Sacraments
	Holy Baptism - Exorcism 
	
	Baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the body of 
	Christ - that is, the Church. It is the act of a person's 
	death and rebirth in and with Christ. Baptism begins with 
	the rejection of Satan (exorcism) and the acceptance of 
	Christ by the person (or godparents on behalf of a child).
	
	
	Prayers are said calling upon our Lord God to "…yoke unto 
	the child's life a radiant Angel, who shall deliver him 
	from ever snare of the adversary, from encounter with evil…" 
	The priest then breaths upon the mouth, brow and breast of 
	the Child, saying thrice: "Expel from him every evil and 
	impure spirit which hideth and maketh lair in his heart."
	
	
	As the exorcism prayers continue, the sponsor, holding the 
	child who is to be baptized, faces the west (rear of the 
	Church). The priest asks thrice: "Dost thou renounce Satan, 
	and all his angels, and all his works, and all his service, 
	and all his pride"? The sponsors reply for the child: "I do." 
	The priest asks three times: "Hast thou renounced Satan?" The 
	sponsors reply for the child: "I have." The priest instructs 
	the sponsors to "breathe and spit upon him [Satan]."
	
	
	The sponsors, holding the child, then face the east and are 
	asked three times: "Dost thou unite thyself unto Christ?" 
	The sponsors reply: "I do." The priest asks: "Hast thou 
	united thyself unto Christ?" the sponsors reply: "I have". 
	The exorcism concludes with the statement: "I believe in Him 
	(Christ) as King and God."
	
	
	The sponsors then proclaim the symbol of Christian faith, 
	the Nicene Creed. Because the godparents or sponsors speak 
	on behalf of the child, the godparent (s) must be members 
	of the Orthodox Church.
	




Today I Am A Child Again

Have you ever stopped to wonder why children do not concern 
themselves with all the problem in the world? They seem 
totally will to believe that somehow, some way, everything 
will be fine, and somehow for them it is. Children do not 
have philosophical ideals, political positions or principles 
to uphold. They know what they know, they accept it and they 
never try to convince you that what they know is real. 
Children ask for what they want; they refuse to take no for 
an answer; and they know that if you say no, grandma usually 
says yes. Children will try anything once. They will go 
anywhere that looks safe. They are not hung up on styles or 
profiles, positions and postures, power or powerlessness 
yet we believe children don't know, can't do, shouldn't have, 
can't be, won't make it without us. Isn't it a shame that 
we don't remember as adults that we are always children of 
God.


We have to move beyond the mind-set of powerlessness.




Sacraments

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