We believe that man is renovated and endued with life by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:3-7); the love of God is shed in his heart (Rom. 5:5) and transforms him into a "child of God" and "co-heir of Christ" (Rom. 8:15-17).
By means of the Holy Spirit, man is sanctified catholically, not only in spirit but in body as well; he becomes God's property, temple of God the most High (Ezek. 36:26-27. Rom. 8:11. 1 Corinth. 3:16-17. James 4:5). The faithful, wearing the armour of the Holy Spirit, enters the struggle of the spiritual life (Ephes. 6:10-18).
During the apostolic times, the communion of the Holy Spirit was being conducted by the application of the hands of the apostles (Acts 8:14-17. 19:1-6. Hebr. 6:1-4). But in the Holy Bible there are indications for the use of holy chrismation, that was known from the Old Testament (Exod. 29:7. 30:22-31. 40:9-17. See also 1 Kings 1/Sam. 10:1. 16:13. 3/1 Kings 1:39. c.f. Hebr. 10:1). "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinth. 1:21-22).
According to the testification of Theophilus, bishop of Antioch (around 180 AD), the word christian refers to holy chrismation: "well, we, because of this are called christians, (namely) because we are oiled (anointed) with oil of God" (To Autol. 1 12).
Tertullian (d. 220) mentions: "exiting the bath of the baptism, we are anointed with blessed chrism, and this stems from the old teaching, where the anointing of the priests with oil (that was being poured) from the horn was common; since Aaron's time when he was anointed by Moses (Exod. 29:7.21. Levit. 8:2.12) and was named Christ, that which gave this name to Christ the Lord was realised spiritually. For He was anointed by the Father via the Holy Spirit... This way it happens to us too; the chrism is poured to our body, but benefits us in a spiritual way. This way too it is also done with the material act of baptism itself, which comes down to the fact that being baptised in water we become spiritual, because we rid ourselves of the sins. The application of the hands follows, with which invocation is done and the Holy Spirit is welcomed to come down" (Tertull., On baptism 7-8).
Tertullian therefore views the chrismation of the Old Testament as a form for the holy mystery of the Church, where now the Holy Spirit is truly being communicated. This holy Mystery was being conducted after the baptism and was also accompanied by application of the hands and a special invocation prayer. In another place, he underlines: "the flesh is anointed in order for the soul to be cleansed; the flesh is marked in order for the soul to be armed" (Tertull., On resurrection of the body VIII).
St. Cyprian (d. 258) reminds us of the case in Samaria, where the application of the hands of the Apostles follows the baptism, in order for the grace of the Holy Spirit to be communicated (Acts 8:14-17) and notices: "This is done by us today too: the ones being baptised in Church are led to the primate of the Church and with the aid of our prayers and the application of our hands they receive the Holy Spirit and the perfection via the stamp of the Lord" (Cypr., Epistle 73,9); "also, it is necessary for the one being baptised to be anointed, so that once he has received the chrism, that is the anointing, he can have the potential of becoming christ of God and have inside him the grace of Christ" (Cypr., To Ian. LXX).
St. Ambrosius, bishop of Mediolana (339-397), mentions the Isai. 11:2-3 and concludes: "Think that you have received the stamp of the Spirit... and guard that that you have received. God our Father has stamped you, Christ our Lord has consolidated you and has given your heart the engagement (earnest) of the Spirit, as it is mentioned in the apostolic verse" (Ambr., On myster. VII, 42).
In the ancient Church the teaching about the holy mysteries was not done in public. St. Gregory the Theologian notes: "Most of our mysteries must not be exposed to those away from the faith" (Speech 45:16). The teaching about mysteries was done mainly in the so-called mystagogic catechisms. Thus St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) talks accordingly in the mystagogic catechisms 3:1-2, 3:3 and 3:7 regarding holy chrismation.
This way it is proved that since the apostolic times (Acts 8:12-17. 19:1-6. Hebr. 6:1-4) the Church had in operation the mystery of communion of the Holy Spirit as one separate from the holy baptism. This hagiographical tradition is followed by the Orthodox Church to date. For this reason she considers the didache of the Protestants in this matter as incomplete.
For a more simple yet detailed analysis of the doctrine of Chrismation, please read Theme Six.
EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED IN THE CHAPTER
engagement = the association with the human period of engagement, a trial period before marriage, is the reason why I use this word more than "earnest" as is mentioned in the translated KJV Bible (for in Greek the two words coincide). So engagement as in a "before marriage" notion; not an "engaged in an activity" notion or something.
mysteries = A mystery in the orthodox faith refers to the transmission of the invisible divine grace via visible signs. For instance, what the Roman Catholics call "the seven sacraments" are all mysteries, as well as the nativity of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Spirit from the Father and His mission from the Son are all mysteries. For more on this subject, visit this link.
mystagogic= catechistic, related to initiation and other (first-christian) holy ceremonies. Sacramental.
hagiographical = from the words hagios = saint and graphe = writing; biblical.
didache = teaching. One of the earliest Christian writings after the New Testament is a short, but valuable little book known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", known as "Didache" (Teaching), for short. While many Christian writers referred to it, the book, except for a few papyrus fragments, was lost. Then, in 1873, a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan discovered the manuscript, with the grace of God. Ten years later, he published it and caused a sensation among scholars. It was praised by early Church Fathers who recommended that all Christians could benefit by reading it. Scholars disagree about its original date, but it seems that it was written about the year 100 AD . It is invaluable for the Orthodox viewpoint because all the things mentioned in this book were kept within the Orthodox Tradition but do not even exist amongst the Protestants.