St John Chrysostom’s doctrine of baptism

Abstract

This thesis represents a general introductory investigation into St John Chrysostom’s doctrine of Baptism on the basis of his Baptismal Catechetical Orations and all other relevant texts from the vast corpus of his writings. It consists of three parts which deal with: i) the presuppositions and preparation for Baptism, ii) the baptismal liturgy and its meaning and iii) the general understanding of Baptism. The first part investigates the roles of the candidates for Baptism, their sponsors who accompany them and the priests who baptize them, and concentrates on the themes of repentance, good works, fasting and prayer, which are essential to the preparation of the candidates and the contents of the catechetical teaching which they receive. The second part goes through the baptismal liturgy step by step and as far as Chrysostom's texts bear witness to it and attempts to bring out the meaning of the various acts involved, especially those of exorcism, renunciation of Satan, uniting with Christ, chrismation and anointing, confession, baptism, the new garments, the Lord's prayer, the exchange of brotherly kiss and communion in the Body and Blood of Christ. The third part attempts to formulate a general understanding of Baptism by selecting four main themes, 1) the act of Baptism, as an act of divine adoption which is performed only once, 2) the connection between Baptism and Christ, understood on the one hand as participation in his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection and, on the other hand, as a spiritual wedding, 3) the connection between Baptism and the Holy Spirit, expounded in terms of the Spirit as a gift to the believer and the believer's new life in the Spirit, and finally 4) the connection between Baptism and the believer, expounded in terms of regeneration, forgiveness of sins and purification, mortification of passions and rejuvenation and purity. What is particularly significant in the emerging conclusions which bring together the main points of the three parts of the dissertation is the free coordination of divine grace and human response, which are typical of the mind of the great catechist and pastor of the early Church, St John Chrysostom.