Chrismation

The priest anoints the recipient with chrism, making the sign of the cross on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet using the following words each time: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost" (in Greek: Σφραγὶς δωρεᾶς Πνεύματος Ἁγίου; in Church Slavonic: Печать дара Духа Святаго).

In the Eastern Orthodox Church the mystery may be conferred more than once as it is customary to receive apostates by repeating chrismation;[10][11] according to the Book of Needs, the priest "taking the Holy Chrism, he anoints him (her) according to the order of those who are baptized ..." towards the end of the "Prayers of Purification for One Returning to the True Faith from Apostasy".

Upon leaving the bath, girded with a linen cloth, let him be anointed with Chrism, as one who is baptized.

If ... one who is of age has renounced his impending torment ... then let him be washed and anointed with Chrism according to the accepted Rite.

Although practice in this regard varies, in general, if a convert comes to Orthodoxy from another Christian confession and has previously undergone a rite of baptism in the Trinitarian Formula ("in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"), he or she may be received into the Orthodox Church through the sacrament of chrismation, after which he or she would receive the Holy Eucharist.

The sacrament of chrismation is an extension of the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Apostles.

Whereas in Western Christian theology, confirmation is seen as completing or sealing of the baptismal covenant, the conferral of full membership, the perfecting one's bond with the Church, and/or the strengthening of gifts of the Holy Ghost to enable the recipient to live the Christian life, in the Eastern Orthodox tradition chrismation is understood more fundamentally as the bestowal of the Holy Ghost—that is, as the transmission to that person of the experience of the Day of Pentecost (cf.

Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4ff), along with the attendant gifts of the Spirit that are given to all the faithful, and any unique or special gifts that God deems appropriate for that person, to enable him or her to realize his or her intended potentiality as a child of God and as a unique member of Christ's Body, the Church.