A dip in the Jordan on “one – two – three”

Filiuk at the Jordan River. Photo: Filiuk’s social media

There are words a person remembers in any condition, even if everything else has been forgotten. For an Orthodox Christian, those words are: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Christians begin every undertaking with these words. They say them before meals, when leaving home, before and after sleep, during worship and in everyday life. Naturally, these are also the words with which Christians – from a wide range of denominations – immerse themselves in the Jordan, the very river in which the Savior was baptized.

In two thousand years, the Church has never come up with any other words for all these occasions. But the OCU has.

Well-known OCU blogger in “holy orders” Oleksii Filiuk has devised his own theological formula on the banks of the Jordan. It goes like this: “One – two – three.” Short, rhythmic and free of unnecessary theology.

What is more, neither Filiuk himself nor many of those approaching him appeared to be wearing baptismal crosses. But why would they need them if, instead of “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” they have “one – two – three”?

At the same time, he knows perfectly well that motorcycles blessed in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with that same formula – “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” – supposedly have to be blessed all over again. “This chariot is blessed – one – two – three”? Perhaps that is how it works now?

But seriously, we are forced to conclude that in the OCU – from its leadership all the way down to ordinary laypeople – there is neither reverence, nor knowledge of theology, nor any real understanding of Church tradition. They have picked up a few superficial things on the run and are trying to imitate the Church. The result, however, is becoming more and more dismal.

Read also