Chrism and Anointing in Early Christianity
Early Christian writings link chrism and anointing with baptism, the Holy Spirit, and consecration. Tertullian, Cyprian, Irenaeus, Hermas, and the Apostolic Constitutions all use anointing in ways tied to Christian worship and life. Some witnesses are direct liturgical teaching, while others use Old Testament oil and chrism as background or image. The strongest pattern is that anointing was understood as holy, Spirit-linked, and part of Christian initiation.
120 early-church witnesses · 191 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about chrism and Anointing?
Early Christian writings connect chrism and anointing to baptism, the Holy Spirit, and royal or priestly consecration. Tertullian, Cyprian, Irenaeus, and the Apostolic Constitutions all treat anointing as a real Christian rite or a strong image for Christ and the Spirit, not just a word play. Hermas also uses the seal language for baptismal life, while several writers link anointing to kingship, priesthood, and healing.
The evidence is broad across the 2nd and 3rd centuries, though some passages are typology from Exodus and Leviticus rather than direct liturgical description. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Early Christians often tied anointing to baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Tertullian, Cyprian, Irenaeus, and the Apostolic Constitutions give the clearest early witness.
- Some passages are direct church practice; others are Old Testament images used as background.
- The topic is broad and well attested, but not every mention of oil is about Christian chrism.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians anoint people during baptism?
The strongest evidence shows early Christian writers describing anointing with oil or chrism as part of baptism and sealing. They present it as a real church practice, not just a metaphor.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
But if there be neither oil nor ointment, water is sufficient both for the anointing, and for the seal, and for the confession of Him that is dead, or indeed is dying together with Christ .
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
Concerning the water and the oil, I, Matthias, make this rule. Let the bishop bless the water or the oil. But if he is not there, let the presbyter bless it, with the deacon standing by. But if the bishop is present, let the presbyter and deacon stand by, and let him say this: O Lord of hosts, the God of powers, the creator of the waters, and the supplier of oil, who are compassionate and a lover of mankind, who have given water for drinking and for cleansing, and oil to give man a cheerful and joyful countenance, do You now also sanctify this water and this oil through Your Christ, in the name of him or her who has offered them, and grant them power to restore health, to drive away diseases, to banish demons, and to scatter all snares, through Christ our hope. With Him, glory, honor, and worship be to You, and to the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
A thanksgiving concerning the anointing with the mystical oil.
Did early Christians see chrism as connected to the Holy Spirit?
Several writers explicitly identify the oil or chrism with the Spirit, or say the anointing gives spiritual benefit. The sources are strongest when they speak of the Spirit, seal, or grace of Christ rather than oil by itself.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me,”—pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unction, which is the Spirit.
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Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
...the truth. For when we say, “Do you believe in eternal life and the forgiveness of sins through the holy Church?” we mean that the forgiveness of sins is not given except in the Church, and that among heretics, where there is no Church, sins cannot be taken away. Therefore, those who claim that heretics can baptize must either change the question or hold to the truth, unless they also assign a church to those who, they argue, have baptism. It is also necessary that the person who is baptized should be anointed, so that, after receiving the chrism, that is, the anointing, he may be anointed by God and have in himself the grace of Christ. Further, it is from the Eucharist that the baptized are anointed with the oil sanctified on the altar. But one who has neither an altar nor a church cannot sanctify the created thing of oil. Therefore there also can be no spiritual anointing among heretics, since it is clear that among them the oil cannot be sanctified nor the Eucharist celebrated at all. But we ought to know and remember that it is written, “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head,” which the Holy Spirit warned about beforehand in the Psalms, lest anyone who has gone out of t
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Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
so that, having received the chrism, that is, the anointing, he may be anointed of God, and have in him the grace of Christ.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...ying, “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you,” Matthew 28:19. Baptize in the name of the Father who sent, of Christ who came, and of the Comforter who testified. But first you shall anoint the person with the holy oil, and afterward baptize him with water, and at the end you shall seal him with the ointment. In this way, the anointing with oil may be the participation of the Holy Spirit, the water the symbol of the death of Christ, and the ointment the seal of the covenants. But if there is neither oil nor ointment, water is enough for the anointing, for the seal, and for the confession of Him who is dead, or rather of the one dying together with Christ. But before baptism, let him who is to be baptized fast. For even the Lord, when He was first baptized by John and remained in the wilderness, afterward fasted forty days and forty nights. But He was baptized and then fasted, because He Himself had no need of cleansing, or of fasting, or of purification, since He was by nature pure and holy. Rather, He did it so that He might bear witness to the tr
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
that the anointing with oil may be the participation of the Holy Spirit, and the water the symbol of the death of Christ, and the ointment the seal of the covenants.
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Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness
...nd ointments for those who are washed. But what were these ointments except the commandments of the holy Word? And what was the oil except the power of the Holy Spirit, by which believers are anointed like ointment after the washing? All these things were shown in figure in the blessed Susannah, for our sake. This was so that we who now believe in God would not think the things now done in the Church are strange, but would believe that all of them were set forth beforehand in figure by the patriarchs of old, as the apostle also says: "Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the world have come."
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Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness
2 Corinthians 13:13 And again, in that epistle he makes this explanation: Now He which establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God, who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
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Gregory Thaumaturgus, Connection to 2 Corinthians 1:21 Supporting witness
"Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."
More related quotations from this section 9 shown
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Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness
...nes come up out of the pit and get placed into the building of the tower after they had borne these spirits?" He answered, "They had to come up through water so that they might be made alive. For unless they put aside the deadness of their life, they could not enter the kingdom of God in any other way. So those also who had fallen asleep received the seal of the Son of God. For before a man bears the name of the Son of God, he is dead. But when he receives the seal, he puts aside his deadness and receives life. So the seal is the water. They go down into the water dead, and they come up alive. So this seal was preached to them also, and they used it so that they might enter the kingdom of God." "Then why, sir," I asked, "did the forty stones also come up with them out of the pit, though they had already received the seal?" He said, "Because these apostles and teachers, who preached the name of the Son of God, after they had fallen asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God, preached it not only to those who were asleep, but also themselves gave them the seal of the preaching. So they went down with them into the water and came up again. But these went down alive and came up
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Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness
...they are, and what their dwelling place is, so that those hearing it who believed, and received the seal, and broke it, and did not keep it whole, may, on coming to know their deeds, repent, and receive a seal from you, and may glorify the Lord because He had compassion on them and sent you to renew their spirits." "Listen," he said. "Those whose branches were found withered and moth-eaten are the apostates and traitors of the Church, who have blasphemed the Lord in their sins, and have also been ashamed of the name of the Lord by which they were called. These, therefore, in the end were lost to God. And you see that not a single one of them repented, although they heard the words that I spoke to them, which I laid upon you. From such, life departed. "And those who gave them in withered and undecayed, these also were near to them. For they were hypocrites, and introducers of strange doctrines, and subverters of the servants of God, especially of those who had sinned, not allowing them to repent, but persuading them by foolish doctrines. These, accordingly, have a hope of repentance. And you see that many of them also have repented since I spoke to them, and they will still repen
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Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness
...nd stones had not yet been fitted into the building of the tower, and they had not yet received the seal. For this reason they were put back in their place, because they are extremely round. Now the things of this age must be cut away from them, along with the empty pride of their riches, and then they will enter the kingdom of God. For they must certainly enter the kingdom of God, because the Lord has blessed this innocent race. Therefore, no one from this race will perish. Even if any of them is tempted by the most wicked devil and sins, he will quickly return to his Lord. I consider you happy, I who am the messenger of repentance, all of you who are innocent as children, because your share is good and honorable before God. Moreover, I say to all of you who have received the seal of the Son of God: clothe yourselves with simplicity, and do not keep thinking about offenses or remain in wickedness. Therefore, put away the memory of your offenses and bitter feelings, and you will be shaped into one spirit. Heal and remove those wicked divisions from among you, so that if the Lord of the flock comes, He may rejoice over you. And He will rejoice if He finds everything healthy, and
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Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Supporting witness
The seal, then, is the water: they descend into the water dead, and they arise alive.
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1 John 2:27 Supporting witness
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
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2 Corinthians 1:21 Supporting witness
Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
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2 Corinthians 1:22 Supporting witness
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
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Ephesians 1:13 Supporting witness
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
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Ephesians 4:30 Supporting witness
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Why did early Christians call Jesus Christ 'the Anointed One'?
Early Christian writers repeatedly explain that Christ means anointed, and they tie that to the Father's anointing of the Son by the Spirit. They use this to explain both Jesus' title and his messianic role.
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Justin Martyr, The Second Apology Direct teaching
...fore creation, used by Him to create and organize all things. He is called Christ, referring to His anointing and God's ordering all through Him, though this name holds an unknown significance; just as the title "God" is not a name but a belief ingrained in human nature about something that is difficult to explain. However, "Jesus," His name as both man and Saviour, holds significance too. He became man, as mentioned earlier, conceived according to the will of God the Father, for the sake of believers and to vanquish demons. You can observe this yourself: countless demoniacs worldwide, including in your city, are healed by many of our Christian men exorcising them in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate. They successfully render the possessing devils powerless and expel them from people, even when all other exorcists using incantations and drugs could not cure them.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
...en by the mouth of man.” And a little later, to His Son: “There is, O Son, a secret word of wisdom, holy, concerning the only Lord of all things, and the God first perceived by the mind, to speak of whom is beyond the power of man.” But although His name, which the supreme Father gave Him from the beginning, is known to no one but Himself, nevertheless He has one name among the angels and another among men, since among men He is called Jesus. For Christ is not a proper name, but a title of power and dominion; for by this name the Jews were accustomed to call their kings. But the meaning of this name must be explained, because of the error of the ignorant, who by changing one letter are accustomed to call Him Chrestus. The Jews had earlier been instructed to prepare a sacred oil, with which those who were called to the priesthood or to the kingdom might be anointed. And just as the purple robe is now a sign among the Romans that royal dignity has been taken up, so among the Jews the anointing with holy oil gave the title and power of king. But since the ancient Greeks used the word chriesthai to express the act of anointing, which they now express by aleiphesthai, as the verse of
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Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness
...nointed? And what person, when entering this life or going into the gymnasium, is not anointed with oil? What work has any decoration or beauty unless it is anointed and polished? Even the air and everything under heaven is, in a certain way, anointed by light and spirit. So are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? Therefore we are called Christians for this reason: because we are anointed with the oil of God.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
...u have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness.” By these words he also shows His name, since, as I have shown above, He was called Christ because of His anointing. Then Jeremiah teaches that He was also man, saying, “And He is a man, and who has known Him?” Isaiah also says, “And God shall send them a man, who shall save them, shall save them by judging.” Moses too speaks this way in Numbers: “There shall arise a star out of Jacob, and a man shall spring forth from Israel.” For this reason, when the Milesian Apollo was asked whether He was God or man, he replied in this way: “He was mortal as to His body, being wise with wondrous works; but being seized with arms under Chaldean judges, with nails and the cross He endured a bitter end.” In the first line he spoke the truth, but he cleverly deceived the one who asked the question, who was completely ignorant of the mystery of the truth. For he seems to have denied that He was God. But when he admits that He was mortal as to the flesh, which we also declare, it follows that as to the spirit He was God, which we affirm. For why would it have been necessary to ment
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
...tself declares. For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the anointing itself with which He is anointed. It is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the anointing, as the Word declares by Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me,"—pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the anointing, which is the Spirit.
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Tertullian, On Baptism Supporting witness
... Aaron was anointed by Moses. For this reason Aaron is called Christ, from the chrism, which is the anointing. When this was made spiritual, it gave a fitting name to the Lord, because He was anointed with the Spirit by God the Father, as it is written in Acts: "For truly they were gathered together in this city against Your holy Son whom You have anointed." In the same way, in our case, the anointing is applied physically, that is, on the body, but it benefits us spiritually. It is just like the act of baptism itself. It is physical in that we are plunged into water, but its effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from sins.
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Tertullian, On Baptism Supporting witness
Whence Aaron is called Christ, from the chrism, which is the unction;
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Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness
and that the unguent, whether it was of oil, or of stacte, or of any other compounded sweet balsams, had reference to Him, we have also proved, inasmuch as the word says: ‘Therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.’ For indeed all kings and anointed persons obtained from Him their share in the names of kings and anointed: just as He Himself received from the Father the titles of King, and Christ, and Priest, and Angel, and such like other titles which He bears or did bear.
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Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness
Wherefore we are called Christians on this account, because we are anointed with the oil of God.
How did the Old Testament shape Christian teaching on anointing?
The Old Testament laws about holy oil, Aaron, and consecration gave Christians their main biblical background for chrism. Tertullian, Lactantius, Irenaeus, and Origen use these passages to explain why anointing belongs with kingship, priesthood, and holiness.
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Exodus 40:9 Background
And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
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Exodus 40:15 Background
And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
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Leviticus 8:30 Background
Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons' garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
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Exodus 30:25 Background
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
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Leviticus 8:12 Background
And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
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Exodus 30:30 Background
And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
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Exodus 29:7 Background
You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
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Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Typology
... For the Law commanded that, during captivity, it was not lawful for the anointing oil of the royal chrism to be prepared, Exodus 30:22-33. But if there is no longer any anointing there, as Daniel prophesied, for he says, "Anointing shall be exterminated," then it follows that they no longer have it, because they also no longer have a temple, where the horn was kept from which kings used to be anointed. If, then, there is no anointing, from where will the leader who is to be born in Bethlehem be anointed? Or how will he come from Bethlehem, since none at all of the seed of Israel exists in Bethlehem?
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Tertullian, On Baptism Typology
After this, when we have issued from the font, we are thoroughly anointed with a blessed unction, — (a practice derived) from the old discipline, wherein on entering the priesthood, men were wont to be anointed with oil from a horn, ever since Aaron was anointed by Moses.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
And as now the robe of purple is a sign of the assumption of royal dignity among the Romans, so with them the anointing with the holy oil conferred the title and power of king.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Background
The Jews had before been directed to compose a sacred oil, with which those who were called to the priesthood or to the kingdom might be anointed.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Background
But what of the anointing oil, which sanctified the whole tabernacle?
More related quotations from this section 2 shown
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Revelation 7:3 Background
saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
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James 5:14 Background
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Common Questions
Did early Christians use chrism in baptism?
Yes. Tertullian, Cyprian, and the Apostolic Constitutions describe anointing tied to baptism and Christian initiation.
Did early Christians connect anointing with the Holy Spirit?
Yes. Irenaeus, Tertullian, and the Apostolic Constitutions all connect anointing with the Spirit in some way.
Was anointing seen as only a symbol?
No. Some writers use symbolic language, but others describe it as a real rite with spiritual meaning and church use.
Source Index for Chrism and Anointing
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 151 ranked source links from 191 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 151 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 120
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 71 included
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.