Page 109 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

110 The Armenian Church

The baptism is one: "one Lord, one faith,
one baptism" (Eph. 4:5); it is not repeatable.
Baptism is a new birth in Christ (John 3:5)
and remission of the original sin. Through
baptism, the Christian is incorporated into
Christ's mystical body, the church, accepting
Him as the only Savior of the world. Al-
though the baptism is performed on infants
preferably before the fortieth day after birth
in the Armenian Church, it can be adminis-
tered to a person of any age.

Confirmation
Through confirmation (drošm) the bap-
tized is equipped with the grace of the Holy
Spirit to overcome the temptations and sins
of the world. The sacrament is performed by
anointing the child with the holy muron. In
accordance with the tradition of the early
church, the Armenian Church administers
the confirmation immediately after baptism.
The priest anoints the different parts of
the newly baptized person with the sign of
the cross, saying special prayers: For the fore-
head he says, "This sweet oil in the name of
Jesus Christ is being poured on you as the seal of
heavenly gifts"; for the eyes, "May this seal in
the name of Jesus Christ lighten your eyes that
you may never sleep in death"; for the ears,
"Holy ointment will make you ever ready to listen
to the divine commandments"; for the nostrils,
"May this seal in the name of Jesus Christ be to