Catechesis · Inquirer
Holy Chrismation
Catechesis · Inquirer
Holy Chrismation
Chrismation is the personal Pentecost -- the sacrament in which the Holy Spirit is given to each individual Christian. Immediately after baptism, the newly baptised person is anoi…
Question
What is chrismation?
Chrismation is the personal Pentecost -- the sacrament in which the Holy Spirit is given to each individual Christian. Immediately after baptism, the newly baptised person is anointed on specific parts of the body with holy chrism (myrrh), while the priest says: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." The person receives the Spirit not as a general blessing but as a personal gift -- sealed, marked, owned by God.
The parts of the body anointed are theologically significant: forehead (the mind, consecrated to think with God), eyes (to see with purity), nostrils (to breathe the fragrance of Christ), lips (to speak God's word), ears (to hear His voice), chest (the heart, the seat of the inner life), hands (for holy works), and feet (to walk in His way). The whole person is sealed: no part of the human being is left outside the Spirit's claim.
The teaching
The seal of the Spirit -- what it means to be anointed
The word "chrism" comes from the Greek *chrisma* -- anointing. It is from the same root as "Christ" (*Christos*, the Anointed One) and "Christian" (the anointed ones). To be chrismated is to be made a "little christ" -- to receive the same anointing that Christ received at His baptism in the Jordan. The Holy Spirit descends; the Father claims the person as His beloved child; the person is sealed as Christ's own.
The phrase "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit" is a legal and covenantal term. A seal in the ancient world was a mark of ownership and protection: the sealed letter could not be opened by unauthorised hands; the sealed servant belonged to a specific master. The chrismated Christian belongs to God -- sealed, marked, protected. This seal is indelible: chrismation, like baptism, is not repeated.
The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
These five words -- spoken at each anointing during chrismation -- are among the most dense in the entire sacramental tradition. "Seal" -- a permanent, indelible mark of ownership. "Gift" -- not earned, not merited, freely given by pure grace. "Holy Spirit" -- the third Person of the Trinity, God Himself, given personally to this specific human being. The formula combines indelibility (seal), gratuity (gift), and the full dignity of the divine Person given (Holy Spirit).
The Formula of Chrismation
Orthodox Rite of Holy Chrismation · ancient
Priest, Prophet, King
How chrismation gives every Christian a threefold vocation
Every baptised and chrismated Christian shares in the anointing of Christ. This means every Christian is, in some real sense, a priest (offering worship to God, interceding for others), a prophet (bearing witness to the truth of the Resurrection), and a king (ruling over the passions, governing the self in service of the Kingdom). These are not titles of honour -- they are vocational descriptions. The chrism marks the person for this threefold service.