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If a family member goes to the river Jordan and brings some of the water back to the country and splashed you does that make you a Hadji?
Answer to Question 519 The word Hadji is a Turkish word meaning pilgrim. In general everyone who has visited the Holy places is a pilgrim, but we don’t all add the word Hadji before our name and call ourselves Hadji-George or Hadji-Christopher. Today, it is very easy to visit the Holy places, but in the past things were not so easy and very few people took trips abroad. Those who did visit the Holy Land were those who went with the intention of being baptised in the Jordan and on their return home were known as Hadji. But there is a great misunderstanding of the word baptism. There can only be one baptism as we proclaim in the Creed “I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.” If we were to perform another baptism we would be considered heretics, so what is this baptism in the river Jordan? What actually takes place is the service for the sanctification of the waters and not the Baptismal service. Once the priest blesses the waters the people dressed in their white robes enter the water similar to when someone is baptised. Thus they receive the blessing of the waters, but it is not a baptism for the remission of sins. They are imitating and following in Christ's footsteps who was also baptized by John in the river Jordan just as they follow Christ by visiting the various stations of the Passion leading to Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre. The misunderstanding that it is an actual baptism is rather widespread among the people and because of this many decide to receive it late in life when their bodily passions have died so that they can remain pure. But in answer to your question being splashed with water from the Jordan will not make you a Hadji, because as already said Hadji means a pilgrim and no pilgrimage took place.
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