How was the thief on the cross baptized?

How was the thief on the cross baptized?

What a great mystery!

The thief repented; he needed water to be baptized.

He was hanging on the cross; there was no place for him to be baptized—no spring, no lake, no rain—nor was there anyone to administer the sacrament.

For all the disciples had fled out of fear of the Jews.

Yet Christ did not lack life-giving waters; even while hanging on the cross, He brought forth water.

Since it was impossible for the thief to enter the Kingdom without baptism, the Savior offered blood and water from His pierced side—to free the thief from the burdens he bore, and to demonstrate that His blood became the ransom for those who place their hope in Him.

(EPE, Philokalia, Works of Theodore the Studite, 1.61)