Reception by profession of faith is how we bring someone into the Orthodox Church when their baptism is already valid. Instead of baptizing them again, they publicly renounce their former errors, confess the Orthodox faith, and receive chrismation.
It’s the alternative to baptism for converts. If you were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even if it was by pouring rather than immersion, the Church can recognize that baptism as real. You don’t need it done over. But you do need to be united to the Orthodox Church and sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit through chrismation.
Who Gets Received This Way?
Most Catholics and mainstream Protestants are received by profession of faith and chrismation. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Anglicans, if your baptism was Trinitarian, you’re not rebaptized. The Antiochian Archdiocese follows the Patriarchate of Antioch’s policy here, which relies on Canon 7 of the Second Ecumenical Council. That canon established the framework for receiving heterodox Christians back into the Church when their baptism was in the proper form.
People without a Trinitarian baptism get baptized. Some Pentecostal groups that baptize “in Jesus’ name only” don’t use the Trinitarian formula. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons aren’t Trinitarian. If you’re coming from a non-Christian religion, you’ll be baptized and chrismated.
There’s a pastoral dimension to this. Your bishop has the final say. He can apply what we call “economy”, a kind of pastoral discretion rooted in mercy and the Church’s healing mission. So while the norms are clear, individual cases can vary.
What Happens at the Service?
The service itself is straightforward. You’ll stand before the priest (or bishop) and publicly renounce your former errors. If you’re coming from a Protestant background, you’ll renounce specific teachings that contradict Orthodoxy. If you’re Catholic, there are different renunciations. Then you recite the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, without the filioque, that “and the Son” phrase the West added.
After your profession of faith, the priest anoints you with holy chrism. He’ll make the sign of the cross with the oil on your forehead, eyes, nostrils, lips, ears, chest, hands, and feet, saying each time, “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It’s the same mystery (sacrament) that follows baptism. For you, it completes what was begun in your baptism and unites you fully to the Orthodox Church.
Then you commune. That’s the whole point, you’re now in full sacramental communion with the Church.
Why Does the Church Do This?
The theological basis is that baptism can’t be repeated. It’s a once-for-all mystery. When the Church recognizes a baptism as valid, she’s acknowledging that something real happened, you were initiated into Christ, even if it was outside the canonical boundaries of the Church. Reception by profession doesn’t redo that initiation. It heals the separation and brings you into the fullness of the faith.
This isn’t some modern innovation or compromise. The early councils dealt with this exact question. What do you do with people baptized by heretics or schismatics? The Church decided that valid Trinitarian baptisms could be recognized, and the person could be received by chrismation or (in some cases) simple profession of faith. The practice has varied across time and place, but the principle is ancient.
Some Orthodox jurisdictions are stricter and rebaptize everyone. That’s a legitimate position with its own canonical support. But the Antiochian Archdiocese, following Antioch’s tradition, receives by chrismation those with valid baptisms. It’s not about being lax. It’s about recognizing what God has already done.
What About Preparation?
You can’t just walk in off the street and get chrismated. There’s a preparation process, and it’s not short. You’ll go through catechesis, instruction in the Orthodox faith. How long depends on your parish, your priest, and your bishop. Some people are ready in six months. Others need a year or more.
You’ll learn the faith, yes, but you’ll also learn how to live it. Orthodoxy isn’t just about believing the right things. It’s about prayer, fasting, confession, the liturgical cycle, the saints. You’re joining a way of life that’s probably quite different from what you knew at First Baptist or St. Anne’s.
Your priest will meet with you regularly. At some point, he’ll present you to the bishop for approval. The bishop has to sign off before your reception can happen. This isn’t bureaucracy, it’s the bishop’s responsibility as the guardian of the faith in his diocese.
When the day comes, you’ll probably be received on a Sunday during the Divine Liturgy, right before communion. Some parishes do it differently, but that’s common. Your family can be there. It’s a big deal.
A Personal Note
If you’re reading this and wondering whether you’ll need to be baptized or received by profession, talk to Fr. Michael or call the church office. Every situation is a little different. Bring documentation if you have it, a baptismal certificate helps, though it’s not always required. What matters most is that you’re serious about becoming Orthodox, that you understand what you’re doing, and that you’re ready to live this faith.
St. Silouan the Athonite said, “Keep your mind in hell and despair not.” That’s not about reception by profession, obviously, but it captures something true about Orthodoxy. This isn’t easy Christianity. It’s the fullness of the faith, and it will change your life. Whether you’re baptized or received by chrismation, you’re being grafted into the Body of Christ in a way that’s both terrifying and beautiful.
Come and see.
