Someone has asked for some clue as to what’s going on in the photos from The Boy’s Christening. Well, I’m not Orthodox, but through repetition and this website, I’ve pieced most of it together. The reason the whole thing lasts so long is that there are 5 parts to be gone throught, two of which include Holy Sacraments. Each section consists of prayers and chanting. Candles and incense are burned throughout. In the sections below, 'catechumen' refers to the person being baptised.

Prelude. Before the ceremony officially began, the new mother is blessed as she returns to the church after being away for 40 days or more.

The Service of Baptism and Chrismation

Part 1. The Service of the Catachumens
● Prayer for the Catechumens
● Prayers of Exorcism
● Renunciation of Satan (This is recited by the Kum. In this portion, he symbolically spits upon and steps upon Satan. [Top left photo])
● The Creed (Read by the Kum [Top Middle Photo])

Part 2. The Sacrament of Baptism
● Prayer for Blessing of the Water
● Submerging of the catechumen (The Boy was submerged three times (as seen in the video), then dried and returned to the Kum)
● The Anointing with Oil (A sponge is used to dab blessed olive oil on The Boy[Top Right photo])

Part 3. The Sacrament of Chrismation
● Prayer before Chrismation
● Chrismation(Chrism is a special balsam scented olive oil, blessed by a bishop or higher-ranking church official, and stored in an ornate gold bottle in this service. To the casual observer, it looks similar to anointing, but with a small brush[Bottom Left Photo])
● The Epistle and Gospel ( I believe this is what the Kuma read)
● Prayers
● Tonsuring (Cutting of hair. The hair is gathered in a lump of beeswax. It is considered the catchumen’s first gift to God. [Bottom Middle Photo])

Part 4. Prayers at the Fortieth Day
● Prayers (The catechumen is removed from the church, prayers are said, and he is brought back into the church, and taken behind the icon screen. A female would only be taken up to the screen, not behind.[Bottom Righ tphoto])

Then, there is a big luncheon. You can see assorted pics from the whole thing here.