Why I Reject Neo-Cyprianism on the Reception of Converts

There’s a live debate right now inside Orthodoxy over how converts from heterodox Christian bodies should be received- by chrismation, recognizing a baptism already performed in water and the Trinitarian name, or by baptism outright, treating that prior rite as nothing at all. It isn’t a fringe question. It shapes how converts experience their own reception, and in some places it has hardened into a program: parishes and teachers actively steering catechumens toward pushing for baptism even when their receiving bishop has decided to chrismate, sometimes even suggesting the catechumen might destroy his baptismal certificate to increase the chances of being baptized, thus a priest… Continue reading →