Fresco of Baptism of Christ at Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo, Mount Gargano, Italy
By Ioan Popa (Romanian, 1976-) and Camelia Ionesco-Popa (Romanian, 1979-)
1. Bible: Matthew 28:1-7, 16-20
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
2. Liturgy: Mozarabic Baptismal Rite
This evening, at the second session of our seminar, we’ll be discussing this 6th-century baptismal service. The first action in this service is significant: an exorcism of the enemy of the human race. This is still part of the Orthodox baptismal practice. Here’s that opening exorcism:
The infant is handed to the priest to be exorcized and the priest to whom he is handed blows upon him three times in the face, and says this exorcism:
I exorcize you, unclean spirit, enemy of the human race, by God the Father Almighty, who “made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is” (Ex. 20:11), and by Jesus Christ His Son, and by the Holy Spirit. All you armies of the devil, every power of the adversary, every violent clash of the enemy, every blind disordered phantasm, be rooted out and put to flight from this creature, that by the remission of all his/her sins he/she may become a temple of the living God; through the justification of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, who shall come to judge the world by fire. Amen.
Read the entire service here. And better yet, fill that last seminar seat and join us for the discussion this evening!
3. Fathers: St Pacian of Barcelona
At each Eighth Day Seminar, the session on the Fathers includes a reading from both an eastern Father and a western Father. For the Baptism Seminar, tomorrow evening we’ll be discussing St Gregory of Nyssa (east) and St Pacian of Barcelona (west). Here’s an excerpt from a homily by St Pacian which offers a patristic perspective on baptism:
Someone, perhaps, will object: The sin of Adam deservedly passed to posterity because they were born his descendants. But how are we born from Christ so that we can be saved through Him? If you stop thinking in terms of the flesh you will understand our birth from Christ and His paternity in our regard. In these last days Christ took a soul and body in the womb of Mary. It is this flesh which He has come to save. He did not abandon it in hell, but joined it to His own spirit, making it His own. This is the marriage of the Lord, joined to the flesh of man—a great mystery uniting the two—Christ and the Church—in one flesh (cf. Eph. 5:32). This marriage, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, come down from heaven, has given birth to the people of God. Thanks to a heavenly seed inserted in the substance of our souls, we take form in the womb of our (spiritual) mother and, once we issue from her womb, we are vivified in Christ. And so the Apostle says: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). It is also by His priests that Christ engenders life in the Church, as the Apostle confirms: “for in Christ Jesus did I beget you” (1 Cor. 4:15). It is the seed of Christ, that is to say the Spirit of God, which produces through the priest’s hands the new man, conceived in the womb of his mother and born in the baptismal font under the auspices of faith. In fact he who does not believe and is not prepared to be born of Christ, he who has not received His Spirit will not appear integrated in the Church.
A new birth through baptism! We must, then, believe in the possibility of our (spiritual) birth. Philip in fact said, “If you do believe, you may be baptized” (Acts 8:37). We must receive Christ so that He may give us birth, as John the Apostle says, “But to as many as received Him He gave the power of becoming sons of God” (Jn. 1:12). But this cannot be brought about without the bath of water and the sacrament of anointing which the bishop administers. The bath of water purifies us from our sins. The holy anointing pours down the Holy Spirit on us. This double blessing we obtain through the actions and words of the bishop.
Read the entire homily here.
4. Poetry: Holy Baptism by John Keble
Since this week’s events commemorate St John Henry Newman, I found a poem on baptism by John Keble, a friend of Newman and fellow leader with him of the Oxford Movement. Read the poem "Holy Baptism" by John Keble here.
5. Books & Culture: Of Water and Spirit by Schmemann: An Eighth Day view
If I had to choose one unwieldy book to read about the early Christian tradition of baptism, it would be Schmemann’s
Of Water and Spirit. Read this short review by Eighth Day Books and then buy a copy from them!
And now, in conclusion, check out the following three excellent reflections on our theme of baptism:
6. Essays et al: “Sons of Abraham” by Jeri Holladay
https://www.eighthdayinstitute.org/sons-of-abraham
7. Essays et al: “The Dread Terror of Baptism” by Matthew Umbarger
https://www.eighthdayinstitute.org/the-dread-terror-of-baptism
8. Essays et al: “Water, Spirit, Divine Order: The Old Testament Background for a New Testament Teaching” by Matthew R. Miller
https://www.eighthdayinstitute.org/water-spirit-divine-order
