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.
Sacrament of Baptism
Why is baptism called a sacrament? The whole point is that in the process of undergoing the ritual, a person is, as it were, reborn for spiritual life and becomes closer to God, who, in a way incomprehensible to man, begins to help him achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout his entire earthly life, the baptized person receives saving power from God, which is called grace. And due to the fact that all this happens incomprehensible to human understanding, the rite in question is called a sacrament. There are seven sacraments in the Orthodox Church and you can join one of them, and since after baptism a person has the opportunity to participate in other rites of the Church, over time he can undergo the remaining six sacraments.
Order of rites for christening
Those who have decided to undergo the ritual will probably be interested in knowing how it goes in general, so let’s look at the order of this sacrament. The ritual begins with the one who is baptized three times renouncing Satan. It goes like this. The priest asks you three times if you renounce Satan, to which you should answer, I renounce. Next, the priest finds out whether you want to be united with Christ, and accordingly asks a question about this three times. The question asked should be answered by combining. You probably have a question, what do you do if a baby is baptized, or a child who is not yet able to speak or adequately perceive the world around him? The baptism of an infant, as is known, is carried out in the presence of godparents, and they take full responsibility for the godson before God. Accordingly, all questions asked are answered by godparents.
Prayer "Creed"
After the renunciation of Satan has been carried out and consent has been given to unite with Christ, it is necessary to read a prayer, which is called the Creed. Usually this prayer is read by a priest, after whom you simply need to repeat the words of the prayer. But, it will be right if before the ceremony you read this prayer in advance and delve into its meaning. This is necessary because the Creed contains all the basic dogmas of the Orthodox faith. In particular, the prayer tells how Christ was crucified on the cross for human sins, but since his faith had no boundaries, he was resurrected and accepted into heaven. Some priests make godparents read the Creed, so you'll definitely need a cheat sheet.
Baptism in church
After the prayer has been read, the priest reads the great litany. This is a special prayer, after reading, by which ordinary water becomes holy. Further, the ritual stipulates that everyone who is baptized is immersed in consecrated water three times. In this case, adults and older children are simply washed with water, and infants are completely immersed in the font. That is why it is better to baptize children in a church, although illumination of the waters of the ice hole and various sources is allowed. After washing, a cross is put on the baptized person.
Expenses of godparents
According to an unspoken rule, godparents bear all expenses and also buy the necessary attributes - a cross (usually the responsibility of the godfather), a baptismal shirt and a kryzhma (the latter is bought by the godmother).
In addition, godparents give gifts to the child: these can be personalized icons, a silver spoon “for the first tooth,” a children’s Bible, a gold or silver personalized icon with the image of the child’s patron saint, the Savior or the Mother of God, toys.
- Pectoral cross. The cross can be made of any metal, but most often children buy silver ones. The main thing is that the cross is Orthodox. A cross purchased in a store must be consecrated in the church in advance. But if you buy it in a church shop, as a rule, there is no such need (check this point when buying a cross). For babies, it is better to hang the cross on a string rather than on a chain - it’s safer. The chain is usually purchased much later.
- Baptismal clothes. Kryzhma is a baptismal swaddling cloth in which a child is received after the font. It is believed that it should be white, symbolizing purity and sinlessness. If it is not hot in the temple, it is better to buy a large, warm, white terry bath towel as a cover. There are no special requirements for a baptismal shirt. It should be long and white, but embroidery of a different color and lace are also allowed. The cut is desirable to be the simplest, with a comfortable large collar. This will make it easier for you to change your baby's clothes after the bath. Girls can be baptized in a christening dress. The kryzhma and baptismal shirt will be needed after baptism. And before immersion in the font, the baby is in new, clean clothes that can be easily removed (even earlier, before the service, outer clothing is removed - a jacket or overalls). Another requirement for this clothing: it is necessary to have access to the baby’s feet (when the priest will perform anointing). Therefore, boys need pants and socks, girls need a dress and leggings with socks, but not tights. Take spare clothes, diapers, diapers and wet wipes with you.
Godparents: how to choose the right one?
Baptism cross
Many, when choosing a cross for a ceremony, experience some difficulty in choosing. By and large, it doesn’t matter whether you bring a cross made of ordinary metal or gold to the ceremony. The cross is a symbol of faith that will always remind you that you can save your soul and, just like Christ, you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, it does not matter what metal this symbol of faith will be made of, the fact of its presence is important. It should be noted that it is not at all necessary to bring illuminated crosses to baptism. The priest can illuminate this symbol before the ceremony, but the church minister must be warned about this in advance.
Baptism of a baby: what everyone is silent about, but wants to ask
Before writing this post, I looked at the electronic dictionary:
“ Baptism (Greek βάπτισμα - “immersion in water”) is the first and most important Christian sacrament . Recognized by all Christian denominations, although not in the same sense.”
It’s rightly noted about the unequal meaning! Our daughter's name is Vera, because I am Catholic, my husband is Orthodox, and we agreed that we should have at least one Vera between us.
My husband and I began discussing the sacrament of baptism long before the birth of our daughter, and as you might guess, there were some arguments. My husband won, and I dutifully agreed to baptize my daughter in the Orthodox Church. Everything turned out to be simple and difficult at the same time, so I decided to share my experience with you.
How to choose a church
This could be the one closest to home or the one where you go at least occasionally on holidays such as Christmas, Easter and others. Or maybe any other one that pleases your heart.
Once you are inside, find the person in charge and ask him important questions, establishing a friendly rapport. Usually this is a woman selling candles. As an option, read the information boards at the entrance to the temple or use the temple website, if there is one. You need to know:
- when public conversations take place, who should participate in them and whether the presence of godparents is required. As a rule, conversations are scheduled several days before the ceremony itself.
- where and how the baptism takes place - in the main room or not, and most importantly, how long it lasts
- how much does the ceremony cost? As a rule, there is a free general baptism and a paid individual one.
- Is it possible to choose a date and time and how to sign up for a specific day
- what name will be given to the baby (keep in mind that, for example, Plato and Violetta are not in the calendar)
Ideally, you will be given a memo in which everything will be written - with church contacts and general information. If not, then take the church phone number to clarify any questions that have arisen.
Look around the church, find out what icons and rooms there are, observe how many people are in the church with you, stay there for a while and evaluate the situation.
It is advisable to go to church during a free general baptism to see the whole process from the inside, and at the same time get to know the clergyman and ask him questions.
While on the temple grounds, pay attention to the small store where you may have to buy a cross and a rope, as well as candles. And of course, decide on parking: if there are a lot of guests, you need to immediately think about where they will leave their cars.
Remember the main thing: in this temple you should feel good and calm , and everything else will follow.
Public conversation
As a rule, only godfathers and mothers attend this meeting with the priest, but if this is not possible (as was the case for us - the godmother lives in another city and came only for the sacrament itself), then be sure to go yourself, and preferably with your husband.
At this conversation, you will receive a short sermon about what baptism is and why it is needed, what aspects the rite itself consists of, and what you need to take with you. And there you can also find out a bunch of useful information: for example, that the church allows only one godfather, but for a girl it must be a godmother, and for a boy it is a father. important to know about the “Creed” prayer, which will need to be read loudly to the godfather during the baptismal ceremony.
If the church issues baptismal certificates , at the same meeting you will be given documents that need to be filled out.
Perhaps the priest will be different, since it depends on the schedule - the “rotation”, but in any case it would be useful to clarify the following points :
- how they will baptize: immerse the whole thing or pour it on the forehead
- how much does an individual baptism cost and who should pay for it? In our church, we simply threw a specific amount, agreed upon in advance, into a common ballot box.
- what you need to take with you - the general list may differ from individual needs
- Is it possible to take photographs and video?
Invitation and preparation
- God-parents
Godparents have their own significant role: until adulthood, they are responsible for the spiritual education of the child. My husband and I chose a godmother from another city, which is not welcome, as it makes it difficult to at least receive communion in church every month with the baby. And this choice was conscious, since with her we went through fire, water and copper pipes.
During the sacrament itself, we gave her the nickname “fairy godmother” because she was wearing a long pink fluffy tutu skirt, and I think we made the right choice.
- Cloth
When you get ready, don't forget about clothes: girls should wear skirts or dresses below the knees and headscarves, and men should wear trousers and long sleeves. Even if you are Catholic, the rules of another religion must be respected.
- Photos
Initially, we decided to invite a photographer and did the right thing, since all the guests, and there were 22 of them, were fully involved in the process and were ultimately present in all the shots. You can also order a photographer (an hour will be enough) or ask one of your relatives/friends to take pictures, but this must be done. Because baptism is like being discharged from the maternity hospital: once and for life. Photos will make your memories of this day even more colorful.
- Guests
It is best to inform guests about baptism in advance. Fortunately, this is now very easy to do on VKontakte, WhatsApp and other applications. I took a photograph of the church and wrote information against its background - what, where and when. If you have guests from other cities, you can attach a mini-map from Yandex. Practice shows that it is best to send invitations twice: a week before the event and the day before.
- Goodies
In America there is a joke: “Most children in this country are Catholics because at the end of the baptism they give out a free cake.”
Jokes aside, but treating guests to at least tea after the ceremony is very nice. We were lucky and agreed to have a meal on the temple grounds, since we live quite far from it. And our friends, when they baptized their baby, invited us home, where we solemnly presented them with a silver spoon - a traditional baptism gift - and had a wonderful time. If you can’t invite people over, give everyone some candy.
List of necessary things
First of all, a cross made of silver or gold. It must be purchased in advance.
(hover over the dot to find out the price of the product and where to buy it)
What else will you need ?
- a cross and a rope - it is best to cut it later and make it of medium length
- towel
- 5 candles, for the font and godparents
- clean, dry clothes for a change. For the baby, if desired, a christening shirt - sold in any children's world, it is better to buy on the buttons, and not over the head
- candles according to the number of guests
- Several pacifiers are the best soothing remedy for babies
- warm socks and a warm blanket, you can keep your baby in it if it’s cold in the temple
That seems to be all. Remember that this is a huge stress for the baby, but a great joy for mom and dad. And let no moments (during our baptism, someone was dragging an iron ladder through the temple with a grinding sound, it was the coldest day of the week and candles periodically went out and fell from the hands of guests) distract you and do not affect your peace in your heart.
Author - Vera's Mom
Photos: fotoliza.com.ua
Child Baptism
After the cross is put on, the ritual continues with the reading of texts from the Gospel and the hair is cut. The cut hair is rolled into wax and the resulting ball is thrown into the font where the baptism took place. After the ceremony is over, you can go to the font and see whether your piece of wax has sunk or not; there are many signs associated with this. Before baptizing a child, some people wonder how much the baptism ceremony costs and whether any gifts are given. The sacrament in question must be performed absolutely free; no one and nothing has the right to come between you and God. Christenings in Moscow (churches for baptism in Moscow), for example, are considered very prestigious, but despite this, even in such prestigious churches in our country the ceremony is carried out free of charge. But it is considered good form to make a donation to the temple. In addition, a towel is usually left as a gift to the temple, with which the priest wipes his hands after immersing the child in the font. Next, we’ll look at what they give to a child for christening and what to give for christening. You can find churches in Moscow on the yandex map
Religious aspect of the cost of baptism
The Bible indicates that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, he went to the temple. There Christ discovered merchants. “And he entered into the temple of God and drove out all those selling and buying there, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and said to them: It is written, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”
This quote from Holy Scripture is well known. Therefore, many condemn the presence in modern churches of shops with icons, candles and price lists indicating the cost of funeral services, weddings and the inscription how much baptism in the church costs .
However, the clergy do not call this a payment, but only a voluntary donation to the parish. In some places the donation amount is fixed, in others it is not. In the latter case, you don’t have to put anything in the collection bin at all. In any situation, churches avoid the wording “trade” regarding Christian rituals.
When John the Baptist performed the sacrament over the people in the waters of the Jordan on behalf of the Lord, he did not take payment. When Rus' was baptized, they also did not charge money. But if modern people want to give them voluntarily, there is no reason to oppose them, and there is no contradiction to Scripture
So, according to church books, the answer to the question “ how much does it cost to baptize a child ” is not at all. The same cannot be said about purchasing icons, crosses and candles in temple shops. Such trade cannot be disguised. But there is no need to do this, the priests note.
The answer is found in the same Gospels. In John’s notes, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is described in more detail: “The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and Jesus came to Jerusalem and found oxen, sheep and doves being sold in the temple, and money changers sitting.” From the saying it is clear that the trade was not in religious objects. In addition, the sales people attracted customers. This caused a roar and shouting.
Such an atmosphere interferes with worship services and destroys the peace of the house of worship. Now in churches they offer only objects of faith, they speak in a whisper, without interfering with liturgies and communication with God. In addition, the benches are located in the hall, and not in the main hall.
Icon for christening
There are many customs and traditions associated with christenings. So, if you baptize a baby, then you need to give him a Measured Icon. The icon should depict the patron saint of your baby. It will be great if you give an icon the size of which will correspond to the height of your little person. This gift has a certain meaning. From an early age, a child will remember that he has a heavenly intercessor to whom he can turn at any time. Thanks to such a gift, the christening of a child (son, daughter) will be remembered for the rest of his life, even if the person begins to move away from God as he grows older. Godparents can order the services of the best christening photographer or video shooting services as a gift.
Daughter's christening
For the baptism of girls and boys, there are some separate rules that should be followed during baptism. So girls should come to the temple with their heads covered, in festive, but at the same time in simple clothes. Preference should be given to clothing in the form of a skirt that covers the knees. It should be taken into account that during the ceremony it will be necessary to provide breasts for anointing, so the clothing on the chest must be appropriate. In order not to experience great difficulties in choosing clothes, you can purchase special dresses for baptism.
Choosing a name
Traditionally, a child's name was previously given in honor of a saint venerated on the child's birthday, or one of the saints whose memory is celebrated on one of the following days. Now the baby can be given any name, the main thing is that it is in the Orthodox calendar. If the baby has already been named outside of Orthodox traditions, at baptism he is given a different name, Orthodox. It becomes his second (church) name - with it a person subsequently confesses, receives communion, gets married, and is mentioned in health notes.
Individual christenings
Not everyone can come to church and take part in the sacrament of baptism. For example, people with disabilities may be deprived of such an opportunity, but this does not mean at all that they cannot find salvation from God. For such people, individual christenings can be carried out, since the ceremony in question does not necessarily have to be carried out only in church. In this case, you should familiarize yourself in advance with the procedure for carrying out the sacrament, decide what to wear for the christening and resolve other organizational issues. If you want to order an individual christening in a church, you will need, I would even say, you will definitely need to make a donation. What amount are we talking about? Only the priest himself knows. For example, a christening in the Sergiev Posad Lavra, followed by lunch in the refectory of the kings, will cost you a tidy sum, and a christening, for example, in a small church somewhere in the village, will cost about 3-5 thousand.
General baptism
Each church has a day and time when so-called general baptism is performed. One or two children, or maybe more than ten, can be brought to such a sacrament. From a religious point of view, general baptism or individual baptism are no different. But individual is still calmer for the child and more atmospheric for parents and guests, and is also preferable for the photographer who fulfills your order.
The general baptism interests the photographer as a creative photograph, the photographs of which are interesting in composition and emotional component, which creates an unusual atmosphere of the shots that attract the interested gaze of viewers. The same cannot be said about commercial photography if a book has also been ordered! Imagine photos from a general baptism in your album... I don’t take such orders.
And a little about material things. You need to pay the temple for baptism. For any. General baptism costs less. The price in each temple is fixed for both types. If you want the priest, after performing a general baptism, to personally perform an individual sacrament for you, you can thank him additionally.
And please don’t be outraged that we pay for baptism. Maintaining temples is very expensive. We want to come to a warm, bright church, beautiful, decorated for the holidays, containing Orthodox relics that are dear in every sense? Unfortunately, in Earthly life this requires money.
One May day I filmed a baptism in the Novocherkassk Cathedral. I always arrive early because I don’t like rush and fuss. I have time for new acquaintances and interesting communication. Sometimes I meet colleagues, and sometimes I meet good old friends. While waiting for clients, I shoot interior backgrounds; I need them for the layout of the book:
Font
Details: priest's table
Nothing, as they say, was foreshadowed...
Suddenly it turns out that there was some kind of overlap. My baptism starts a little earlier, and it coincides with another one! Nothing can be moved or moved, since all the clergy are leaving for the event in Rostov.
My parents are upset, but baptism is already beginning...there is no time to think or figure out anything. I rearrange my strategy on the fly, thinking only about creating the kind of photo book that is expected of me.
Well, let's start, beauty!
Reportage portrait
Reportage portrait
Reportage photo
We still managed to take a few shots after the sacrament:
Family portrait
I really hope that the parents were not disappointed by the unexpected situation and received photos that will make them happy!
More photos from this sacrament can be seen HERE
Your photographer for the sacrament Irina Dotsenko
