How is a Christening carried out?
To get ready for a christening service it is essential to prepare a cross worn next to the skin, a white shirt and clean towel, additional underwear, and a certificate of the christening service that will contain a record of when, where, and by whom the person was christened after the sacrament is carried out.
A christening prayer is usually said first and is read in the church, above the christened. The name is usually chosen by a parent. By tradition of the Russian Church, the Saint, whose name is chosen, becomes the patron Saint of the christened. The Memorial Day of this saint is called the Name Day or, in ordinary parlance, the Saint’s day.
The order of proclamation goes before administering the christening service. The priest is reading so-called prohibitive prayers by using God’s name and prohibiting the Devil to take over the Christian’s heart. A person is chosen to be the new God’s warrior.
When a person is christened, he or she faces west while answering the priest’s questions (if the christened is an infant, the Godparents will do so instead). During this time, he denies the Devil three times—his doings, his service, his pride. As a sign of contempt for the Devil and as a sign of declaration of war that will last during his whole life, the christened blows and spits at the Devil.
The future warrior of God, whilst answering the deacon’s questions, testifies three times that they accept Lord Jesus Christ and says: “I believe Him like I believe the King and God”. Then the christened reads the article of faith that contains the basic aspects of Orthodox teachings.
Afterwards, the office of christening takes place. Firstly, the water is blessed and made holy, and later the christened is put into the water. As a symbol of God’s kindness to the person that is going to become a part of the church, his forehead, chest, shoulders, and legs are anointed (with the blessed oil).
The priest puts the christened into the water three times whilst saying: “this servant of God (name of christened) is taking Christianity today in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. The person puts on white clothes that symbolize the curtain of truth and the clothes of immortality. Then the cross worn next to the skin is put on them.
Then the priest and the christened go around the christening font three times while singing: “for as many of you as were christened into Christ have put on Christ (those who were christened into Christ, have put on Christ) Halleluiah”.
After reading the extracts from the Epistle of the apostle Paul to the Romans and the Gospel of St. Matthew, the priest rubs off the places that were anointed using the special sponge. The tonsuring ceremony follows, which symbolizes obedience and beneficence of the new member of God’s army.
You can ask the priest any questions concerning canonical sacraments, the meaning and the reasoning of prayers and hierurgies.