1) The Sacrament.

Baptism is the first Sacrament, and it is the christmas sacrament. As a child is born from his mother's womb and his soul is far from God because of the sin of our ancestors, Adam and Eve, that stays with all their filiation_except the Virgin Mary_ the Christ who is source of rescue wanted the Baptismal water to be a spiritual womb from which are born the right God's sons in a holy life above the nature " because what is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of spirit is spirit"(Jn 3,6). It is sure that the water in its nature does not have this power, and that the Baptism does not have this meaning and all this cannot exist without the will and the power of Christ who wanted "to wash the body in order to purify the soul"(Tartelianus) with the Holy Spirit's power when he sent his disciples and the priests after them "To baptize all the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"(Mt 28,19).

2) His effect.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the church's door where the soul of the baptized is signed for ever and for that reason man is only baptized once this is what shows that he is from Christ's church, and he is under its power and laws, and he is able to receive the all other sacraments such as receiving the Christ's body in the Host and he bestows him the forgiveness of his sins. It is a complete forgiveness that will be with no penance, and no pain will stay on the baptized and the grace of adoption and heritage of the kingdom of God (Jn 3,5).

3) The conditions to receive this sacrament.

The Holy Spirit will not send the soul of the human from the Baptismal water that was compared to the tomb where Jesus had left glorified, to the new spiritual life, if he does not separate from the old human in some way, and does not renounce evil and the bad. He should confess Christ, and follow his way. From this point, the church asks to have a god-father and a god-mother around the baptismal font for every one who wants to be baptized and by his name they renounce evil and believe in Christ's faith and on them be the responsibility of teaching catechism. Also a spiritual relation starts between them.

4) The parents' duties.

"The child must be baptized in the parish's church and by the priest of this parish or by someone who is allowed to baptize. The baptism should happen after the eighth day of his birth. If there is an emergency, any person can baptize, but this person should follow the rules of the church.

5) The Baptismal ceremony.

The baptismal ceremony, like the mass is two parts: The baptism and "what before the baptism".

The priors that precede the baptism are established to make us ready to celebrate this sacrament is a good way. And the baptismal priors are as following:

a)The priors of the catechumen and exorcism.

They call these priors by this name because, in the past, these priors were taught to the ones that are going to be baptized either in catechism or by listening to the sermon.

During the baptism, the priest orders the evil spirit that is in the soul of the person before the baptism, to leave this soul by the name of the God and his power, and this soul will be a dwelling for the Holy Spirit: this is the meaning of exorcism.

After the exorcism, comes the renunciation of the evil and the proclamation of the faith: by that, the god-father will promise to keep the devil away and that is shown to by the Occident, the hometown of the darkness; and the god-father will promise also to believe in the faith that is taught by Christ's church, and that is shown by the Orient , the hometown of the light.

And the exorcism will end by the profession of faith.

b) The blessing of the water.

Because the water does not have the power to purify the soul, and it does not have the power of the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to "bless it". The water is blessed in a rite similar to the "Anaphora" of the mass.

c) The baptism.

The priest anoints the forehead of the child with baptismal oil then baptizes him.

Today following our Maronite church, the priest pours sacrificed water three times on the child's head at the same time he praises the Glorious Trinity that purifies the soul and to which it will be promised.

Then the child is vested after his baptism with a white garment which is the symbol of the new life that he received from the baptismal water.

After that, the child is processed and at the end of the procession the priest says the concluding prayer.