Home page News
Metropolitan Hilarion: Without baptismal font one …

Metropolitan Hilarion: Without baptismal font one cannot become a member of the Church

On 19th January 2020, the feast of the Holy Theophany – the Baptism of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the Rite of Great Blessing of Water at the Church of “The Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon of the Mother of God in Bolshaya Ordynka Street in Moscow.

Concelebrating with the archpastor were clerics of the church.

After the Litany of Fervent Supplication Metropolitan Hilarion said the prayer for peace in Ukraine.

Following the Great Blessing of Water, the archpastor delivered a homily, saying in particular:

“In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

“I cordially greet all of you, dear Fathers, brothers and sisters, with the feast which in the church calendar is called Theophany. It is not fortuitous, for on this feast we commemorate the event described in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke – when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the Jordan River to receive baptism from John the Forerunner.

“When Jesus was coming up out of the water, people heard the voice of God the Father: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mt 3:17). And the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

“It was the first time in history when the three Persons of the Holy Trinity revealed Themselves in Their undivided unity, for the Son of God was present among people, God the Father’s voice was heard, and the Holy Spirit was revealed as a dove. We are glorifying today this revelation of the Trinity as Theophany, for the Lord revealed Himself to us not just as One God, but as God One in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

“Why is it of such importance to us? Why does the belief in the Holy Trinity constitute the foundation of the Christian doctrine? Because God willed to send into the world His Only-Begotten Son Who, as St. Paul says, ‘being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God’ (Phil 2:6).

“The Only-Begotten Son of God, Who is God Incarnate, came into this world in order to grant unto us salvation. And the path towards this salvation is opened to us though immersion in water.

“The tenth article of the Creed speaks about the Sacrament of Baptism as the means of our salvation and deliverance from sin. “I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins,” we say. Each of us received this baptism. Without the baptismal font one cannot become a member of the Church and attain salvation granted by Jesus Christ. Through this font we enter the Church of Christ, and though it also we enter the Heavenly Kingdom.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ descended into the waters of the Jordan River after many people who had come to John the Baptist in order to be washed as a sign of repentance. Yet, the Son of God Who needed neither repentance nor baptism, descended into the Jordan waters in order to bless and fill them with His Divinity, in order to open to everyone who will go into these waters sanctified by His presence the path to the Heavenly Kingdom.

“On the feast of the Baptism of our Lord we perform, in accordance with church regulations, the Great Blessing of Water. We bless the water in commemoration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s descending into this water. We bless it, so that it may become a great shrine for us, used for the healing of our soul and body. We drink this water, we use it for anointment, we sprinkle it on our children, our relatives. We use this water to bless our homes and things we hold dear. Through this water we are given the blessing of God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, for all these three Persons of the Holy Trinity participate in the blessing of water: we pray to God the Father, the Holy Spirit descends on the water to sanctify it, and the Son of God is invisibly present among us. And the grace of the Triune God, through our common conciliar prayer, blesses the water which for us becomes a holy thing, leading us to the Heavenly Kingdom.

“Let us ask the Lord that He may help us to be true Christians, that the baptism which we received – someone in their infancy, others as children or adults – may bear its fruits in our life, that the grace of the Triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – may always abide with us and guide us on our path towards the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.”

 DECR Communication Service

Share:
Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the VIII World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad

30.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

Primate of the Russian Church celebrates Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius Lavra on the commemoration day of St. Sergius of Radonezh

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

Message from the Primate of the Russian Church to His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia in connection with blasphemous act on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana

14.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates on the feast of the 300th anniversary of the transfer of relics of St.Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg

12.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates All-night Vigil at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the eve of Transfiguration

18.08.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' met with the Ambassador of India to Russia

30.07.2024

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III: Ukrainian government’s support for schism and persecution of the major canonical Church is a religious pogrom against the faithful Orthodox Christians of that country

24.07.2024

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrates the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Tver.

21.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Liturgy at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius on the commemoration day of the saint

18.07.2024

The Primate of the Russian Church celebrates All-night Vigil at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

17.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and reads akathist to the saint

17.07.2024

Patriarchal condolences on the death of Boris A. Nelyubov

14.07.2024

Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

DECR Chairman has begun his visit to India

31.10.2024

Work of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is declared successful

24.10.2024

Synod acknowledges importance of bilateral projects carried out in collaboration with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

24.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

DECR Chairman heads celebrations for the fifteenth anniversary of the consecration of the Dormition Church at the Russian embassy in Beijing.

19.10.2024

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy hosts conference on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) entitled ‘The Person of Metropolitan Nikodim in the History of the Church’.

16.10.2024

DECR Chairman meets with President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference

15.10.2024

Participants of the Divine Service at the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Presnya congratulated the DECR Chairman on his 40th birthday.

12.10.2024

Russian diplomat given Patriarchal award.

10.10.2024

DECR Chairman delivered a lecture to students of the Russian Orthodox University

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

DECR Chairman takes part in festivities for the beginning of the academic year at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate Institute.

03.10.2024

DECR chairman attends reception given by Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation

22.09.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with delegation of Orthodox Church in America

16.09.2024

Metropolitan Hilarion: Many things in a person's life depend on faith

29.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Spirit is the main treasure of the Christian soul

01.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ

27.06.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: God does not want to condemn, but to save us

07.03.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord always grants to us the opportunity to display our talents

24.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord has imbued the waters of Jordan with his divine presence to wash away human sins

19.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: to repent means to change your way of life

17.01.2021

On commemoration day of St. Catherine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk officiated at the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr In-the-Fields  the representation of the Orthodox Church in America

07.12.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We can always show compassion for people

29.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates on commemoration day of St. Varlaam of Khutyn at the church of ‘Joy to All the Afflicted’ icon of the Mother of God

19.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We should remember that the life of each human being is in the hands of God

06.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: For God there is nothing impossible

25.10.2020

Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people

27.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Eucharist is the wedding feast, to which Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us

13.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Faith alone is not enough for salvation

30.08.2020

Page is available in the following languages
Feedback

Fields marked by * are mandatory required

Send a message
Рус Укр Eng Deu Ελλ Fra Ita Бълг ქარ Срп Rom عرب