How will one be received? Whether one who wishes to join the Church is received by Baptism and Chrismation, or only Chrismation, is determined according to the canons and practices of the Church. Fr. Silviu will give the parents or the adult soon-to-be-received a questionnaire about their previous baptism (if any) and the tradition in which it was done. This will determine which one of the two paths will be taken, the ultimate decision belonging to the bishop. Fr. Silviu will pass on the decision to the parents or the adult soon-to-be-baptized.

When will the baptism and/or chrismation take place? For adults, the reception is served immediately before the Divine Liturgy of Holy Saturday [for Pascha] or of Christmas. It can be served on other great feasts, but only in cases of emergency. For babies, baptisms and/or chrismations should also happen on the aforementioned feasts, but they can be served on any given Sunday immediately before the Divine Liturgy. 

The following owed to be considered and prepared as soon as baptism/chrismation is requested: 

• Regarding parents of babies: If the one to be received into the Church is a child, both the parents and the godparent should be prepared to promise that the child will be raised in the Church, with frequent attendance and participation in the worship of the Church, particularly in confession and Divine Liturgy. If one parent is not Orthodox, he/she must testify in person to Fr. Silviu that he/she will be respectful of the Orthodox Tradition so that the child can grow in the faith without having any sense that one parent is disapproving of it.
• Regarding godparents/sponsors, the parents or the one to-be-received should know to choose a godparent/sponsor of the same gender as the one to-be-received, and they should discuss the choice with Fr. Silviu as soon as they announce the desire to join the Church to him. If these choices are not from St. George (a situation to be avoided as much as possible), the chosen godparents/sponsors should present to Fr. Silviu—in advance of the reception—a letter from their parish priest attesting to the fact that the godparents are members in good standing of the Orthodox Church, that is, that they are devout and practicing Orthodox Christians. If the godparent was/is married, his/her marriage must have been blessed in the Orthodox Church, or must have been registered officially before the godparent was received into the Church, without any history of infidelity. Also, the godparent must not be living in any unrepented, ongoing egregious sin. Rather, the godparents/sponsor (and parents, if the one to-be-received is a child) should be prepared to take the holy communion with the newly illumined at his/her first communion, having received the blessing of their father confessor to do so and also fasting before this according to the rules of the Church. The OCA guideline on godparents/sponsors is clear: “The sponsor of a candidate for Holy Baptism is a guarantor to the Church that the person will be reared and/or educated in the Orthodox faith; he/she must be a practicing member of the Orthodox Church. A person can guarantee only that which he/she possesses and practices; therefore, a non-Orthodox is unable to guarantee sponsorship because he/she has neither the faith nor the practice… A worthy sponsor is already leading a full sacramental life, confessing sins through the Mystery of Penance and receiving Holy Communion.” 

If the one to-be-received is an adult, the sponsor is someone who attests to the sincerity of the desire for Christ of the one to-be-received and is also a co-traveller in the faith with them. 

If the one to-be-received is a small child, and since children are unable to make the necessary confession of faith, on top of the function mentioned above the godparent also stands in the child’s place and speaks on his/her behalf.

The godparent must be prepared to give responses and to recite the creed, if the one to-be-received is a child. If it is a grown-up, the soon-to-be-received will recite the creed, but the sponsor can join in the recitation; all the responses will also be given by the one to-be-received. 

• Regarding the name change, the OCA has decided the following: “The candidate for baptism should bear the name of a recognized Orthodox saint. This matter should be discussed with the prospective parents long before the birth of the child. An adult convert to the Church should also bear the name of an Orthodox saint, especially if the name given at birth is unusual to the Orthodox tradition.” Therefore, if the-one-to-be-received already has the name of a saint, that name need not be changed, but if they do not have a saint’s name, they should choose a name of a saint.
• If the one to-be-received or their family wish to invite guests, guests are welcome, but the ones who extend the invitation must inform their guests to respect the customs of the church: to dress appropriately, to be quiet in the church, to stand when others stand, not to bring any food or drink into the church (or chewing gum), not to take photographs unless they have received Father’s blessing to do so, etc. 

On reception through Baptism

If one is baptized at Pascha: 

The status of the one to-be-baptized on Pascha changes on the Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent: they are no longer a catechumen, but ones “to-be-illumined.” Starting with that day (and Fr. Silviu will point this out), at every Liturgy there will be a litany for those preparing for baptism, and the ones in that status will come up for blessing during that litany, and not during the litany for the catechumens. Be mindful: this does not apply to the ones preparing for Chrismation only! The ones preparing for Chrismation will still continue in the status of catechumen all the way to their Chrismation. They should come up for the litany for catechumens. 

What to prepare in advance for baptism: 

• A baby should be brought to the service with two sets of clothes: a regular set of clothes should be worn at the beginning, then after the baptism (during which the baby is naked) the baby should be dressed in another set which is white and loose. It should be loose because after baptism the priest still has to anoint the baby (such as over the chest, feet, etc.) and will also have to cut pieces of the baby’s hair. The baby will also need two large white towels for after baptism.
• The adult to-be-baptized prepares as follows:
  • The soon-to-be-baptized will have a whole life confession one or two days before baptism. 
  • The soon-to-be-baptized should also prepare the following: 
    
    1. White undergarments and long white shirt and/or baptismal gown in which you will be baptized. The church has several baptismal gowns to share, just ask if you want to use one of ours! Be mindful that you cannot be baptized with long or regular-size pants! They retain too much water and splash the baptismal water all around the font and wherever you walk.
    2. One loose, large long shirt of dark color that you can put over the baptismal garments mentioned above.
    3. A complete set of white or light colored church-proper clothes.   
    4. Two large, new/unused white bath towels. 
    5. A new, unused bag to carry all of the above. It can be a plastic bag, but must be impermeable. Be mindful that this bag will have to be burned!  
• The godparent/sponsor should prepare: 
  • a pectoral cross for the newly illumined;
  • one baptismal candle, which should be larger and more ornate than regular candles (some are for sale in our bookstore); 
  • an icon with the patronal saint as a gift (if the godparent wants to give such a gift). 

On the day before baptism:

On the day before baptism (or early on the day of baptism), the adult soon-to-be-baptized or parents of the baby, and the godparent/sponsor, should come to church in order to help Fr. Silviu set up for baptism. Ask him about the proper time to do the following:

• prepare the baptismal font in its place;
• fill up the font with water, and—if this is done immediately before baptism—add some hot water in order to bring the temperature up;
• set up the table for the other liturgical objects.

On the day of baptism:

• From the items listed above, the following should be given to the priest in advance to put on the table (the other items should stay with the godparent/sponsor):
• The pectoral cross
• The baptismal candle
• What else to prepare: 
• Prepare in advance, somewhere in the church, neatly folded, the second complete change of white or light-colored church-proper clothes into which the one baptized will change after baptism (number iii. above). These clothes will be blessed immediately after the immersion! After the immersion and the blessing of the new clothes, the drying and change will be done in the privacy of the hall bathrooms. Plan on not taking more than 5 minutes to change! Also plan on not wearing the new, dry clothes tightly. The chrismation to follow will need access to your chest, hands, and bare feet. Also the tonsure will require access to your hair, so please don’t put on any head coverings. 
• Also nearby prepare the two new large white bath towels. Sponsors should carry the towels to the immersion! They will be used after the immersion itself to dry oneself off as much as possible. 
• Where to stand for the service: If the one to-be-baptized has already been made catechumen, he/she and the godparent/sponsor may enter the church, but should stand in the pronaos/narthix. If the one to-be-baptized has not been made catechumen in advance, they should wait outside until the time for churching, when they will be called in. 
• How to be dressed: The adult to-be-baptized gets ready for the service with shoes and/or socks on and wearing the white undergarments and shirt and/or the baptismal gown in which they will be baptized (number 1 above) and on top of these they wear the loose large shirt of darker color (number 2 above). At one point during the service you will take off the loose shirt and end up wearing only the white underlayers and/or the baptismal gown in which you will be baptized! 
• The service of baptism consists of the following parts: 
• The churching or the making of a catechumen (if not already done); 
• The renunciations of the previous life and the union with Christ. At this time, when Fr. Silviu indicates, the one-to-be-baptized takes off the outer white shirt and the shoes and socks, and tramples on them, to remain only in the gown/undergarments. The godparent will strip the baby naked and will trample on the baby’s clothing, the baby being wrapped in one of the towels until baptism itself. 
• The recitation of the creed 
• The pre-baptismal anointing
• The baptism through three immersions. After the immersion the newly baptized will have to change into the dry white garment/clothes. Know that there isn’t much time for this, so please prepare to dry and change clothes quickly.  
• The anointing with holy Chrism (a special oil) 
• The dance around the baptismal font. It is a circular procession around the font, three times, with the newly baptized and the godparent following the priest. 
• The reading of the epistle and the gospel
• The tonsure (offering of the hair)
• The receiving of communion at the Divine Liturgy which follows. One is not fully received until he/she receives Communion. So not staying at services for Communion is not an option! 
• At the end of the service of baptism, the sponsor(s) and/or parent(s) should help empty the baptismal font of water and also carry the font outside.
• At the Divine Liturgy to follow the newly baptized comes first to Communion, ahead of everyone else, with their candle lit and accompanied by the godparent/sponsor.
• After the end of the Divine Liturgy the one baptized (or the parents of a baby) takes home everything they have used, including the towels and the wet baptismal garments and undergarments. Everything wet should be carried in the new bag in which they were brought to church in the first place. Make sure you move things around in such a way that you don’t splash the baptismal water everywhere. 

To do the next day:

• The bath water: A baby’s first bath water after baptism has to be collected and poured at the root of a tree. An adult should also wash in a wash basin and throw the water out by a tree, or wash summarily (even if only with a hose) directly under a tree. The water cannot be disposed of in the sewage! 
• The towels: take home the towels you brought and used, wash them by hand, throw the water by a tree, and let them air dry. Afterwards you can donate the towels to the church or keep them only for special, churchly uses, not for regular use. If you used the church’s own towels, bring them back after you clean and dry them as described. The water cannot be disposed of in the sewage! 
• The baptismal gowns and/or undergarments (with which the baptized went into the font): take them home and hand wash them in a wash basin and pour the water by a tree (the water cannot be disposed of in the sewage). You can keep a baptismal gown you bought, but it can only be used for one’s funeral (not for any secular functions), or it can be burned and the ashes buried at the root of a tree. If you have taken a baptismal gown from the church, please take it home, wash it and dry it as described above, and then bring it back to Fr. Silviu. 
• The bag used to carry the wet things should be burned and the ashes buried by a tree. 
• If one does not have the possibility of burning anything safely, first they should let those things air dry thoroughly and then bring them back to the church and give them to Fr. Silviu. The church burns things regularly. 

To do for the first month after baptism:

• The newly baptized should come to church on the first three Sundays for communion, with the godparent/sponsor, and should be first in line for communion with a lit candle. 

On reception through chrismation

If one is chrismated at Pascha: 

Only the ones to be baptized on Pascha have a new status starting with the Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent: they are no longer “catechumens,” but “ones to-be-illumined.” Starting with that day, at every Liturgy there will be a new litany for those preparing for baptism, and the ones in that status will come up for blessing during that new litany, and not during the litany for the catechumens. Be mindful: this does not apply to the ones preparing for chrismation only! The ones preparing for chrismation will still continue in the status of “catechumen” all the way to their chrismation. They should come up for the litany for “catechumens.”

On the days immediately before chrismation: 

• If the soon-to-be-chrismated is an adult, he/she should have a whole life confession one or two days before baptism. 
• The godparent of a baby (or parents), or the adult soon-to-be-chrismated should be prepared to present themselves to the service as follows:
• The one to-be-chrismated should prepare to wear white or light-colored church-proper clothes on the day of the chrismation.
• The godparent/sponsor should prepare for the newly chrismated a pectoral cross.

On the day of chrismation:

• The service of reception into the Church consists of the following parts: 
• The profession of faith and the recitation of the creed. 
• The prayer of reception and of absolution.
• Great litany.
• The anointing with the holy Chrism.
• The receiving of communion (this may take place at the Divine Liturgy which follows). 
• If the chrismation is served in conjunction with the baptism of others, it is served as soon as the others are baptized, while they are changing into their new, dry clothes. Fr. Silviu will ask you to come up at that time. The service begins in the narthix, the front small room of the church. After the chrismation service, the one chrismated will step aside for the continuation of the baptism service, but will join everyone received through baptism for Communion at the Divine Liturgy. 
• At the Divine Liturgy the newly chrismated comes first to Communion—together with the newly baptized—ahead of everyone else, accompanied by the godparent/sponsor. They need not have lit candles, since the candles are a symbol of baptism and not chrismation, but they can do so if they wish. 

To do for the first month after chrismation:

The newly chrismated should come to church on the first three Sundays for communion, with the godparent/sponsor, and should be first in line for communion, even with a lit candle if so desired.