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Psalm45_9
Guest
While visiting the Byzantine Catholic Church in Syracuse, I could not help but notice that there was no baptismal font in the entire church. With that said, how is Baptism done in the Byzantine Church?
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The_Hidden_Life
Guest
Are you sure there wasn’t something that looked like a closed box on a pedestal? Not necessarily an open pool or “birdbath” type thing but many fonts are locked closed when not in use. Or they are in separate chapels in older churches. I think Eastern Rite baptisms are done sort of full immersion with the baby naked. Three times through the water I think.
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Deacon_Ed
Guest
In my Melkite parish we have a baptimsal font “on wheels” that we can move from the narthex to the “nave” of the church as needed. It normally has a cover on it and is fairly small (about 2.5 feet across). It might not look like a baptismal font, but it is.
Deacon Ed
Deacon Ed
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BillyT92679
Guest
Also, remember that Baptism, Holy Communion, and Chrismation (Confirmation) all take place at the same time. The babies receive all three Mysteries at once.
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Psalm45_9
Guest
The Hidden Life:
The Hidden Life:
No, they only had the little Holy Water fonts that you bless yourself with at the doors.
The Hidden Life:
I’ll have to check, I think they have a separate chapel, but I don’t know where it is yet.
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Psalm45_9
Guest
That much I already knew. I visited a Ruthenian Catholic Church in Virgina. The same thing was there, they had the little holy water fonts at the door, but no baptismal font.
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Hesychios
Guest
Psalm45:9:
That is a borrowing from the latin West. In the more modern Byzantine temples one might not see them, as the church slowly lurches back into it’s own traditions.
This is the type of font you are most likely to see everywhere…
http://www.easternchristian.com/media/27-206.jpg
It reminds me of a samovar.
Byzantine Christians are as likely to drink holy water as to cross themselves with it.
This is a Baptism in progress…
http://www.byzantinecatholic.org/Immersion2.jpg
This is a typical Russian style baptismal font…
http://www.istok.net/files/images/thumbs/cp-021t.jpghttp://www.easternchristian.com/media/41-323.jpg
They will be brought out to a central place in the nave for a baptism, if there is space available.
Note the little bracket designed to hold three candles. A baptism is a sight to behold, a real community event.
Some parishes (quite a few, actually) have them enclosed in cabinets, this usually means they are also on wheels and can be sequestered away when unneeded.
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Michael
Just so everyone understands, the holy water font at the doorposts is not a genuine Byzantine tradition.
That is a borrowing from the latin West. In the more modern Byzantine temples one might not see them, as the church slowly lurches back into it’s own traditions.
This is the type of font you are most likely to see everywhere…
http://www.easternchristian.com/media/27-206.jpg
It reminds me of a samovar.
Byzantine Christians are as likely to drink holy water as to cross themselves with it.
This is a Baptism in progress…
http://www.byzantinecatholic.org/Immersion2.jpg
This is a typical Russian style baptismal font…
http://www.istok.net/files/images/thumbs/cp-021t.jpghttp://www.easternchristian.com/media/41-323.jpg
They will be brought out to a central place in the nave for a baptism, if there is space available.
Note the little bracket designed to hold three candles. A baptism is a sight to behold, a real community event.
Some parishes (quite a few, actually) have them enclosed in cabinets, this usually means they are also on wheels and can be sequestered away when unneeded.
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Michael
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RedDeathsMask
Guest
Thank you very much. I thought the Holy Water fonts were a Latin tradition, thanks for clearling that up.
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RedDeathsMask
Guest
Is the same font used for adults, or do they get fully submerged?
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Hesychios
Guest
Last year I witnessed an adult baptism at a Byzantine-Ruthenian church. A really super guy, a veteran just back from Iraq.
The Eparch was scheduled to visit, so they waited for him. The whole congregation was present (as per usual) and the catechuman leaned over the baptismal font and the bishop poured three huge pitcherfulls of holy water over this man’s head. It looked like a waterfall!
The font caught most of it, but he was drenched.
I understand the Russian Orthodox Abroad will use a basin large enough for an adult to lie down in. So the practice will vary, but it is supposed to be a triple immersion.
Most of these parishes are quite small compared to Roman Catholic parishes. They would not usually have a lot of extra floor space or the money for an elaborate built-in adult-sized pool, although I think that such a one as that would be awesome, covered in mosaic tiles or made of sculptured marble.
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Michael
The Eparch was scheduled to visit, so they waited for him. The whole congregation was present (as per usual) and the catechuman leaned over the baptismal font and the bishop poured three huge pitcherfulls of holy water over this man’s head. It looked like a waterfall!
The font caught most of it, but he was drenched.
I understand the Russian Orthodox Abroad will use a basin large enough for an adult to lie down in. So the practice will vary, but it is supposed to be a triple immersion.
Most of these parishes are quite small compared to Roman Catholic parishes. They would not usually have a lot of extra floor space or the money for an elaborate built-in adult-sized pool, although I think that such a one as that would be awesome, covered in mosaic tiles or made of sculptured marble.
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Michael
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ybeayf
Guest
Yep. At my parish, for adults we have a large washtub-like basin that can be dragged out front and filled with a hose. It’s large neough for a typical adult to sit down in and lean forward to be completely submerged. For babies, there’s a little font on a pedestal for them to be dunked in.
The other ROCOR parish here in Houston has a quite clever font for adults. It’s a wooden box lined with that plastic you see used for hot tubs, deep enough for immersion. When it’s not being used, it has a cover on it with a tilted shelf to hold icons for veneration. You’d never know it was a font until you saw the top taken off.
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Taptwins
Guest
I was raised a Byzantine Catholic (Eastern Rite). In our church, baptism and confirmation were done at the same time but we didn’t receive the sacrament of reconciliation and first Holy Communion until we were about 8 years old.
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