On Holy Baptism
From St. John Chrysostom
When you come to the initiation, the eyes of the flesh see water; the eyes of faith behold the Spirit. Those eyes see the body being baptized; these see the old man being buried. The eyes of the flesh see the flesh being washed; the eyes of the spirit see the soul being cleansed. The eyes of the body see the body emerging from the water; the eyes of the faith see the new man come forth brightly shining from that sacred purification.
Our bodily eyes see the priest as, from above, he lays his right hand on the head and touches him who is being baptized; our spiritual eyes see the great High Priest as He stretches forth His invisible hand to touch the person's head. For at that moment, the one who baptizes is not a man but the only-begotten Son of God.
For this reason, when the priest is baptizing he does not say “I baptize so-and-so,” but, "So-and-so is baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In this way we show that it is not he who baptizes but Those whose Names have been invoked: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
When you come to the initiation, the eyes of the flesh see water; the eyes of faith behold the Spirit. Those eyes see the body being baptized; these see the old man being buried. The eyes of the flesh see the flesh being washed; the eyes of the spirit see the soul being cleansed. The eyes of the body see the body emerging from the water; the eyes of the faith see the new man come forth brightly shining from that sacred purification.
Our bodily eyes see the priest as, from above, he lays his right hand on the head and touches him who is being baptized; our spiritual eyes see the great High Priest as He stretches forth His invisible hand to touch the person's head. For at that moment, the one who baptizes is not a man but the only-begotten Son of God.
For this reason, when the priest is baptizing he does not say “I baptize so-and-so,” but, "So-and-so is baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In this way we show that it is not he who baptizes but Those whose Names have been invoked: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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