There are seven sacraments in the Orthodox Church. The first sacrament for a Christian after entering the Church is considered holy baptism. In it, a person is adopted by God.
In modern practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, the sacrament of baptism is performed along with yet another priesthood - anointing. Therefore, we should talk about the time of the sacrament of baptism, in accordance with this practice of combining the two sacraments.
Most often, baptism in Orthodox churches takes place non-individually. That is, several people at once are assimilated by the sacraments of joining the Church as a society of people who believe in the Holy Trinity, united by a single hierarchy. Depending on the total number of baptized people, we can talk about how much time holy baptism takes.
If the sacrament of baptism is performed on one person, then (along with anointing) it takes about forty minutes. This time is enough for the priest to read the necessary prayers, as well as perform the necessary ceremonies. If there are more baptized people, for example, ten to fifteen people, then baptism can take about an hour. This difference is due to the fact that during the sacrament of baptism, a priest performs certain sacraments over each baptized person.
In addition, it should be borne in mind that some clergymen immediately pronounce a parting word to people immediately before or after baptism, which may take some time. In some churches, before the baptism, small announcer talks are read, taking an hour or an hour and a half. Thus, on average, the very sacrament of baptism can take 40-60 minutes, and in the case of public talks and sermons, a person may need up to two and a half hours in the church to receive the holy sacrament.
