When baptismal bathing can become a sin, priest warns

Immersion in the baptismal font in a state of intoxication is inadmissible - it is a sin and sacrilege, said at a press conference the head of the information service of the Moscow diocese, priest Alexander Volkov.

On January 19, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord or Epiphany. Believers remember the baptism of Jesus Christ, which was performed by John the Baptist in the waters of the Jordan River. In the Russian Church there is a Epiphany tradition to consecrate not only water in churches, but also one’s body. On this day in Russia there is a folk tradition of baptismal bathing - a threefold immersion in the Jordan - a hole cut out in the form of a cross.

“If a person decides to visit the baptismal font, let him gain some inner awe and reverence and go down there after visiting the church with prayer and faith, and undoubtedly in a sober state. If a person comes to the baptismal font in a state of light or heavy intoxication, he commits a sin - it can be such a sacrilege and desecration of the action that was performed - the consecration of water. Drunk people are forbidden to come to the Jordan,” Volkov said.