In the modern Russian Orthodox Church, a tradition has developed to baptize a baby on the fortieth day, since a young mother, after the birth of a child, can enter the temple only after forty days, when the priest reads a special cleansing prayer over her; however, this was not always the case.
For example, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was baptized 12 days after his birth: the poet was born on May 26, 1799 according to the old style, and the baby was baptized, giving him the Pushkin family name Alexander “on June 8th” in the Elokhovsky Church of the Epiphany, which is recorded in the archives (E. Lebedeva “The Cathedral of the Epiphany in Yelokhov. History of the temple and parish”).
The poet’s grandmother Olga Sergeevna (nee Chicherina) and Count Artemy Ivanovich Vorontsov were present at this solemn event.
What is this Sacrament?
Baptism is one of the most ancient seven Sacraments of the Russian Orthodox Church, meaning the birth of a person for God, birth into a new Eternal life.
This Sacrament goes back to the Old Testament custom of circumcising Jewish babies on the 8th day of life, which made them members of the community and made it possible to begin the Passover meal. In the Old Testament, there was a custom for purification to perform a ritual immersion in water - a mikveh.
The baptism performed by John the Baptist filled this rite with a new meaning - it was repentance of sins.
And only the Baptism of the New Testament became the only way to unite a person with God, liberate him from original sin and gave the Christian a chance to enter the Kingdom of God. This is what Christ himself said: “... truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
At what age should a child be baptized?
There are many discussions on the issue of “when to baptize a child after birth” and whether children should be baptized at all. Moreover, such questions are asked not only by secular people who do not know the basics of Orthodoxy. This also confuses some Christians, such as Protestants. There is an opinion that religion cannot be “imposed” on a child; he must decide for himself at a conscious age.
But the Orthodox Church considers infant baptism to be absolutely justified and correct. If a child begins to imbibe the moral principles of Christian life with his mother's milk, the likelihood that in adult life he will express dissatisfaction with his baptism is significantly reduced. Therefore, it is important to lay the foundation of spiritual life as early as possible in a fragile soul, a soul exposed to the negative influence of the modern world.
At what age can a child be baptized? According to tradition, Baptism occurs on the 40th day after birth and later. First, there is a postpartum cleansing of the mother, which lasts 40 days. This is precisely the period indicated by God through the prophet Moses in the Old Testament (Lev. 12:1-6). After this, the priest says a prayer over her. The presence of the mother during the baptism of a newborn child is quite natural: the baby will be calmer.
Secondly, it was on the 40th day that the Virgin Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus Christ to the Jerusalem Temple. Thirdly, during this time the child has time to get a little stronger and adapt to the environment. But this is not a mandatory date to baptize a child after birth, but a pious tradition. You can baptize right away. Especially in cases where the baby has health problems or there is a threat to life. In such cases, the Sacrament of Baptism is performed as early as possible.
The baptism of children is carried out in the temple or in a separate annex for baptism - the baptistery. In rare cases, it is possible to perform the Sacrament at home, in a hospital. This may be due to the child’s health condition and the inability to bring him to the temple.
Children feel more grace
The Gospel testifies that the apostles, to whom the Savior himself gave the ability to baptize with the Holy Spirit, baptized entire families and houses, together with children and infants. So, for example, the entire house of a certain centurion Cornelius was baptized, who, during prayer, saw an Angel who commanded him to call the Apostle Peter, accept Holy Baptism and thereby be saved. The centurion did not disobey the Angel, baptized his entire family, and made a temple out of his house.
The custom of baptizing infants in Christianity is also associated with evidence that children, even foolish ones, can feel God's grace and rejoice in it. This is clearly indicated by the episode of the Gospel when the Mother of God comes to Elizabeth; the first carries Christ under her heart, and the second carries the Forerunner. And the baby in Elizabeth’s womb “jumped”, feeling the close presence of God. The same thing happens with a child - he does not understand the full depth of Orthodoxy, but joyfully and willingly accepts the Sacraments and Gifts.
Why is it necessary to baptize children?
In our time, there are heretical teachings that do not correspond to the canons of the Orthodox Church. People tempted by these teachings wonder why children should be baptized. They think that if the child himself is not able to understand what is happening to him, then his Baptism should be postponed until the moment when he himself can consciously confess his faith. In the Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Baptism is taken very seriously. Everyone understands that a newborn baby cannot fully comprehend what is happening to him. Therefore, to perform Baptism, the presence of a godfather and godmother or at least one of the godparents is required. The recipient or recipient makes a promise to God on behalf of the child to remain faithful to Christ’s commandments, and to renounce all evil words, thoughts and actions. In the face of God, godparents are responsible for the Christian upbringing of the child entrusted to them. There is much indirect evidence in the Holy Scriptures that children received Baptism. The Lord blessed the children who came to Him. He often cited the image of the purity and spontaneity of a child as an example to follow. If a child does not understand that he wants to eat, sleep, be in the fresh air, and expresses this through his crying and screaming, this does not mean that he does not need the above. The same applies to his spiritual needs. It is important for a person’s soul to participate in the Sacrament of Communion, to have the grace that is communicated in the Sacrament of Baptism, the soul of a child must be protected with prayer and the sign of the cross. Parents do not want to deprive their baby of food and drink for the body. Why do some people wonder about the need for child baptism? The soul of a child must be nourished by the grace of God even while he is in his mother’s womb. Pregnant women need to begin the Sacraments of Confession and Communion more often, then their baby will be nourished by grace and grow to the glory of God. After the birth of a child, it is advisable to baptize him in infancy and accustom him to church life as early as possible. Of course, everything needs to be done gradually and with reasoning, but in no case should you deprive a child of divine grace.
How does this happen
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Baptism of a baby is preceded by several rites: on the baby’s birthday, the prayer “after the child’s wife has never given birth” is read over the baby; on the eighth day, the naming of the newborn follows, when the prayer “for the sign of the boy” is heard, after which the troparion of the Presentation of the Lord is read.
And on the fortieth day they read a cleansing prayer over the woman and pray for the child’s churching, after which he is baptized - this should be done according to the Trebnik - a liturgical book that describes how the sacraments should be performed.
Archpriest Andrei Efanov (Moscow) mentions this in his interviews.
If the child is healthy, then he should be baptized on the fortieth day after birth, but if he can die, then he should be baptized as early as possible. It happens that an unhealthy baby is baptized in the maternity hospital, right in the intensive care unit.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation represent one common whole - after baptism, Confirmation is performed on the baby. Among Catholics, the sacraments are separated, and the child is anointed with myrrh for the first time only at confirmation, many years after birth.
Before the revolution, children were baptized on the eighth day; At the same time, the mother was most often absent due to the ban on visiting the temple.
Why are children baptized in infancy?
Why children are baptized in infancy is a natural manifestation of the will of believing parents. It is known that for a person who has received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, you can pray in church and submit notes for him. A baptized person can participate in church Sacraments. For believing parents, who themselves are members of the Church of Christ, it is very natural and logical to want to introduce their child to the spiritual treasury of the Orthodox faith as early as possible. The basis for baptizing a child in infancy is also the fact that different people may have different health conditions. Even if there are no complaints about the baby’s physical condition at the moment, different situations may occur in life. If a child is baptized in infancy, on the 40th day or not much later, then there is reason to believe that the seed of grace, which is in his soul from the moment of Baptism, will have more time to germinate and bear good fruit.
The baby needs a guarantor
According to the rules of the first council, a baby needs a godfather - a guarantor before God; a man if it is a boy, and a woman if it is a girl. The tradition of having two godparents appeared in Rus' in the 14th century and did not spread in other countries.
Superstitious people often associate many signs and incomprehensible beliefs with the Sacrament, but in fact you should know one thing - if you want your child to receive God's grace, you must baptize him.
They can baptize either by immersion in holy water or by sprinkling or pouring from above.
Baptism of a child at a conscious age
There are both positive and negative aspects to baptizing a child at a more conscious age. On the one hand, he can be explained what Baptism is and why it happens. On the other hand, it is stressful for the child, which can be accompanied by whims up to a complete refusal to participate in Baptism.
Therefore, parents need to prepare their child for the Sacrament in advance and explain what will happen. It is advisable to bring the baby to the temple and introduce him to the priest who will baptize (if possible). It is necessary for the child to get used to the environment and have a positive experience of being in church. Then he will not perceive Baptism as something terrible.
Hieromonk Dimitry Pershin says: “The Lord calls to Himself, and does not force. Maybe it’s really worth bringing the child to the temple in advance, showing everything, talking to him, and praying with him. So that he does not perceive the sacrament as a punishment. At the same time, you can talk about Christ and His sacraments in such a way that the child himself will come running to be baptized. The fact is that from the age of two, or even earlier, a person can very sensitively remember the events of his life and give an account: was this a joyful event, free, according to the desire of the heart, or was it some kind of violence against him.”
No restrictions
There are no restrictions for Baptism related to holidays or fasting days, Lent or mourning in the family. The priest can postpone the Sacrament to another day only due to heavy workload, but if there are special circumstances, he will perform it on any day.
It should be remembered that if there is an immediate threat to the life of the baby, the Sacrament of Baptism can be performed by a layman - to do this, he needs to prayerfully dip the baby into holy water three times, and if the child remains alive, then the priest replenishes the Sacrament of Baptism with Confirmation.
Very often, the child’s parents cannot get ready for church right away; illness, death of relatives, business trips interfere every now and then, they cannot find godparents, and meanwhile the child is growing up. The rector of the temple in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Vsetsaritsa” (Dimitrovgrad), Peter Guryanov, believes that if the parents are church-going Orthodox Christians, then there are no canonical obstacles to the baptism of a child, and in this case it must be done as soon as possible.
Why can't pregnant women have their children baptized? Is it so?
Some people ask why pregnant women cannot have their children baptized. In fact, according to church canons, pregnant women are no different from those women who do not have a child in their wombs; they also have the right to be godmothers. There are only restrictions for pregnant women who feel very unwell. Perhaps they need to postpone participation in the Sacrament of Baptism until their physical condition improves. They must take care not only of the godchild, but first of all of the baby who is in their womb. All features need to be discussed between the future godmother and the baby’s parents. But on this issue you need to know a firm answer, which is that pregnant women can be godparents or godmothers. When to baptize a child, you need to agree with the baby’s parents, depending on your physical condition. If the godmother is pregnant, but feels great, then it is better not to postpone the Baptism of the child.
Author of the article: Ksenia Orabey, theologian and religious scholar
