6. The Great Litany. The priest puts on his felonian, and begins the service with the exclamation, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,….” Then there follows the Great Litany, with extra petitions that the grace of the Holy Spirit will come down upon the waters that they might be given the property to expel from the candidate enemies both visible and invisible, that the candidate might be made an heir of eternal good things, that he might maintain purity of soul until the dread Judgment of God.

7. The Blessing of the Water. The priest reads the prayer of the blessing of the water, which begins with the words, “Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvellous are Thy works, and there are no words which suffice to hymn Thy wonders.” Further on in this prayer, it says that the Lord created all things, visible and invisible, and did not abandon man who had sinned, rather the Son of God had come down to earth for the salvation of people and, while living on earth, had sanctified the waters by His Baptism in the Jordan. Wherefore the priest beseeches the Lord that He now bless these waters by His Holy Spirit and make them the means of dispelling everything that is inimical to man, that they might be unto sanctification, healing and renewal. As he repeats these words from the prayer, “Let every adverse power be crushed beneath the sign of the image of Thy Cross,” the priest breathes upon the waters, puts his hand into them and makes the sign of the Cross.

8. The Pouring of Oil into the Water and the Anointing of the Candidate. After the prayer for blessing the waters, the priest pours blessed oil into the waters, and also anoints the candidate with it, on his forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, hands and feet - so that his thoughts, desires and actions might be sanctified. As he anoints with the oil, he says: “The servant / handmaid of God is anointed with the oil of gladness, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” The anointing with this oil reminds the candidate that he must needs be an accomplished contestant or warrior in the Church of Christ, and that he, who was formerly of wild stock, must needs become a fruitful olive tree in Christ Jesus. [In the Greek practice, after the anointing by the priest, the whole body of the candidate is rubbed down with olive oil by his/her sponsor, so that indeed like an athlete they are covered in the oil - ed.]

9. The Threefold Immersion. After this preparation, the actual Mystery of Baptism is performed, the most important moment, the moment of the threefold immersion in the waters and the pronouncing of the words, “The servant / handmaid or God, … N…, is baptised in the Name of the Father, Amen. And of the Son, Amen. And of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” His being plunged into the water reminds the person that he has died unto sin, and his being brought up out of the water signifies the resurrection of the man unto a holy, spiritual life with Jesus Christ.

10. The Reading of the Psalm. After the immersion, Psalm 31 is read, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,” in which it speaks of the blessed state of people who are cleansed of their sins.