depart from this creature, and
return not again, neither hide yourself in him (her), neither seek to
meet him (her), nor to influence him (her), either by night or by day,
either in the morning or at noonday; but depart hence to your own
infernal abyss until the great Day of Judgment which is ordained. Fear
God Who sits upon the Cherubim and looks upon the deeps; before
Whom tremble Angels and Archangels, Thrones, Dominions,
Principalities, Authorities, Powers, the many-eyed Cherubim and the
six-winged Seraphim; before Whom, likewise, heaven and earth do
quake, the seas and all that they contain. Begone, and depart from
this sealed, newly-enlisted warrior of Christ our God. For I charge you
by Him Who rides upon the wings of the wind, and makes His Angels
spirits, and His ministers a flaming fire: Begone, and depart from this
creature, with all your powers and your Angels.
For glorified is the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Second Exorcism
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: God, holy, awesome and glorious, Who is unsearchable and
inscrutable in all His works and might, has foreordained for you the
penalty of eternal punishment, O Devil. The same God, through us,
His unworthy servant, commands you, with all your hosts, to depart
from him (her) who has been newly sealed in the Name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, our true God. Wherefore I charge you, most crafty,
impure, vile, loathsome and alien spirit, by the might of Jesus Christ,
Who has all power, both in heaven and on earth, Who said to the
deaf and dumb demon, "Come out of the man, and in nowise enter a
second time into him:" Depart! Acknowledge the vainness of your
might, which has not power even over swine. Call to mind Him Who,
at your request, commanded you to enter into the herd of swine. Fear
God, by Whose decree the earth is established upon the waters; Who
has made the heavens, and has set the mountains with a line and the
valleys with a measure; and has fixed bounds to the sands of the sea,
and a firm path upon the stormy waters; Who touches the mountains
and they smoke; Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment;
Who spreads out the heavens like a curtain; Who covers His
exceedingly high places with the waters; Who has made the earth so
sure upon its foundations, that it shall never be moved; Who gathers
the water of the sea and pours it out upon the face of the whole earth:
Begone, and depart from him (her) who has made himself (herself)
ready for Holy Illumination. I charge you by the redeeming Passion of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by His precious Body and Blood, and by
His awesome Coming-again; for He shall come, and shall not tarry, to
judge the whole earth; and He shall chastise you and all your host
with burning Gehenna, committing you to outer darkness, where the
worm does not cease and the fire is not quenched.
For of Christ our God is the dominion, with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Third Exorcism
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: O Lord of Sabaoth, the God of Israel, Who healest every malady and
every infirmity: Look upon Thy servant; prove him (her) and search
him (her) and root out of him (her) every operation of the devil.
Rebuke the unclean spirits and expel them, and purify the works of
Thy hands; and exerting Thy trenchant might, speedily crush down
Satan under his (her) feet; and give him (her) victory over the same,
and over his unclean spirits; that, having obtained mercy from Thee,
he (she) may be made worthy to partake of Thy heavenly Mysteries;
and may ascribe unto Thee glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
A Fourth Prayer
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: O Lord and Master, Who created man in Thine own likeness, and
bestowed upon him the power of life eternal; Who also despisest not
those who have fallen away through sin, but providest salvation for
the world through the incarnation of Thy Christ; Do Thou, the same
Lord, delivering also this Thy creature from the bondage of the
enemy, receive him (her) into Thy heavenly Kingdom. Open the eyes
of his (her) understanding, that the illumination of Thy Gospel may
shine brightly in him (her). Assign to his (her) life an Angel of light who
shall deliver him (her) from every snare of the adversary, from
encounter with evil, from the demon of the noonday, and from evil
thoughts.
The Priest then breathes gently in the form of a cross over the mouth, brow, and breast,
saying three times:
Expel from him (her) every evil and unclean spirit which hides and
makes its lair in his (her) heart. (3x)
Priest: The spirit of deceit, the spirit of evil, the spirit of idolatry and of every
covetousness; the spirit of falsehood and of every uncleanness, which
operates through the prompting of the devil. And make him (her) a
reason-endowed sheep in the holy flock of Thy Christ, an honorable
member of Thy Church, a consecrated vessel, a child of the light and
an heir of Thy Kingdom, that having lived in accordance with Thy
commandments, and preserved inviolate the seal, and kept his (her)
garment undefiled, he (she) may receive the blessedness of the Saints
in Thy Kingdom.
The sponsors with the child (or the one to be baptized if he be an adult) turn about and
face the West, with their backs to the priest. The priest then asks the following question
three times:
Priest: Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his angels, and all
his service, and all his pride? (Three times)
And each time the sponsor, or the one to be baptized if he be an adult, answers:
Candidate: I do renounce him!
Priest: Have you renounced Satan? (Three times)
And each time the sponsor, or the one to be baptized if he be an adult, answers:
Candidate: I have renounced him!
Then the priest says:
Priest: Breathe and spit upon him!
The sponsors with the child (or adult) now turn about back to the East, and they stand
facing the priest. The priest asks them three times:
Do you unite yourself to Christ? (Three times)
And each time the sponsor, or the one to be baptized if he be an adult, answers:
Candidate: I do unite myself to Christ.
Then the priest asks another question:
Priest: Have you united yourself to Christ?
Candidate: I have united myself to Christ.
Priest: Do you believe in Him?
Candidate: I believe in Him as King and God.
Candidate Recites The Symbol of Faith
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the onlybegotten,
begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of light; true God of true God;
begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made;
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate
of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for
us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose
again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right
hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the
dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the
Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son
together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the Prophets. And in one holy,
catholic, and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of
sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
After the Creed, the Priest makes the following inquiry three times:
Priest: Have you united yourself to Christ? (Three times)
The child (or Sponsor) responds each time:
Candidate: I have united myself to Christ.
Priest: Bow down before Him.
Candidate: (bowing) I bow down before the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, the Trinity, one in essence and undivided.
Priest: Blessed is God, Who desirest that all men be saved and come to the
knowledge of the truth, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: O Master, Lord our God, call Thy servant, ______, to Thy holy
Illumination, and grant to him (her) that great grace of Thy holy
Baptism. Put off from him (her) the old man, and renew him (her) unto
life everlasting; and fill him (her) with the power of Thy Holy Spirit, in
the unity of Thy Christ; that he (she) may be no more a child of the
body, but a child of Thy Kingdom. Through the good will and grace
of Thine Only-begotten Son, with Whom Thou art blessed, together
with Thy most holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now ever and unto
ages of ages.
People: Amen
It is an ancient tradition that the congregation faces a certain direction when worshipping. For the Jews, I believe it was proper to face Jerusalem, for Muslims, it was to face Mecca, for the Christians it was to face east towards the Sunrise.
