Should I be rebaptized? Why or why not?

I wondered this as well at the time leading up to my conversion, and still wonder it now, looking back.

While I was an inquirer, it was important to me that I not be re-baptized: after all, I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with water poured over me, when I was an infant. The didache states that is a permissible method. When I asked my priest after I had become a catechumen, he stated I would just be chrismated (I was at an antiochian parish, and I believe that is standard practice)

Now, looking back, I wonder if I should have been baptized. If I'm not mistaken, that seems to be the "norm" in Orthodoxy, at least in recent history if not throughout all of time. The patristic consensus on the issue is something that I want to learn more about: the baptism of heretics. If I recall correctly, some heretics and schismatics were received via baptism, others via chrismation, and others by mere profession of faith.

At the end of the day, I try to remind myself that it's not up to me. It was up to my bishop (and I suppose my priest to a lesser extent). Had I considered the issue more, perhaps I would have asked my priest about the issue while I was a catechumen, and maybe also spoken about it with the bishop. Would that have changed what happened? I'm not sure.

TL;DR: I don't know. I wonder the same thing regarding myself. But at the end of the day, trust your bishop.

Would that OCA church be St Mary's? Or is there a different one near you? (I believe I've mentioned before - I went to college and was received into the Orthodox Church in the northern virginia area, which if I recall correctly, is where you live)

depends on the priest, so ask him.

Hi friend.

The beauty of an ordained hierarchical clergy in tandem with the prerequisite of humility and obedience is that if you follow the priest’s direction in this important matter, your conscience should be clear. Express to him any concerns you may have, listen, and then follow his directions. He has met you and will be responsible for your soul. Weigh any other opinions on this matter from strangers on the internet (myself included) or even from yourself with much less weight than of the priest who will bring you into the Body of Christ.

I would think that this would be in the domain of the priest, in conformity with his bishop and whatever the holy synod of the OCA has decided.

I would prefer baptism but my bishop wants chrismation so I obey.

Not David said:

I would prefer baptism but my bishop wants chrismation so I obey.

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It is out of love and zeal that you wish this, but your obedience is more important in this matter. As the Lord said, unless we become like little children, we will not enter the Kingdom. I am happy to hear you are following the bishop’s instruction.

It reminds me of the scene in Acts where the Deacon Phillip went to Samaria and spread the Gospel there and after the people received the Word, they were baptized in Christ’s Name. When the Apostles learned of this, Sts. Peter and John then went right away to baptize them in the Spirit by anointing them (chrismation), thus fulfilling the newly baptized initiation to receive the Holy Gifts and enter into the Church. (Notice the hierarchical process involved). I imagine there too were those in Samaria who when they saw the great Sts. Peter and John, out of love and zeal, they may have wanted to be re-baptized by them, but it was superfluous. They were already deemed born in the water, now they needed to be born in the Spirit, for as St. John said in accordance to the teachings of the Lord, we must be born of both water and Spirit. If, after examining you and your history, your bishop or priest believes you to have already been born of water, than what is needed is to be born of the Spirit through chrismation. And through the grace given to them to bind and loose, and ultimately by the mercy and love of God, then this final sacrament will complete the process for communion and entrance into the Body of Christ, making sufficient anything that was lacking. God can raise sons from the stones, how much more will He raise those to His Kingdom who have had the faith and courage to enter into His Church and do so with the humility and obedience of a child.

Probably not up to you. Priest will follow whatever policy the synod has in place.

Light of the East said:

No.

New mission parish five minutes from my house.

The ironic thing is that they are meeting for Vespers in my wife's RC church, Old St. Mary's. My wife was terribly opposed to the move until she heard this. Now she appears to be a bit more thoughtful about it.

Here's the link.

Home

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just as an aside, but you're getting a very pious and solid priest.

Light of the East said:

Personal friend? Seminary together perhaps?

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a friend I met a few times. more provided me solid mentoring.

Light of the East said:

No.

New mission parish five minutes from my house.

The ironic thing is that they are meeting for Vespers in my wife's RC church, Old St. Mary's. My wife was terribly opposed to the move until she heard this. Now she appears to be a bit more thoughtful about it.

Here's the link.

Home

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interesting, I had no idea there was a church there. If I ever find my way back to that area, I may pay them a visit. As an aside, I'm a big fan of the coffee shop, 29th Parallel, that is right in that same center

Light of the East said:

ORTHODOX RESPONSES ONLY. PLEASE!!!

It appears that I may be entering the OCA parish near my house in the near future if things work out. Let's just say that certain problems I was having with the move appear to have worked themself out in God's timing.

I would, of course, present myself as an inquirer/catechumen.

If all goes well, should I be re-baptized and re-chrismated?

Why or why not?

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I was baptized twice before coming to Orthodoxy- once through sprinkling as a baby and "believer's baptism" as a teenager. Both were in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The sprinkling was 3 times, but I think the immersion as a teen was only one dunk.

My priest had been telling me I needed to get re-baptized, but he explained it not as "re-baptism" but being truly baptized for the first time. I struggled with that, but I was also occasionally visiting a second parish where the priest was not sure what I would need to do, but just said to look at it as "filling up whatever may have been lacking in your other baptisms." At the last minute, my usual priest told me that since it was such a difficult issue for me, the bishop said I could just be Chrismated.

That actually made it more difficult of a decision for me because, honestly, I didn't want anyone to simply make it easy for me. I wanted them to tell me what I needed to believe and do and then let me work through it in my own mind. I finally ended up being "baptized/re-baptized" because I really liked the baptism prayers where you have to renounce any false beliefs you've held.
I think it is really important for converts to come into Orthodoxy being fully aware of what exactly they are accepting and rejecting. This was something that was difficult for me to discover because my priest was not strong, theologically. I think some people come in with their old beliefs and don't realize some of them are not Orthodox, then go on to talk about it as if it was true Orthodox belief.
I still chose to see my past baptisms as still being valid moments in my life where God was doing His saving work in me. As Orthodox I have come to see that salvation is indeed a process and a journey and everything we go through in life is there for our final salvation.

Whatever your bishop says ("through" your priest) is what you "should" do.

Some people think chrismation is "not enough." But the ROC is thought of as especially conservative, and they used to receive people by confession and Communion. Whatever the bishop says, goes.

That is a solid priest you're getting! He used to come by my old home parish from time to time when he was stationed that way. We met a few times. Good people.



Go with what the priest says. Each bishop has their guidelines which priests follow. Usually if you had a Trinitarian baptism (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox, etc) they'll just christmate you. I was raised Roman Catholic, but was chrismated when I became Orthodox.