Godparents - why are they needed and what are their responsibilities?

Hello, Vladimir!

The christening of a child is a very important event. And it doesn’t matter what age your goddaughter is. Along with this sacrament, you acquire responsibility for the baptized person and must instruct him in matters of faith. And of course, you need to know who your goddaughter’s parents are to you. Let's look at this difficult issue together.

What is baptism?

Baptism is one of the church sacraments, which marks a person’s coming to the Church, his cleansing from sins, and his desire to unite with God. The peculiarity of this sacrament is that it is performed once in a lifetime; you cannot be baptized again. A person of any age from infant to old age is baptized in any church. Baptism occurs every day during the calendar year. The sacrament has a certain sequence, a baptized person receives the grace of the Holy Spirit in it, and after baptism can fully participate in church life.

How many times can you be a godfather?

Future godparents also usually pay for the ritual itself, purchase a cross and a special robe for the baby: a baptismal shirt, a towel and a sheet. But these requirements are not mandatory, so all these items can be purchased by the child’s natural parents.

To prepare for the sacrament, you need to come to a conversation with the priest. Some churches conduct the so-called Orthodox exam. The priest asks to talk about the main commandments or reveal the essence of communion. Before you have such a conversation, you should prepare.

The history of godparents

The institution of godparents originated in the era of the emergence of Christianity, when as many people as possible sought to be baptized. Then they received a second name - receivers. They were entrusted with the responsibility not only to teach children (they were baptized in sufficient numbers) doctrinal truths, but also to perform good deeds, becoming their teachers and educators if necessary. Accordingly, high demands were placed on their level of education and morality. Most often, they were not related by family ties to their godchildren; they had to reach a certain age and be free from monastic vows. This was the situation in the Roman Empire.

Receivers are also necessary for people who wish to be baptized in adulthood. The recipient guarantees the seriousness of the intentions of the baptized person, but the latter pronounces the vows independently, unlike children for whom godparents do this.

Why do you need a godfather - he was needed for the boy, in historical times this was clear to everyone. The answer to the question why a godmother is needed is also clear - the girl would not be baptized without her. Subsequently, the situation changed towards closer relations with blood relationships - the newly baptized person had to have godparents of both sexes.

This custom became widespread in Rus', where babies were most often baptized a few days after birth. The minimum age for godparents was fixed by the Synod and was 14 years old; there were also provisions according to which the godmother must be 13 years old, and the godfather must be 15 years old.

The responsibilities of the godfather and mother were divided: the father was responsible for covering all financial expenses, and the mother had to prepare clothes for the godson/goddaughter.

Why are godparents needed now?

Why are godparents needed now ? - at least in our days, the presence of godparents for infants at baptism is mandatory. There is no upper age limit; in church practice, godparents are usually needed for children under 14-15 years of age. In some cases, it is possible to have recipients up to the age of majority – 18 years. There is nothing wrong with the fact that godparents are people deeply immersed in church life and are ready to share their spiritual experience with their godson. The main thing is that this happens with the consent of both parties, and there is complete mutual understanding between them.

Why are godparents needed when baptizing an adult? As a general rule, they are not needed, but sometimes people who are not recipients are present at baptism. Their task boils down to supporting a person entering Christian life and providing assistance in his first steps in the church. Priests note this as a positive trend.

Is it possible for a father and daughter to be godparents?

Question: My sister and her husband were asked to be godparents to a little girl. Can they be godparents to one child together or not? And can, say, father and daughter be godparents? In general, what close relatives can?

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Answer: Spouses do not have the right to be godparents of the same child, because they enter into a spiritual relationship, after which they cease to be spouses. Spiritual kinship leads to the end of marriage. A husband and wife become like a brother and sister, and in other cases in the Russian Church there are no obstacles to being the successors of one child.

Requirements for godparents

Requirements for godparents are contained in various sources, some developed based on church practice. The requirements for godparents for children include:

Orthodox religion - people of other faiths cannot be godparents. Atheists who deny God cannot become recipients.
Churching is a condition that, given the current rhythm of life, is often not possible to fulfill. Ideally, a person preparing to become a godfather should regularly attend church, participate in the sacraments, and know the basics of the Orthodox faith in order to pass them on to his godson.
High moral qualities, in order for this person to be able to teach a child good things, he must be alien to the vices of modern society - alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking.
There is no consensus regarding the age of godparents. The average age is 14 years, but most often persons over 17 years of age are allowed to serve as godparents. There is no upper age limit.
Currently, when baptizing, it is mandatory to have at least one godparent of the same gender as the child being baptized. Sometimes a godfather and godmother are invited.

Blood parents cannot become godparents for their child. They are also not allowed to become foster children for one child. Future marriage between a godmother and father who met at a christening is not permitted.
Relatives of children - grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts - have the right to be godparents. Often parents choose their friends or good acquaintances as godparents.

Sometimes there are opinions about why a godmother is needed if she is unmarried or pregnant. These are speculations and superstitions - they can be full-fledged godmothers. You can be a godparent as many times as you like; godparents can have many godchildren.

Who can be godparents and who can't

If you want your child to be raised in the Orthodox faith, choose only believers who know prayers and regularly attend church services. If people do not visit the temple and believe, as they say from time to time, then great doubt arises about their serious attitude to the sacrament and their duties.

The godfather's wife cannot be a foster child if we are talking about the same baby, since the church prohibits spouses from being foster children of the same child. During the sacrament, they acquire a spiritual connection, which means that there cannot be an intimate relationship between them.

Responsibilities of godparents

The responsibilities of godparents are divided into those that they are required to perform before and during baptism, and those that they must perform in the future.

The first group includes the following responsibilities:

Before baptism, the godparents, and sometimes the child’s parents, must undergo public conversations at the church in which it is planned to baptize the child. Their form and duration are determined individually.
During the sacrament, the godfather or mother receives the child after he is immersed in the font, and can hold the baptismal shirt and cross to put on the newly baptized person.

The recipients pronounce the required vows in place of the baptized baby, and say the prayers: Creed and Our Father. It is advisable that they know more about Orthodoxy than is necessary within the sacrament of baptism.
Godparents are not required to give gifts, but they can do so. A popular gift for babies is a small spoon, which will be the first spoon the baby will use to eat.

Responsibilities of godparents after baptism

Why godparents are needed for a child after baptism is easy to understand if we turn to their direct biblical purpose. In this connection, the responsibilities of godparents after baptism are divided into three groups:

Prayerful - they should try to pray for their godchildren and teach them at least basic prayers.
Doctrinal - to give the godchildren an idea of the Orthodox faith.
Moral - to teach godchildren to behave according to their conscience and to be a worthy example for them.

How are godparents chosen for a child? Who shouldn't be a godfather?

This side of their responsibilities to him and to the church includes not only conversations on religious topics that can expand the godson’s knowledge of Orthodoxy, but also introducing the child to attending church and participating in divine services. Moreover, in order to achieve the best result, godparents must steadily increase their own spirituality and be a living and convincing example for the child.

Before you choose someone, you should first of all think about whether they will pray all their lives for their godson or goddaughter, because this is precisely one of their main responsibilities. This is especially important in the first years after baptism, since the child is still small and cannot turn to the Creator in prayer. In addition, it is generally accepted that the prayer of those who received the baby from the holy font has a special power of grace and is heard.

Problems associated with godparents

There are several problems associated with godparents , some of them can be solved quite easily, since they are often far-fetched, while others require serious thought.

The degree of closeness between the family of the baptized child and the godparents. Situations arise when people who are completely strangers to the family are called to be godparents. Often this is done by a priest who finds a parishioner (parishioner) of this temple and asks them to become godparents for the child, because the parents could not find suitable people. This will end well provided that the family gets to know the godfather/godmother, and he/she will actively participate in the life of the godson/godson.
Often, during baptism, the recipients know little about the Orthodox faith, so they have nothing to teach the baptized child. If they actively participate in church life and strive to learn new things, then the fulfillment of their duties can be considered successful.

Sometimes there is a desire to introduce a godson to Orthodoxy, but the godparents live too far from him, so they cannot take him to church. It is better from the very beginning to try to choose those people who live close to you as godparents.
Some parents become dissatisfied with the godfather or mother, perhaps without reason, and want to change them by baptizing the child. This procedure is unacceptable. It is desirable that there be a trusting relationship between the child’s blood and godparents. Also, some recipients want to abandon their responsibilities, but this cannot be done. Before baptism, it is necessary to carefully weigh everything and refuse the proposed mission - the baby’s parents should not be offended.
Another problem that often arises is when the relatives of the child who is to be baptized are against it. This could even be one of the parents; this situation is undesirable. Baptism, secret from one of the parents, will complicate life for everyone in the future; a consensus must be reached even before the sacrament is performed.

Baptism in Russia is the most important sacrament for an Orthodox person. If it occurs in childhood, then the child has godparents, who, along with his blood parents, become close people to him. In spiritual terms, their connection is even greater, so godparents are required to be determined to fulfill their duties with full dedication, which can be quite difficult in the modern world.

*Godparents are not just a requirement of spirituality or ritual. During baptism, godparents make an unspoken promise to take care of the child if he remains an orphan. Godparents must assist in the upbringing and formation of life values of godchildren, serving as an example for them.

Can a married couple be godparents?

These are two quotes that are completely consistent with each other. Moreover, the reference to the decree of the Holy Synod is a reference to a normative document adopted for action by the entire Russian Orthodox Church. And due to incompetence in some matters, some priests make mistakes. These same documents also say that the godfather and the godfather must be of the same sex. The godfather personifies an example of Christian life. And the godfather, looking at the godfather, copies him. Women have their own characteristics, and men have theirs. Hence the homogeneity.

There, the Holy Synod explained to the diocesan bishops (previously expressed at the Synod of 1810) that since during baptism, as shown in the Breviary before the subsequent baptism, there must be one recipient or one recipient, depending on the gender of the baptized, there is no reason to count recipients who are in some kind of spiritual relationship and therefore prohibit them from marrying each other. Thus, with the publication of the circular decree of 1837. the cited 211th article of the Nomocanon has lost its force and, therefore, the question of the right of a husband and wife to be the adoptive parents of the same stranger’s baby should now, under the effect of the mentioned circular decree of 1837, be resolved in the positive sense of S.P. Grigorovsky “ABOUT KINSHIP AND PROPERTIES”