It is unlikely that this question will arise before you if you are already parishioners of some temple. If not, choose a temple to your liking. There is nothing wrong with visiting a few temples. If the employees are unfriendly and rude (this happens, yes), you can look for a temple where they will treat you kindly from the very beginning. Yes. We come to God in church, but there is no sin in choosing a church according to your liking. It’s good if the church has a separate baptismal room. It is usually warm, there are no drafts and there are no strangers. If there are few churches in your city and they all have large parishes, then be sure to find out in advance how many children usually attend baptism. It may turn out that a dozen babies will be baptized at the same time, each of whom will be accompanied by a whole team of relatives. If you don’t like such a mass gathering, you can agree on an individual baptism.
Baptism photography
If you decide to hire a photographer for the christening, be sure to find out in advance whether he will be allowed to take pictures and use a flash. Some priests have a very negative attitude towards filming the Sacraments and an unpleasant surprise may await you. As a rule, photography and video shooting are not prohibited anywhere. Photos from a baptism are a great joy for many years for the whole family, so if you can’t take pictures in a church, then you need to look for a church where you can take pictures (but even in Old Believer churches they allow you to take pictures at christenings). In some cases, a child can be baptized at home. The main thing is to agree on this with the priest.
Is it possible to baptize a child at home or outside the temple?
The practice of the church has not changed over time. The canons do not prohibit performing activities outside the temple, but in this case the child must have health reasons. In practice, there are often cases of baptism in a hospital. An important condition is the absence of immersion, as this can be dangerous for the child. Sprinkling with holy water is performed.
Also, such a retreat takes place in areas very remote from the nearest parish. In this case, family members, parents or godparents must organize all the action. The baby is not immersed in the font, but is simply sprinkled with water.
There are also differences in the ritual between boys and girls. There is one serious nuance in the baptism of boys - carrying around the altar three times. If all actions are maintained, baptism is considered completed for the boy.
Godparents
Who can and cannot be a godfather is the most common question. Is it possible for a pregnant/unmarried/unbeliever/childless girl to baptize a girl, etc. - the number of variations is endless.
The answer is simple: the godfather must be a person
- Orthodox and church (HE is responsible for raising a child in the faith)
- not the child’s parent (godparents must replace the parents if something happens)
— a husband and wife cannot be godparents of the same child (or those who are going to get married).
- a monastic cannot be a godfather
ALL.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not at all necessary that there be two godparents. One thing is enough: women for girls and men for boys. You can read more about godparents, their rights and responsibilities, etc. here.
Conversation before baptism
Now this is a must. For what? To baptize those who believe in Christ, and not those who come because “a child_is_sick_must_be_baptized_otherwise_they_will_jinx_and_we_are_Russian_and_Orthodox.”
You have to come to the conversation, this is not an exam. usually the priest talks about Christ, the Gospel, reminds that you need to read the Gospel yourself. It looks something like this.
Often the need for conversation causes indignation among relatives and many try to “get around” them. Someone, complaining about a lack of time, or even just desire, is looking for priests who can ignore this rule. But first of all, this information is needed by the godparents themselves, because by offering them to become your child’s godparents, you impose a great responsibility on them and it would be nice for them to know about it. If godparents do not want to spend time on this, then this is a reason for you to think about whether the child needs adoptive parents who cannot sacrifice just a couple of their evenings for him.
If the godparents live in another city and can only come on the day of the sacrament, then they can have conversations in any church that is convenient. Upon completion, they will be given a certificate with which they can participate in the sacrament anywhere.
It is very good for godparents, if they do not already know, to learn the Creed - this prayer is read three times during baptism and, it is likely that godparents will be asked to read it.
How is a child baptized?
During the sacrament of baptism, the obligatory participants are the baby, godparents and priest. If you wish, you can invite guests and relatives. The mother of the child is allowed to observe the baptism of her child only if 40 days have passed after the birth. This is precisely the period established by the church for the process of postpartum cleansing.
Before the start of the ceremony, a priest in white vestments walks around the temple in a circle, reading prayers, then takes his place in front of the altar - at the baptismal bowl. The godparents and the baby stand next to him. By this time the baby should already be completely undressed.
Father reads prayers. Then he sanctifies the water in the baptismal cup and the oil (oil) with which the baby will soon be anointed, and dips it three times into the holy baptismal water. From the bowl, he passes it to his godmother and godfather, who need to prepare the kryzhma in advance in order to receive the baby into it. Next, the priest anoints the baby: forehead, eyes, cheeks, chin, chest, arms and legs.
After this, the priest reads several excerpts from the Gospel and the Apostle, at which time the godparents put on a cross and snow-white baptismal clothes on the baby.
Name
Find out in advance what name the child will be baptized. If the child’s name is not in the calendar, select one that sounds similar in advance (Alina - Elena, Zhanna - Anna, Alisa - Alexandra) and tell the priest about it. And sometimes names are given strangely. One of my friends Zhanna was baptized Eugenia. By the way, sometimes there are unexpected names in the calendar, say. Edward is such an Orthodox British saint (though later all the employees of the temple will not believe that there is such an Orthodox name). In church records and when performing other Sacraments, you will need to use the name given at baptism. Based on it, it will be determined when the child’s Angel Day is and who his heavenly patron is.
Frequently asked questions about christenings.
To answer the question whether it is possible to baptize a child without godparents, it is enough to read the sequence of the sacrament of Baptism, then a lot will become clear to us. The sequence is compiled for adults, that is, it contains places where the person being baptized says prayers and answers questions to the priest. When we baptize a child, the godparents are responsible for him and read his prayers. Therefore, it is obvious that the sacrament of Baptism of a child cannot take place without adults. But an adult is able to profess his faith himself.
The question of whether it is possible to baptize a child without a godmother can be answered in the same way as the question of whether it is possible to baptize a child without a godfather. If it was not possible to find a person capable of taking on the responsibilities of a godmother or father, it is possible to perform the sacrament of baptism without one of the parents. In this case, it will be more important for a girl if she has a godmother, and for a boy - a godfather.
In this case, baptism can only be performed under the following circumstances: The child’s life is in danger, he is in serious condition. At such a moment, baptism can be performed by a priest or any layman by pouring holy water on the baby’s head three times and saying the words: “God’s servant (me) (name) is baptized in the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen. And the Holy Spirit. Amen". If after baptism by a layman the baby survives and recovers, then you need to turn to the Church and complete the Sacrament of Baptism with Confirmation. If no godfather is found for the child, the priest can take on the responsibilities of godparents and say prayers for the child himself. If the priest knows the baby, then he will be able to take care of him and instruct him in the faith, but if not, then he will remember the godson in prayer at every service. Not all priests take on such responsibility, so in different churches the question of whether it is possible to baptize a child without godparents is answered differently. Still, it is better to try to ensure that your child has two godparents, just like two siblings (see How to choose godparents). Indeed, in later life he will need to see not only the example of the life of his parents, but also other people who visit the temple and try to live according to God’s commandments.
You can become a godmother or godfather for any child, unless, of course, he is your own. There is even a pious tradition in Orthodox families of baptizing each other’s children: this makes it easier to maintain connections and communicate with godchildren.
Of course, people who become godparents for one child can become godparents for another, there are no obstacles to this.
It is advisable that the baby be baptized in a church, because after baptism there is still a prayer for churching: the boy is brought into the altar, the girl is placed on the soleya, from where her mother receives her. There are times when a child is sick or there is no temple nearby, and it is not possible to take the child far away. You can invite a priest to your home, then the priest will read the prayers for churching when the baby is brought to church. Bringing the child to church after baptism and giving him communion is the responsibility of the godparents and birth parents.
Yes, if a family is baptizing two or more children at the same time, you can ask the same people to be their godparents. It will be even better this way, because two children have the same natural parents and will also have the same godparents.
This question cannot be answered affirmatively. There is such a thing as spiritual kinship between godparents; it is impossible in the presence of a marital relationship. Therefore, a husband and wife cannot baptize a child.
Godparents must have a spiritual relationship with each other, therefore, even if a couple lives in a civil marriage and they are not registered as husband and wife, they cannot be the child’s godparents. If young people do not have a marital relationship, but intend to get married in the future, they will also not be able to become godparents of one child.
A child can be baptized by any relatives, except for the mother, father and relatives who are spouses, since spouses cannot be godparents.
If you have many godchildren and you know that you will not be able to properly care for the new godchild, you are in another city or another country, and you do not know the child’s family well, it is better to refuse to baptize the baby. But if there is a possibility that the child will not be baptized at all because of your refusal, it is better to agree and ask God for help.
If parents are baptizing several of their children, then it will be very desirable that the same people be godparents. Then the children will have the same godparents, just like their relatives. It will be easier for godparents to take care of raising all the children together. It is possible to baptize several children at the same time - not siblings.
Such questions are rare, but still asked in the Church. The Sacrament of Baptism itself is performed on a person only once. After all, the meaning of this sacrament is a person’s acceptance of the Orthodox faith and his recognition as a member of the Church. But there are several cases when such a question may arise: If children do not know whether they have been baptized or not. This happens if a child has lost his natural parents, or there is a possibility that the child was secretly baptized by one of his relatives. In this case, it is necessary to inform the priest about this, then the sacrament of Baptism is performed according to a different rite. The priest says the words: “The servant of God (name) is baptized (if not baptized) in the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen. And the Holy Spirit. Amen". If the child was urgently baptized by a layman. Such baptism is performed if there was a danger to the child’s life, but he later recovered. Then you need to come to Church and complete the sacrament of Baptism with Confirmation. If the child was baptized in a different faith. The Orthodox Church recognizes the sacrament of Baptism in other denominations as valid in cases where the sacrament of Baptism is performed according to a similar rite and if in this denomination the institution of the priesthood and apostolic succession in the ordination of priests have been preserved. Only Catholicism and the Old Believers can be classified as such confessions (but only that direction where the priesthood has been preserved). After baptism in the Catholic faith, you need to complete the sacrament of Baptism with confirmation, since in the Catholic Church, confirmation is performed separately from baptism at a later age (about 15 years).
If a child is seriously ill, then baptism is necessary; it can even be performed in a hospital or at home. If the baby’s life is in danger, then, as a last resort, he can even be baptized by a layman.
Baptism, like any sacrament, is a sacrament in which the invisible grace of God is communicated to the believer under a visible image. The sacrament of Baptism requires the physical presence of the person being baptized, the priest and the godparents. A sacrament is not just prayer; performing a sacrament in absentia is impossible.
In the Orthodox Church there are no days when a child cannot be baptized. The baptism of a child can be performed on any day agreed upon with the priest and godparents. Usually the question of whether it is possible to baptize a child during Lent arises due to the fact that the sacrament of weddings in the Church is not performed during Lent. Fasting is a time for repentance and abstinence from fasting food and marital intimacy, therefore there are restrictions for weddings, but not baptism. Is it possible to baptize a child during Lent? Of course, yes, and on any day of Lent, and on holidays, and on the eve of fasting days and holidays.
Sunday services are held in all churches, urban and rural. Therefore, most often baptism is performed on Saturday: after baptism, you can participate in the service and give the child communion the next day on Sunday.
In the Ancient Church, due to the spread of a large number of heresies, baptism was preceded by a long period of instruction in the faith, it lasted up to 3 years. And the catechumens (learners) received baptism on the Epiphany of the Lord (at that time this holiday was called Enlightenment) and on Holy Saturday before Easter. The celebration of Baptism on these days was a great holiday in the Church. If you decide to baptize a child on Epiphany (Epiphany), then not only will you not violate the canons of the Church, but you will also follow the ancient Christian tradition.
The days of a woman’s purification in the Church are called impurity; many restrictions for women in the Old Testament are associated with these days. Today, it is not appropriate for a woman in uncleanness to touch sacred objects (icons, crosses) or to receive sacraments. Therefore, when choosing the day for a child’s baptism, it is advisable to take this circumstance into account. However, baptism is performed on the child, and not on his godmother or birth mother; a woman in uncleanness, if necessary, can be present at the sacrament, but should not touch the shrines.
There is a belief that the baby should be baptized under a different name, and no one should know his baptismal name, otherwise the child’s energy will be spoiled. All these are rumors that have nothing to do with Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. The child can be baptized with another name, but most often this is done if the child’s real name is not in the list of names of Orthodox saints (see Choosing a name according to the calendar).
A child, especially a newborn baby, cannot say anything about his faith, cannot answer the priest’s question whether he renounces Satan and unites with Christ, cannot understand the meaning of the Sacrament that is taking place. However, it is impossible to leave him outside the Church before he becomes an adult, since only in the Church there is the grace necessary for his correct growth, for the preservation of his physical and spiritual health. Therefore, the Church performs the Sacrament of Baptism over the baby and itself assumes the obligation to raise him in the Orthodox faith. The church is made up of people. She fulfills her obligation to properly raise a baptized child through those whom she calls godparents or godparents. The main criterion for choosing a godfather or godmother should be whether this person can subsequently help in the good, Christian upbringing of the person received from the font, and not only in practical circumstances, as well as the degree of acquaintance and simply the friendliness of the relationship. Concern for expanding the circle of people who will seriously help the newborn child made it undesirable to invite closest physical relatives as godfather and godfather. It was believed that they, due to natural kinship, would help the child. For the same reason, they tried to prevent brothers and sisters from having the same godfather. Therefore, natural grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts became recipients only as a last resort. Now, when getting ready to baptize a child, young parents often do not think about who to choose as godparents. They do not expect their child’s godparents to seriously participate in his upbringing and invite people who, due to their lack of roots in church life, cannot fulfill the duties of godparents to be godparents. It also happens that people become godparents who are completely unaware that they have received a truly great honor. Most often, the honorary right to be godparents is given to close friends or relatives who, having performed simple actions during the Sacrament and eaten all kinds of dishes at the festive table, rarely remember their duties, sometimes completely forgetting about the godchildren themselves. However, when inviting godparents, you need to know that Baptism, according to the teaching of the Church, is a second birth, that is, “birth of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5), which Jesus Christ spoke about as a necessary condition for salvation. If physical birth is a person’s entry into the world, then Baptism becomes entry into the Church. And the child is accepted at his spiritual birth by his adopters - new parents, guarantors before God for the faith of the new member of the Church they have accepted. Thus, only Orthodox, sincerely believing adults who are capable of teaching a godson the basics of faith can be godparents (minors and the mentally ill cannot be godparents). But do not be alarmed if, when agreeing to become a godfather, you do not fully meet these high requirements. This event can be a wonderful opportunity for self-education. The Church considers spiritual kinship to be as real as natural kinship. Therefore, in the relationship between spiritual relatives there are the same features as in relation to natural relatives. At present, the Russian Orthodox Church, on the issue of marriages of spiritual relatives, adheres only to the 63rd rule of the VI Ecumenical Council: marriages between godchildren and their godchildren, godchildren and the physical parents of a godson and godchildren among themselves are impossible. In this case, the husband and wife are allowed to be the adoptive parents of different children in the same family. Brother and sister, father and daughter, mother and son can be godparents of the same child. Pregnancy of the godmother is a completely acceptable condition for participation in the Sacrament of Baptism.
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The obligations that recipients assume before God are very serious. Therefore, godparents must understand the responsibility they take on. Godparents are obliged to teach their godchildren to resort to the saving Sacraments of the Church, mainly Confession and Communion, to give them knowledge about the meaning of worship, the features of the church calendar, the grace-filled power of miraculous icons and other shrines. Godparents must teach those received from the font to attend church services, fast and observe other provisions of the Church Charter. But the main thing is that godparents should always pray for their godson. Their responsibilities also include taking care of protecting their godchildren from all sorts of temptations and temptations, which are especially dangerous in childhood and adolescence. Godparents, knowing the abilities and character traits of those perceived by them from the font, can help them determine their path in life and give advice in choosing an education and a suitable profession. Advice in choosing a spouse is also important; According to the custom of the Russian Church, it is the godparents who prepare the wedding for their godson. And in general, in cases where natural parents do not have the opportunity to financially provide for their children, this responsibility is primarily assumed not by grandparents or other relatives, but by godparents. A frivolous attitude towards the duties of a godfather is a grave sin, since the fate of the godson depends on it. Therefore, you should not thoughtlessly agree to the invitation to become a godson, especially if you already have one godson. Refusal to become a godfather should also not be taken as insult or neglect.
In this case, the need for a godfather increases, and his responsibility only intensifies. After all, how else can a child come to Church? However, while fulfilling the duty of a foster parent, one should not reproach parents for their frivolity and lack of faith. Patience, forbearance, love and continuous work of spiritual education of a child can be irrefutable proof of the truth of Orthodoxy for his parents.
Church rules provide for the presence of one godparent (godfather) when performing the Sacrament of Baptism. For a boy being baptized, this is a godfather; for a girl, he is a godmother. But since the responsibilities of godparents are numerous (for example, in special cases godparents replace the physical parents of their godson), and the responsibility before God for the fate of the godson is very great, the Russian Orthodox Church has developed a tradition of inviting two godparents - a godfather and a godmother. There cannot be any other godparents besides these two.
Preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism involves studying the Gospel, the foundations of Orthodox doctrine, and the basic rules of Christian piety. Fasting, confession and Communion before Baptism are not formally obligatory for godparents. A believer must adhere to these rules constantly. It would be good if during baptism at least one of the godparents could read the Creed.
For baptism you will need a baptismal set (the candle shop will recommend it to you). Mainly this is a baptismal cross and a baptismal shirt (no need to bring a cap). Then you will need a towel or sheet to wrap the child after the bath. According to established tradition, the godfather buys a cross for a boy, and the godmother for a girl. It is customary to bring a sheet and a towel to the godmother. But it won’t be a mistake if one person buys everything you need.
Church tradition does not know “absentee-appointed” godparents. The very meaning of succession shows that godparents must be present at the Baptism of the child and, of course, give their consent to this honorary title. Baptism without any recipients at all is performed only in special circumstances, for example, when the child’s life is in serious danger.
The Sacrament of Baptism makes a person a part of the Mystical Body of Christ, a member of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Such a Church, founded by the apostles and preserving the dogmatic teaching of the Ecumenical Councils intact, is only the Orthodox Church. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the recipients act as guarantors of the faith of their godson and accept the responsibility before God to raise him in the Orthodox faith. Of course, a person who does not belong to the Orthodox Church cannot fulfill such duties.
During Baptism, the person being baptized enters into a spiritual relationship with his recipient, who becomes his godfather or godmother.
This spiritual kinship (1st degree) is recognized by the canons as more important than kinship in the flesh (53 canon of the VI Ecumenical Council), and is fundamentally incompatible with it. Parents, including those who have adopted a child, can under no circumstances be the adopters of their own children: neither both together, nor each individually, otherwise such a close degree of kinship would form between the parents that would make the continuation of their marital cohabitation impermissible. How to determine a name day - this question is asked by every person who has at least once thought about the meaning of his name.
Name day is not a holiday of a name - it is a day of remembrance of the saint in whose honor the person was named. As you know, in Rus' the child’s name was given according to the calendar - the church calendar - and the parents prayerfully hoped that the child would live his life worthy of the name of the saint who became the baby’s patron. Over the years of atheism in Russia, the meaning of tradition has been forgotten - now a person is first given a name, and then, as he grows up, he looks for the church calendar to find out when the day of his memory is, when to celebrate his name day . The word name day comes from the word “namesake”, “namesake saint” - the modern “namesake” comes from the same word. That is, name day is the holiday of a saint bearing the same name.
Often parents choose a name for the child in advance, having a special love for one or another saint, then the day of the Angel is no longer associated with the birthday.
The name of the saint whose memory follows your birthday is determined according to the calendar, for example, according to the Orthodox calendar. As a rule, the name day is the day following the birthday of the saint whose name the Christian bears. For example, for Anna, born on November 20, Angel's Day will fall on December 3 - the day following her birthday, when St. Anna, and her saint will be St. mts. Anna of Persia.
You should remember this nuance: in 2000, at the Council of Bishops, the new martyrs and confessors of Russia were glorified: if you were baptized before 2000, then your saint is chosen from the saints glorified before 2000. For example, if your name is Catherine, and you were baptized before the glorification of the new martyrs, then your saint is St. Great Martyr Catherine, if you were baptized after the Council, then you can choose St. Catherine, whose memorial date is closer to your birthday.
If the name you were given is not in the calendar, then at baptism the name that is closest in sound is chosen. For example, Dina - Evdokia, Lilia - Leah, Angelica - Angelina, Zhanna - Joanna, Milana - Militsa. According to tradition, Alice receives the name Alexandra in baptism, in honor of St. passion-bearer Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, who before accepting Orthodoxy bore the name Alice. Some names in the church tradition have a different sound, for example, Svetlana is Photinia (from the Greek photos - light), and Victoria is Nike, both names mean “victory” in Latin and Greek.
On Angel's Day, Orthodox Christians try to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. If the day of the angel falls on a day of fasting or fasting, then celebrations and feasts are usually transferred to non-fasting days. On non-fasting days, many invite guests to share the bright joy of the holiday with relatives and friends.
We arrived at the temple, what next?
At the church shop you will be asked to pay a donation for baptism. Before the sacrament, it is better to feed the baby so that he is more comfortable and calm.
Feed in the temple
IT IS POSSIBLE, it’s good to wear nursing clothes or have an apron with you. If you need privacy, you can ask one of the temple employees to find a secluded place. The only thing is that if the baby is feeding for a long time, it is better to have a bottle-sipper-syringe with food with you, so that it does not happen that the baby gets hungry in the middle of the service and you either have to wait half an hour until he eats or he will cry from hunger.
During the sacrament, the child is held in the arms of the godparents, the parents can only watch. The duration of Baptism is usually about an hour.
It is useful to familiarize yourself in advance with what will happen during the service in order to understand the meaning of what is happening. Here is a diagram of the service of Holy Baptism
But mothers are not allowed to be baptized everywhere—it’s better to clarify this question in advance.
Countries where there are no Orthodox churches, how to baptize a child
Parents face the problem of baptism in many countries. The Orthodox Church has not built its parishes everywhere. The question arises: is it possible to perform the baptism ceremony yourself?
The sacrament should be performed by an older family member or a person from outside who is familiar with all the rituals. You must first illuminate the water by reading a special prayer over it. After sprinkling the baby, the prayers “Creed”, “Our Father” and “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice” are read.
All prayers are available on the Internet. But it is important to memorize them. In any case, a mandatory visit to the temple and conversation with the priest will be required.
It is important to understand that this will not be a second baptism, but only an addition to it. Therefore, it is necessary for parents to notify the priest about all the nuances of the previously performed ritual. There is no need to delay this too much.
Cold water?
The water in the font is WARM. First, hot water is usually poured into it, and before the Sacrament it is diluted with cold water. but the water in the font is warm 
The temple employees who collect it will make sure that the water is warm - they don’t want the child to freeze just as much as you do. After immersion, it will not be possible to immediately dress the child, and here again it is worth mentioning that it is good to baptize very young children in separate rooms and not in the church itself, where it is cool even in summer. In any case, don’t worry, everything happens quickly and the child will not have time to freeze.
