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Juwann stands at the front of the prison chapel, dressed in the same jumpsuit he has worn for the past ten years as an inmate of the Pennsylvania state corrections system. But this is no ordinary day. Beside him is Rassophore Monk Michael, a monastic of the nearby St. Tikhon’s Monastery, and soon to be godfather. Before him are three Orthodox priests in white and gold vestments, for today is the day Juwann will be baptized into Christ. “Let us pray to the Lord,” one priest intones, before the other thirty people in attendance, most of them in the same clothes as Juwann, answer, “Lord, have mercy.”
Imagine what the opening prayer of this service means to someone sentenced to spend the rest of their lives amidst a constant threat of violence. In Thy Name, O Lord of truth, and in the Name of Thine Only-begotten Son, and of Thy holy Spirit, I lay my hand upon Thy servant, who has been found worthy to flee unto Thy holy name, and to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings. Remove far from him his former delusion, and fill him with the faith, hope and love which are in Thee; that he may know that Thou art the only true God…Inscribe him in Thy Book of Life, and unite him to the flock of Thine inheritance…Let Thine eyes ever regard him with mercy, and let Thine ears attend to the voice of his supplication.
We are all taught in the Orthodox Faith that baptism is not a one-time decision, but a daily call to die and be raised through Christ. However, for many in prison, this is not just an idea: choosing to be baptized may put you in greater danger. A few years ago, when a former lieutenant for the Arian Brotherhood asked to be baptized, his priest reminded that this could cause a contract to be put on his life. His response? “If I die tomorrow, what better way could there be to end my life?”
Why not just privately, secretly commit your life to Christ? Because there is power in baptism to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings. As another man in prison wrote to us last year, “They cannot lock up our Savior! Or His servants! I am free on the inside, and that means more to me than anything.” God knows the risks these men and women are taking, their difficult circumstances, their sincere pleas for mercy. And God responds.
At the baptismal font, Juwann descends into the water three times and rises with a new name, Moses, after St. Moses the Ethiopian, who turned his anger and violent past into a life of fierce repentance. Later, once the priest has blessed the elements to become the body and blood of Christ, then comes the final reason to be baptized behind bars: the service blesses the others in attendance. One inmate, already baptized, crosses his arms and receives the Eucharist. He makes the sign of the cross and smiles, despite everything else he is going through. “Today,” he says, “today is a great day.”
