But you have received the anointing from the Holy One and have all received knowledge” (1 John 2:20).

One of the sacraments directly related to baptism is the sacrament of chrismation. Immediately after the triple immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the baptized person is anointed with holy chrism and, in liturgical terms, sealed with holy chrism. Regarding baptism and chrismation, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (fourth century) says: “Behold, you were baptized into Christ and put on Christ and became like the image of Christ, the Son of God, because God, who chose us to be sons by adoption, made us in the image of the glorious body of Christ. Since you have become partakers of Christ, you are truly called Christs. You became Christs by receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit. Everything was accomplished in you through compliance, since you are the image of Christ. When Christ was baptized in the Jordan River and gave the waters contact with his divinity, he ascended from it and the Holy Spirit itself descended upon him. Likewise, when you came out of the holy waters, you received the anointing (chrism), which is the true image of the anointing of Christ, calling upon the Holy Spirit.

Chrism is a Greek word that means perfume and scented oil. It is a symbol of joy, joy, strength, prosperity and happiness. Scented oil held an important place in the ancient world, especially in the Greco-Roman world, where the body was anointed in ceremonies with scented oils. The Jews used perfume to anoint kings and priests. This anointing with oil was a symbol of the Spirit of Jehovah, through which the king became the anointed of the Lord and partook of His Spirit: “The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor...” (Isaiah 6: 1-3).

In the Orthodox Church, chrismation is a self-contained sacrament, through which the baptized person receives the Holy Spirit as a gift.

Holy chrism is anointed on several places on the body of the baptized person (forehead, nose, hands, feet, chest, back) in the form of a cross, and each time the priest says: Seal the gift of the Holy Spirit. The goal of this is to give the Holy Spirit, His power, and His many talents to strengthen the baptized person and deliver him in order to withstand the spiteful devil who attacks the believer for his faith in Jesus Christ. It is the personal Pentecost of every believer among us.

Establishing the secret:

We read in the Holy Bible that after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16), and the Lord was always promising his disciples to send the Holy Spirit upon them, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to stay with you forever” (John 14:16). But he always stressed, “It is better for you that I go. If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you.” But when I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). This is what actually happened on the day of Pentecost, after the resurrection of Christ and after his ascension. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples gathered in the attic. For us, as we learned previously, baptism is our death and resurrection in Jesus Christ, and it remains our personal Pentecost through which we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through the anointing of Chrismation.

In the Book of Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 8) we clearly note that the giving of the Holy Spirit is completely separate from baptism. The people of Samaria “were baptized, both men and women” (8:12), by Philip. Then, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit. Because it had not yet descended upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And laying hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit” (8:14-17).

Likewise, the Apostle Paul says: “But the one who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who has sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) and “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of consolation” (Ephesians 4:30).

This is how the sacrament of Chrismation began and was practiced by the early church, according to the testimony of the holy fathers. Saint Theophilus of Antioch (second century) explains why we are called Christians because we are anointed with the oil of God.

The meaning of the sacrament of Chrismation:

Anointing and chrismation are the secret of life - since the Holy Spirit is the giver of life. This secret is an extension of Pentecost because the same spirit that descended in the form of fiery tongues on the visible disciples descends unseen - through anointing with holy chrism oil - on the new baptized person. Saint Simeon of Thessalonians says: “Chrism gives us the first seal and the creation that was in the image of God, which we lost through our disobedience. It also gives us the blessing that we received through the divine breath at that time (at creation). Thus, Chrismation gives the power of the Holy Spirit and enriches it with its gifts. It is the sign and seal of Christ. “Through him, we become partakers of Christ in his anointing.

We previously stressed the connection between baptism and chrismation, the inseparability of the two sacraments, and the necessity of the two sacraments being associated with baptism and chrismation. The position of our Church is clear on this issue, as chrismation “is not only an organic part of the sacrament of baptism, but also as its fulfillment, just as the work that follows holy anointing (chrismation), that is, participation in the Eucharist, is its fulfillment” (Father Alexander Schmemann).

Before beginning the sacrament of Chrismation, the priest says: “Blessed are You, O Lord God, Almighty... You who granted to us, the undeserving, the blessed purification of holy water, and divine sanctification through the life-creating anointing. Forgiving his sins, voluntary and involuntary, You, O Lord, the Compassionate King of All, grant him also the seal of the gift of Your Holy Spirit, the Almighty, who worships Him, and to partake of the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Your Christ...” Saint Ambrose explains what happens in chrismation: “The seal of the spirit, i.e. chrismation, follows baptism because after birth, perfection must occur. This takes place when, upon summoning the priest, the Holy Spirit descends upon the baptized person, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of God.”

Therefore, through baptism, perfection is achieved, which is achieved by the gift of the Holy Spirit. As for the secret of Chrismation, it leads the spiritual powers (born within the soul through baptism) to perfection through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism opens the doors of the Kingdom for us and brings us into it, and chrismation confirms us in it and seals us as members of this Kingdom by placing the sign and seal of Christ on us.

Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit:

Our understanding of the mystery of chrismation deepens further when we understand the phrase “seal the gift of the Holy Spirit,” which the priest says while anointing the baptized person with holy chrismation. The talk here is not about a particular “gift” (the gift of the voice, for example) or multiple talents like the one the Apostle Paul talks about: “The gifts are of different kinds, but the Spirit is one” (1 Corinthians 12:4). Here the word gift does not appear in the plural form “talents,” but rather “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” because the baptized person is not given a special gift with this sacrament, but rather he is given the Holy Spirit as a gift. Father Alexander Schmemann says: “In personal Pentecost, we take by gift what Jesus Christ alone took by nature, that is, the divine Holy Spirit that the Father gave to the Son from eternity and that descended on Christ, and on him alone, in the Jordan, so we said that he is the Anointed One and that he is the beloved Son and the Savior. “The Holy Spirit descends upon us in this anointing, Pentecost, and dwells in us as the personal gift to Christ from His Father, and the gift of His life, His sonship, and His fellowship with His Father.” Christ said when he promised us: “He will take what is mine and show it to you. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore I said, ‘He will take what is mine and make it known to you’” (John 16:14-15). Through baptism, a person returns to his true nature in Christ and is freed from the thorn of sin. Thus, it becomes possible for him to receive a fuller calling, the higher calling of Christ that opens the door to deification, which is achieved by the sacrament of chrismation by anointing the baptized person with the Holy Spirit.

It remains to be noted that the issue of talent for the Christian believer is not a matter of magic and the like. We believe that all our talents and blessings are a gift from God. A non-believer may have the same talents as a believer, and he may excel at his work like a believer, but the difference is that we believe with certainty that everything we possess is a gift from God that He has entrusted to us so that we can serve our fellow human beings with it, so the gift is actually the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The royal dimension:

In the Old Testament, when they wanted to install kings, the priest would come and pour the fragrant oil on the king’s head. This anointing was the source of divine kingship, meaning that God chose him, and it showed that the king was the bearer of divine authority and the executor of its decisions. But things were different in the beginning, before sin and the fall, that is, at creation. God created man as king over creation and gave him the authority to “subdue the earth and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air...” (Genesis 1:27-28). So, it is human nature to be a king, and this is the image of God, the King of kings, in man. Later, “royalty” became a special authority for specific people after it belonged to every person as his highest human calling and rank. Kingship, then, is man's first and basic truth.

But the truth is also that this human king is a fallen king. He lost his kingship when he agreed to become a slave of creation instead of being its master, and he abandoned his anointing and calling. He ceased to be the master of the earth and creation, and it began to lead him towards death and destruction instead of leading them to perfection.

The third and fundamental truth remains that Jesus Christ, our Lord, saved human kingship and restored us as kings again through the mystery of redemption that He completed through the cross. Through his death and resurrection, death was destroyed and the evil one was eliminated, and the crown of thorns became the crown of the crowned king, and we were able to regain our lofty calling again. Christ on the cross revealed the corruption and evil of the world, and this revelation will remain His judgment forever. Because we agreed to die and rise with Christ through baptism, the anointing makes us kings again, just as kings were anointed in the Old Testament, but what is new is that the Holy Spirit grants us the kingship of the crucified king. The cross that crowns Christ as king reveals to us that it is the only way to crown us with Christ and restore us as kings. This is how the Apostle Paul understood the topic: “But as for me, far be it from me that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). So when I accept to be crucified with Jesus and give up everything that hinders me from loving Him and the cross becomes the standard for all my life and deeds, then I enter with Jesus again into His Kingdom and regain my royal calling and regain the freedom that I lost before.

The priestly dimension

One of the contemporary fathers says: “The sacrament of Chrismation, which is the sacrament of the universal priesthood, places everyone in an equal priestly rank of personal holiness by the same single holy grace. From this one royal priestly rank, some are chosen and appointed by God as bishops and priests. Here lies the advantage of the Orthodox Church, as everyone has the same spiritual quality.” There are two things, then: a royal priesthood that every baptized Christian receives during his anointing with the Holy Chrism, and a consecrated priesthood, that is, the sacrament of the priesthood. But we would like to stress that the two complement each other.

We said previously that through anointing we become Christs in the image of Christ, the King, Priest, and Prophet. Christ's priesthood, like his kingship, is rooted in, part of, and a complementary expression of his human nature. Christ is called the New Adam because this is how the first Adam should have been before the fall. When God created man, he made him a king and gave him authority. It was the duty of this man to present creation, nature, and everything that had been made his kingdom to God as a spiritual sacrifice. His mission was to sanctify life and the universe by bringing them into the divine will and divine order. This is how the royal priesthood is achieved. Man was the mediator between God and creation, but he lost this royal priestly quality when he decided to distance himself from God, and became a consumer of the universe, using it and dominating it for his own sake, without bringing it closer to God. This is what the Church understood and emphasized in every Eucharist, the sacrament of thanksgiving, that is, in every Divine Mass when the priest raises the bread and wine and presents them to God, saying: “Whatever you have of yours we offer to you over everything and for everything.”

Christ, through his incarnation, through the sacrifice of the cross in which he presented himself to God for the salvation of the world, and presented our human nature to God and raised it to Him (divine ascension), and with it he raised every creation and presented it to God, through all of this he demonstrated the true nature of man, that is, the priestly nature. When we are baptized, die, and rise with him and receive his anointing, that is, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are consecrated royal priests.

Our mission from the moment of baptism is to present ourselves to God and dedicate ourselves to Him by adhering to His commandments and acting according to His will found in the Holy Bible. We mentioned the word consecration so that some people would not think that the clergy are the only ones who are consecrated. Every baptized Christian person is consecrated and must implement the commandments, and these were not set only for a specific group of people, i.e. the clergy. Also, the Bible that we read is the same that the clergy read. They are people like us, but they clearly understood their calling and decided to follow their calling and anointing to the end and asked for final devotion to the Lord as they raise us up and bring us closer to God and invoke the Lord’s blessings on us and on them.

The prophetic dimension

Man is a prophet

The Lord says: “And it will come to pass in the last days that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy...” (Acts 2:17).

We have said previously that with Holy Chrismation we become kings, priests, and prophets. Prophecy is also part of man’s human nature at creation. But what is prophecy? According to the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, prophecy does not mean at all the ability to predict the future, that is, knowing what will happen tomorrow and after a while. Biblically, prophecy is the grace given to man so that he can discern God’s will, hear His voice, and convey His will and His power to creation and the world, on the basis of which judgment will take place. Thus, Elijah the Prophet in the Old Testament was a witness to God. This blessing of prophecy was lost by man through the fall, and he thought that he could know the world without prophecy, that is, without God. Christ alone was the greatest prophet. Through him all the prophecies of the prophets were fulfilled. He alone heard God until the end and obeyed Him to the point of death, death on the cross. He conveyed His will to the world, and on the basis of His words the world will be judged. We rely on the name of Jesus Christ, and when we are anointed with His anointing, we receive this grace of prophecy so that we can be witnesses of God in this world. We convey His Word to people and to creation.

So the gift of prophecy is not magic power, divination, and insight. It is the gift of discernment and knowledge because in Christ we receive true knowledge about man and God.

Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi
Quoted from a message from the Diocese of Aleppo
Several messages