Reddit mentions of The Truth of Our Faith: On the Christian Mysteries (Foundations in Orthodoxy)

The Romanian Orthodox Elder Cleopa addressed the following question in The Truth of Our Faith: On the Christian Mysteries:

>Some people say that [Baptism] is not a mystery but only a symbol, or symbolic practice, which represents purification from sin. They say that, simply, faith is strengthened through Baptism, that it is merely a pledge one makes that he has repented, or that the act of baptism is like an inheritance, a seal of repentance. Purification from sin, however, is not effected through Baptism but by faith ... Faith, not Baptism, ought to be the principle which transforms man into a new being and saves him ...

Elder Cleopa answers:

>Christian Baptism is a holy Mystery and not a symbol, inasmuch as the Saviour called it a "birth from above" [see note below], on account of the fact that by it man is cleansed from sin and made holy (John 3:3-7). The Apostle Paul calls it "newness of life" (Romans 6:3-5) by the "renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5). The Apostle Peter says clearly that Baptism is received "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38), and that it is not simply a symbol or washing of the body, as it appears to some, but is a true spiritual birth. Baptism, he says, "saves not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21).

Regarding the Elder's quote of John 3:3 as referring to being "born from above" rather than "born again", he is correct. The Greek γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν can mean "born from above" or "born from the beginning". The sense Jesus intended was the former, but Nicodemus understood the latter - which better explains some of his confusion in his talk with Jesus. It would not be too much of a stretch to say that Jesus never actually said that one must be "born again" - he really said "born from above".

I would first recommend that you find an Orthodox priest and sit down face to face with your questions. But if you wan't to investigate without interacting with a priest, I would suggest the book, The Truth of Our Faith (vol. 2): On the Christian Mysteries, by Elder Cleopas of Romanian. It is a series of questions and answers on each of the Orthodox "sacraments" (which we call Mysteries), wherein the imaginary (I think) questioner is more or less skeptical of everything. For example, in the section on the Mystery of Confession, one of the questions is, "But do priests have the power to forgive sins? Isn't it written, Who can forgive sins, but God alone?", to which Elder Cleopas answers,

>Truly, only God can forgive sins, but in the Mystery of Repentance it is not man who forgives sins, but God alone, by means of the priest. God is the source and the master of the grace which forgives sins; the priest is only a servant of the grace. Therefore, during confession we do not receive forgiveness from the priest, but from God, by His grace, which is conveyed by the priest. The grace is not his grace, but God's (2 Cor 4:7), and therefore, even when the priest is sinful, he receives and keeps this grace. The Apostle Peter was a sinner, because he denied his Lord and Teacher, and yet he received this grace after repenting. In the same way, the Apostle John received this grace, though he himself says there is no man on earth without sin (1 John 1:8). And the Apostle Paul considered himself to be chief among sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

>The priest is in the same condition, since, though he is s sinner, having received grace from the Mystery of the Priesthood, he is able to loose and bind the sins of men (Matt 18:18; John 20:21-23).

Another book I could recommend on this subject is The Forgotten Medicine: The Mystery of Repentance, by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev (written, I think, in the late 19th or early 20th century - but still very relevant).