_|_
				      |
				C O P | N E T
				      



			The Sacrament of Christmation
			-----------------------------

From earliest   times,   the church has    practiced  chrismation immediately
following baptism. In  the sacrament  of  chrismation  (from the Greek   word
"chrismatis", which means "anointing") the newly baptised person receives the
Holy Spirit through anointing with oil by the  bishop or priest. The roots of
this  sacrament   are clear  in  both  the Old and   New  Testaments, and are
especially brought to light on the Day of Pentecost.


Promises of the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament
--------------------------------------------------
In his sermon  on Pentecost, Saint  Peter  quotes the well-known  prophecy of
Joel, "I  will pour out  my Spirit on all flesh"  [Acts  2:17 and Joel 2:28].
This promise was significant because under the Old  Covenant, the gift of the
Spirit had been given only to a few -- the patriarchs, the prophets, and some
of the  judges. Certain leaders of Israel  were indwelt with the  Holy Spirit
given to all God's people, "all flesh". This was  fulfilled at Pentecost, for
Peter exclaims, "this  [outpouring of the  Spirit] is what  was spoken by the
prophet Joel" [Acts 2:16]. 

Other Old Testament  prophets who speak  of this  same promise of  the Spirit
include Jeremiah [Jeremiah 31:31-34] and Ezekiel [Ezekiel 36:25-27]. In fact,
the  Ezekiel passage ties together  the water and  the  Spirit in a prophetic
version of baptism and christmation.


Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
------------------------------
Our Lord jesus Christ repeatedly promised the gift of  the Holy Spirit to His
disciples. Early in His public ministry He said, "If  anyone thirsts, let him
come to Me and drink. He who believes  in Me, as  the Scripture has said, out
of his heart will  flow rivers of living  water. But this He spoke concerning
the Spirit  ... " [John  7:37-39]. Jesus also said, "I  will pray the Father,
and  He will give  you another  Helper, that He   may abide with you forever"
[John 14:16].

Christ promised the  Holy Spirit would reveal  truth to the Church. "When He,
the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into  all truth; for He will
not speak on His own authority,  but whatever He  bears He will speak; and He
will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is
Mine and declare it to you." [John 16:13-14]. Jesus says the Holy Spirit will
bring glory to Christ. This gives us an excellent means of testing whether or
not acts attributed to the Holy Spirit are indeed valid.

The last words of Christ before His Ascension  include a promise: "John truly
baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the  Holy Spirit not many
days from now" [Acts 1:5]. This  word was fulfilled ten days  later on the Dy
of Pentecost.

How is the Spirit given to us?
-----------------------------
The people  who heard  Peter speak  at Pentecost  asked   him how they  might
receive salvation. He answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of  sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit"  [Acts 2:38]. We repent (turn  from our sins and
toward Christ); we are baptized; we are given "the gift  of the Holy Spirit,"
christmation. That practice has never changed.

In Acts 8, Philip the deacon, preached in Samaria [Acts 8:5-8]. many believed
and were baptized [Acts  8:12]. The apostles  came and later  comfirmed these
new believers  with the gift of  the Holy Spirit  through the laying of hands
[Acts  8:14-17]. Here the sacrament  of christmation  following Holy Baptism.
Later  the apostle Paul met  some disciples of John  the Baptist  who had not
been present  when peter spoke at Pentecost  [Acts 19:1-7]. They  believed in
Christ, "were baptized" [Acts  19:5]  and the "Holy   Spirit came upon  them"
[Acts 19:6], again through the hands of the apostle.

The  promise of God includes  both our union  with Christ in Holy Baptism and
the gift of the Holy Spirit at christmation.