[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Does baptism still carry its efficacious if the clergyman who administers it is a malefactor?




Does baptism still carry its efficacious if the clergyman who administers it is a malefactor?
The graces we receive in baptism are from God and not from the clergyman who is but a minister of the Lord the Giver. The graces are based on the true promises of God and not on the deportment of the clergyman.
The clergyman is like the postman who carries a joyful letter to you; whether he is handsome or ugly does not affect the joy your letter brings.
We can also compare the clergyman to the gardener sowing seeds in the earth to bring forth fruits. Whether he is sinful or virtuous does not matter; what matters are the seeds themselves and the life therein, not the hands of the gardener who sows them.
You may drink water from a gold or copper cup, yet the water itself remains the same irrespective of the kind of cup you drink from.
In our discourse about baptism and its efficacious, we shall discuss the dogma objectively. We shall not touch any subjective issue as this leads to judging others and to disregarding what the Lord endowed upon human beings in baptism