How to choose a scarf
What kind of scarf to wear to church is a question that is always relevant among Orthodox believers. Of course, every woman has the right to choose which scarf to wear. If she comes to the temple in the right attire and with a bright scarf, no one will kick her out. But you must admit, if during Lent, when all the parishioners, including the priest, are dressed in black, a woman comes in a white scarf, then she will stand out among the rest.
Therefore, girls and women who constantly attend church on various Orthodox holidays try to wear scarves of different colors. For example:
- all the time that Lent lasts, they cover their heads with a black scarf as a sign of grief and repentance;
- on the feast of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos - blue, since priests wear blue clothes for this feast;
- for the holiday of Trinity - green;
- but on the holy holiday of Easter it is customary to wear a red or white scarf; red symbolizes the blood that Christ shed;
- During services not dedicated to any Orthodox holiday, the priest wears a yellow cassock, so women try to wear a yellow scarf.
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If you do not have the opportunity to buy scarves in several different colors or you do not attend church regularly, but only on major church holidays, then it is enough to purchase and have in your wardrobe scarves of two colors - black and white. White is a festive color. You can cover your head with it on all holidays, and a black scarf is ideal for wearing during Lent.
According to the Orthodox faith, little girls and unmarried women can attend church without a headscarf. But modern life has made some changes to the long-standing custom. Many parishioners believe that it is easier to cover their heads than to incur the wrath of uninformed “grandmothers.”
Necessary things for the sacrament of Baptism
You can purchase a special baptism kit in large supermarkets and children's clothing stores. The cost of such a kit depends on the material of manufacture and additional accessories included in it. As a rule, baptism kits for boys and girls are sold separately.
It is worth understanding what should be included in the kit and what to pay attention to when purchasing.
Cloth
To perform the Baptism ceremony, the child is lowered into the font naked, after which he must be dressed, for this purpose the kit includes special clothes. The undershirt should be soft to the touch and durable. The baby should be comfortable in such clothes, otherwise he will begin to be capricious, and the ritual will not be able to be carried out calmly. Therefore, they buy a shirt made from natural materials. The color of the baptismal shirt should be white, this symbolizes the purity and integrity of the person being baptized. The presence of lace trim in a heavenly shade is allowed.
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Another item of clothing included in the baptismal set is a cap for a boy or a scarf for a girl. It is recommended to pay attention to products that have a minimum of decorative elements; the material is preferably cotton.
The set usually also includes booties, which are put on the baby’s feet after the Baptism ceremony. When choosing, pay attention to ensure that they fit tightly to the baby’s leg and do not move out. As a rule, they are knitted from cotton threads, so a mother can knit such a piece of clothing even before the baby is born. As a last resort, you can also use regular socks, as long as they are white.
Towels
The towel used to dry the baby after baptism in the font is called kryzhma. As a rule, there is an embroidered cross on it, indicating its purpose. After the sacrament is performed, the godmother holds the baby on it. It is recommended to pay attention to cotton or terry products. In some cases, the kryzhma is made with a hood, in which case it replaces a cap or scarf.
Pectoral cross
The cross, which the priest puts on after the end of the ceremony, is purchased by the godparents. If a girl is baptized, this responsibility is assigned to the godmother; when a boy is baptized, the father buys him. It is best to purchase this attribute of the sacrament in a church shop, since all the crosses there are already consecrated. If it was bought in a store, it must be consecrated in the temple in advance.
The material used to make pectoral crosses can be different - from wood to gold; each godfather purchases an option, focusing on his financial capabilities. The main requirement is the absence of sharp corners so that during the sacrament the attribute does not injure the baby.
Preparation for the sacrament of baptism
First of all, choose a place to perform the sacrament. Every Orthodox church now has a website. Ask questions online. Are you satisfied with the comments? Go to church yourself. How comfortable do you feel there? In Moscow, as in other cities of Russia, there are many places where christenings can be held. You can check with the church staff what the child and his or her accompanying persons will need. Basically the rules are the same. You will need christening clothes for the baby. It should be convenient and comfortable. The impression of the ritual will be ruined if the baby starts crying. Secondly, christening clothes should be elegant, but try to avoid pretentiousness. Everything is good in moderation. Too voluminous tulle outfits can distract attention and cause inconvenience. Choose baptismal sets with simple ties or snaps so that you can easily dress your baby after he is washed in the font. You must remember that underwear is not the only need. When preparing for the christening, also include a diaper or towel in the list of necessary things so that you can wrap and wrap the baby. Even if it is warm in the church, it is still undesirable to overcool the hero of the occasion. An attribute or accessory of baptism is also a thin elegant hat, scarf or headband. The cap, firstly, will keep the newborn’s wet hair warm, and secondly, it will complete the image of the little angel.
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If you do not know anything about God or the rite of baptism, you can say that this is an oversight of your parents or godparents. Church rules, dogmas and canons explain in sufficient detail why and why children should be baptized, when it is optimal to do this and what is needed for the baptism of children in the church. It makes sense first of all to attend explanatory conversations that priests regularly conduct. You can find out when and how to get to such events by going to the very church where you are going to baptize your offspring.
Important
Many parents worry and worry whether the priest will baptize the baby if the parents themselves have not undergone this ceremony, but are just planning to. There are no restrictions on this basis among the Orthodox church canons. The main thing is that the chosen godparents profess the Orthodox faith, and also be highly moral and spiritual people.
Before you figure out what is needed to baptize a child into a church, you should understand that the ceremony is designed to introduce the new little person to spiritual life, to accept the faith of his ancestors. During the sacrament, the baby is immersed in water several times, which represents his death to sin and birth to a new promise. It is believed that it is during baptism, along with a new church name, that the All-Good Lord himself gives the baby his own guardian angel, to whom he can subsequently pray for his happiness and well-being. Each church or parish may have some procedural differences, but the meaning of the rite is the same for all believers, without exception.
When and where is baptism performed?
There are no special instructions on when exactly the sacrament of baptism should be performed, and the choice of the date and age of the baby largely depends on the date of his birth, as well as family circumstances, which cannot be ignored. In the church, baptisms are held on almost any day, even when believers are fasting. True, Lenten services can become an obstacle, since they take quite a lot of time, but then parents are invited to perform the ritual on the weekend, that is, on Saturday or Sunday.
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- The Church advises holding the sacrament on the fortieth day of a little man’s life, due to the enormous significance of this number from a religious point of view.
- Tiny babies, under the age of three months, survive immersion in water much easier, because intrauterine reflexes have not yet been completely forgotten by them.
- Children are less frightened during the ritual than older children, when the priest, who seems like a big and scary stranger with a beard, takes them in his arms.
- The rite of baptism can be performed at absolutely any age, both in infancy and adulthood, but only once.
When figuring out what is needed to baptize a child in a church, you should decide in advance in which church the sacrament will be held. You can simply give yourself an impromptu tour of all the available churches, and then choose the one to which your heart lies. It’s great if the temple has a separate room for baptism, then you can carry out the ceremony away from prying eyes. True, this does not mean that several dozen people will not gather for the ritual on one day, especially if we are talking about large cities. If you want your baby to be christened individually, you will have to agree on a date and time separately.
Choosing the right godparents
Many modern people do not know or understand at all what criteria should be used to choose godparents, so they try to invite buddies, friends, influential people or simply priests to this role. This is a really important issue that needs to be looked into in detail.
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- Godparents can only be people baptized in the Orthodox faith who understand and respect the foundations of Orthodoxy. They will bear responsibility for instilling spiritual values in the child, explaining and supporting him in difficult times, and introducing him to the true faith.
- Godparents cannot be husband and wife, and also do not have the right to marry in the future, since they become spiritual sister and brother.
- Applicants for this status must be mentally balanced, adults.
- You cannot take strangers, sectarians, or clergy as godparents if you have not previously known each other or do not intend to communicate in the future. Godparents should always be nearby to be able to provide the necessary spiritual assistance.
- According to tradition, people prefer to take a couple as godparents. However, when this is not possible, you can get by with one person. For girls it is preferable to take a girl, and for boys - a man.
Godparents undergo a special interview before the child’s baptism to find out what they need to know and acquire. All expenses usually fall on their shoulders; these people must ensure that everything is completely ready before the christening. Godfathers need to memorize the “Creed” prayer, as well as confess and receive communion according to the ritual.
Why do you need a baptismal shirt and what is kryzhma
One of the main and most fascinating Sacraments of the Church, which cannot leave the heart indifferent, is Baptism. Let's talk about such mandatory attributes for the ceremony as a baptismal shirt and kryzhma.
Baptismal rub
Ashka in Greek is called anavolium (cloak, outerwear). According to tradition, this is a straight, long white shirt worn by the newly baptized as a sign of his spiritual purity. The light shirt symbolizes the new clothing of the soul received from God in the Sacrament. Before the beginning of the rite of Baptism, old clothes are removed as a symbol of the burden of sin. There is no need to wear a baptismal shirt before immersing yourself in the baptismal font; the child can be covered with a regular diaper and blanket; for an adult, a baptismal sheet or a large white baptismal towel will be comfortable. At the main moment of the Sacrament, the person being baptized is immersed by the priest three times in holy water. At this moment, the grace of the Holy Spirit illuminates the whole person, and under its action the physical and spiritual being of a person changes: one might say, he is reborn in a different capacity - that is why Baptism is called the second birth. The newly baptized person is immediately put on a light shirt. Its whiteness is a symbol of human spiritual purity.
In ancient times, those who received Baptism did not remove their annexes until the eighth day after the Sacrament. In Rus', an infant's baptismal shirt was kept as a family heirloom. The shirt in which Pushkin was baptized, as well as the shirts of many other great people, have been preserved. In ancient times, it was the custom to bury people who were baptized in adulthood in a baptismal shirt. It is known that the holy king Constantine the Great was baptized a week before his death and was buried in his baptismal robe.
To this day, in Orthodox families, the baptismal shirt is preserved as a relic and, at the birth of subsequent children, is used for new Christenings. Store the shirt separately from other underwear, in a special bag or purse. You can put it in a box or decorative box. It is believed that if a baby is sick, for a speedy recovery you need to dress him in a baptismal robe and cover him with a cap.
The history of christenings is closely connected with a person’s ideas about further earthly life. If a baptismal shirt could be passed down from generation to generation, then the kryzhma (cloth, diaper, towel) was considered a purely personal item. It was used to wipe the baby's body after receiving Baptism. Such a towel (kryzhma) was kept throughout life, and when a person’s earthly journey ended, they covered the deceased with it. It is believed that such a towel should be the same color as the shirt. According to tradition - white, a milky tint is acceptable.
The history of baptismal clothing dates back to early Christian times. Something has changed, but something has remained the same as during the Sacrament of Baptism of our ancestors. When choosing an outfit for a child or for yourself, remember that perhaps this particular shirt and kryzhma will become heirlooms of your family in the future.
How to choose the right things
There are no specific strict rules for choosing a baptismal set; they are guided by their capabilities and the appropriateness of things for the upcoming event. It is preferable to choose natural materials - cotton, linen, cambric, and also make sure that the seams are turned outward.
For boy
A set of clothes for a boy should consist of a cotton shirt, a cap and booties or socks. If the child is over 3-4 years old, it is possible without a headdress, since men do not need to cover their heads in the temple, unlike women.
The shade of clothing is white, but sky blue or light green is not prohibited, the main thing is that the color is not too bright, which is unacceptable for carrying out the sacrament. Among the decorations on a shirt and cap, embroidery and ruffles are acceptable, but you should not choose underwear with worldly designs - airplanes, bunnies and other animals.
For girl
When baptizing a girl of any age, a scarf must be included in the set. The color of the robe is also allowed to be soft pink, but usually a snow-white shirt and a cap and booties of the same color are purchased. Ruffles, frills and other decorations will look natural on a girl’s clothes, the main thing is that there are not too many of them.
The material largely depends on the season in which the baptism takes place. In winter, items made of flannel and bikers are suitable; in summer and spring, you should pay attention to shirts made of light cotton or linen.
