When to baptize a child: all the rules for baptizing children in the Orthodox Church + features of the ceremony


Favorable days for baptizing a child in 2022 - when is the best time to baptize / vseodetyah.com The sacrament of baptism is fundamental in the life of every Christianity. From this day on, a person was accepted into the fold of the church. This is the day of a person's spiritual birth. Only after baptism can a child take part in all other sacraments - communion, and over time - confession, wedding, etc.

Therefore, priests urge parents to take a serious and thorough approach to the issue of baptizing a child, choosing his godparents, and even the date on which to baptize the child. Moreover, when to baptize a child in 2022 is not affected by the lunar calendar, folk signs or shaman’s predictions, the church emphasizes.

  1. When is the best time to baptize a child in 2022?
  2. At what age should a child be baptized?
  3. When should you not baptize a child?
  4. Is it possible to baptize a child at Epiphany and Christmas?
  5. Is it possible to baptize a child without godparents?
  6. Is it possible to baptize a child with menstruation?
  7. Is it possible to baptize a child twice?
  8. Is it possible for parents to baptize the child of a godfather or godfather?

Wisdom determines choice

Objections to baptism in early childhood on the grounds that the child is not yet able to make vital decisions are initially devoid of any sense.

After all, in addition to baptism, parents have to decide absolutely all of their vital issues instead of their child.

Without asking his approval, they choose his name, place of residence, clothes, daily routine, kindergarten, school, children's holiday camps, etc.

  • That is, until the child reaches adulthood, the right to choose always remains with the parents, wise parents.
  • Therefore, to the question - is it possible to baptize a child, wisdom answers - it is not only possible to baptize a child, but it is also necessary, if only so that later these parents do not reproach themselves for not doing this at an early age for their baby.
  • After all, infancy cannot be returned later - that very optimal age when baptism is most favorable in all respects.

What to do if parents have different faiths?

Sometimes it happens that the father and mother are adherents of different religions. Is it possible to baptize a child in this case? The Orthodox Church makes no claims. It is important that the mother and father agree among themselves what their offspring will believe.

If there are several unbaptized children, and you want to introduce them all to the faith at once, this is possible. This happens relatively often, and priests even approve of this approach; a joint ceremony makes people much closer. The main requests here are to the godparents.

Choosing a temple for baptism

They prepare diligently for the upcoming baptism - they choose a temple for baptism, agree in advance with the priest who will perform the ceremony, and acquire everything necessary for this sacrament.

  • Parents, as a rule, determine where to baptize a child based on its proximity to home. Sometimes they prefer special places, for example, a monastery church or a cathedral.
  • But some parents, fearing infections or the “evil eye,” agree on a baptismal ceremony at home. But priests do not advise doing this, except in extreme cases, for example, when a child is seriously ill.

In any case, what is important is not what church to baptize the child in, but how responsibly the parents prepared for the sacrament.

When is the best time to baptize a child?

Please tell me...When is the best time to baptize a child? (Now 3 months). Nata_A

  • We decided not to baptize until she herself wants it. In general, infants began to be baptized only in the 3rd century AD; the Gospel does not say anything about the baptism of newborns. And we are also convinced of one thing: to baptize a child “from the evil eye”, “so that he slept better, ate, and did not get sick” - this is the most Paganism. Zhuzha and Sofiko 8 months.
  • The time is now. Later, the godfather will tear his back in 30-40 minutes of holding the baby. Choose to have a warm temple. And if you want to baptize at home, then keep in mind that the boys still need to be carried to the temple to be brought into the altar. Agatha.
  • At 5.5 months, he was screaming terribly, better earlier. Friends of their 1 month old daughters were baptized with us. and 1.5. months - they slept all the time, woke up when they lowered them into the font. And ours was the one who fought for everyone, even the priest shouted down. It was such a stress for both him and me, he didn’t even eat for almost the whole day, but for us this is an exceptional case. Flamingo
  • We baptized our daughter literally two weeks ago and she was less than six months old. She behaved simply wonderful, only once and whined when they poured water on her, and to say “Masha, let’s dive!” For some reason they forgot, and she was offended. The rest of the time she sat and smiled, and everything was interesting to her. But our godmother had a hard time: holding 7 spinning kg in her arms for almost an hour - by the end of the event she was simply useless. But for the godmothers standing next to us with children about 1-1.5 years old, it was completely difficult: firstly, the children were already quite big, and secondly, they almost began to roar in unison. So, IMHO, the less you have to worry about, the easier it is for everyone - him, his godparents, and his father. M&Ms
  • We baptized at home when we were three months old. SLok
  • Psychologically, it is better for a child up to six months, while he still understands little, or closer to 3 years, when he already understands more. In the meantime, you are guaranteed to roar in the church. IMHO. Snusmumrik
  • It is clear from the question that you are a non-religious person. Then WHY do you need this? It’s better to show off or have fun not at the expense of the child. And if you are truly a believer, but not very observant, then it is better to baptize. fri

On what day are children baptized in church?

For the rite of baptism in churches there are no restrictions or obstacles in terms of the time (date) of its implementation.

Are children baptized during Lent and on religious holidays? Certainly! And on Lent, and on holidays, on weekdays and on weekends, on any day of the week, month and year.

The only wish on the part of the priests is that it is necessary to agree on the ceremony in advance, and if baptism is scheduled for the day of the holiday, it is advisable to inform about this 2-3 months before the day of the sacrament.

As for the age of the child, you can baptize starting from the eighth day of his birth, and preferably no later than one year.

“You can cross a child if something bad happens to him”

Baptism, like birth, occurs once in a person’s life. It is impossible to “cross yourself”: consciously committing such an act is considered a great sin. Moreover, one should not succumb to occult superstitions, which involve repeated baptism “from damage and the evil eye.” According to church teaching, participation in any magical rituals is an insult to the Christian faith.

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Even if baptized in another generally recognized confession (for example, Catholics), you cannot undergo the Sacrament again.

Repeated baptism is allowed in the only case: when it is unknown whether the fact of baptism had occurred in a person’s life earlier (for example, in the USSR this was very common during the period of persecution of Christians, when children were baptized secretly). In this case, before the Sacrament, you need to talk with the priest: usually the phrase “Unless baptized” is added to the rite of baptism.

Why you need to be baptized at a very early age

The meaning of baptism is a spiritual sacrament that brings a person closer to God, strengthens him in faith and washes away original sin, which, in fact, alienated a person from God.

  • Baptism is the immersion of a person into spiritual life and cleansing him of original sin.
  • A font of clean water into which a baby is immersed is both water of purification (ablution) and a medium for saturating him with spiritual benefits, spiritual strength and spiritual health.
  • Since a person's physical health is a mirror image of his spiritual health, it is in the best interests of parents to baptize their baby at a very early age.

The church chose the optimal date for this - the 40th day from the birth of the child.

But first of all, the purpose of baptism, of course, is spiritual - helping the parent in raising the child, his instruction, teaching, and the formation of his Personality.

Are godparents needed?

One of the most important moments in preparing for a child’s baptism is the choice of his godparents, who undertake to the priest and the church to pray for the godson, to introduce him to church life and to assist in his spiritual development.

  • Since the main role of a child's godparents is mentoring, they are given the spiritual status of guarantors for their godson.
  • That is, godparents bear full responsibility before parents, the church and God throughout the life of the godson, even when he becomes an adult. Therefore, the question of whether it is possible to baptize a child without godparents immediately disappears.
  • Many are also interested in whether one godparent is enough, or whether there must be two. Of course, one is enough.
  • But, as a rule, two godparents are present at baptism, who are equally responsible for the spiritual life of their godson.

Celebration

We found out what day of the week children are baptized and how to carry out the ceremony. Now let's look at how best to celebrate this event.

After the ceremony, usually all those invited go to the baby’s house. This is where the celebrations begin. Parents set a generous table with treats. According to old customs, it is believed that there must be cookies and pies on it. But no matter how this secret rite is celebrated, the main thing is that the baby grows strong and healthy.

A tribute to tradition and social good

Since the resumption of active church activity, the number of rites dedicated to the sacrament of baptism has increased hundreds, even thousands of times. But many parents treat this ritual as simply an established social tradition, completely unaware of the essence of the sacrament taking place.

  • In such cases, godparents are selected based on friendly relations with them, and not from the point of view of their level of spirituality.
  • Sometimes such “godparents” have no idea why baptism is needed, what it gives and what its meaning is.
  • And there can be no talk of mentoring a godson here at all.

Sometimes parents select godparents for their baby from among their relatives, so as not to take “strangers.”

And there are cases when they choose work colleagues as their godfathers, including their bosses, who, by “getting closer” to their godson’s family, will help his parents advance faster in their careers.

How do babies behave at baptism?

Christening. Did you cry?

How did your children behave at baptism? Did you cry? Were you whining? Or did you endure everything steadfastly? 9.7.2002 Cockroach

  • My little one roared at the very beginning, when all the other kids were silent and good boys. And when she got everyone going and all the kids started screaming, she fell silent. Doesn't want to be like everyone else. Ania
  • He screamed because it was dark in the house where they were baptizing, and we are afraid of the dark. And also because the ceremony dragged on, and we were already hungry, although later we didn’t eat - stress, however. We were 5, and our friends, one was 2 months old, the other was 1.5 months old. - both girls didn’t say a word, our Sanya alone took the rap for everyone :))) Yulia Egorova
  • That's it, mine was - 40 days for my son, 2 months for my daughter, no squeaks. Katerina Kuzovkina
  • We screamed the whole time during the baptism! So much so that my mother and I were ready to burst in and stop this whole thing! Favorite
  • They were baptized at 3.5 months, they cried, I think if they had stuck him with a pacifier, at least for a while, he would have calmed down... Irra
  • We were baptized at 9 months. Everything was fine at first. And they calmly swam in the font. But then they started putting on the chain, and it ended up in a butt. Everyone is climbing towards Temka (all of them are godparents and the priest), trying to put on a chain, he got scared and then there was such a scream that even his mother who came did not help. So for the future, put the cross on a long ribbon so that it’s easy to put on, and then hang it on a chain at home. Juliet (ex Julianna)
  • We were 4 months old, he sat completely calmly in his godfather’s arms for about 2 hours, he was blown on 2 times, he coughed a little when they dipped him in the water, everything was interesting, he spun in all directions, but did NOT CRY. And most importantly, after the christening I fell asleep for 3 hours! Madeline
  • We baptized when our daughter was 4 months old. She slept peacefully in her godmother's arms for almost the entire ceremony. She began to cry only when they put her in the font. The truth quickly calmed down. And then I became even more indignant when I started getting dressed to go out! But she was just tired already... And so everything went very peacefully! Veriko
  • I cried a lot, but then we were afraid of strangers and after the bath I just sobbed... Blueberry
  • She screamed the wrong word. But we are 2 months old. were baptized. Korovka
  • Ours cried periodically when they dipped her into the font, cut her hair, forced Cahors to drink, and after that (Cahors), they passed out instantly / Lanochka

Baptism of a child - spiritual growth of parents

What to do about the wrong approach to baptizing your own child?

Isn't it better to postpone this ritual until the parents realize its true essence? No, not better!

  • Baptism should be mandatory, and at a very early age, even with such a dismissive approach to it.
  • After all, the child is not to blame for the fact that his parents were not entirely responsible.
  • So why deprive him of those benefits that are intended for him from above?


In addition, the sacrament of a child’s baptism in some invisible way influences his parents, calling them to understand the church sacraments and learn the true faith.

Clothes for the sacrament

A special robe is required for the baptism ceremony. This could be a cotton shirt that the child's future godmother should buy. You also need a white diaper, a towel, or, as people call it, kryzhma, in order to wrap or wipe the baptized person. The future spiritual mentor should also bring this.

The godfather must purchase a pectoral cross from the church, which will be used to carry out the ceremony. It is advisable for the baby to be on a ribbon or string for safety reasons. If the cross was not purchased in a church, it must be consecrated before the ceremony. Remember that if baptism takes place in an Orthodox church, a Catholic cross will not be suitable for that ceremony. It is very easy to distinguish them.

Spiritual guides about baptism

Throughout the history of baptism, church teachers have said a lot of useful things about the need for baptism, especially when performed in very early childhood:

“The soul of a baby, purified by baptism, not desecrated by arbitrary sins, in its innocence, simplicity, and goodness is like an Angel” (Filaret of Moscow)

“Baptism accepts us into its bosom, contaminated with sins and, as it were, damaged by rust, and revives us from its bosom cleansed from sin” (Efrem the Syrian) - here we mean the rust of the original sin committed by the first person.

Features of the Feast of Epiphany on January 19

The Feast of Epiphany, or Epiphany, is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on January 19 of each year. This date is not movable, like many other Christian holidays. On this day, the Orthodox world remembers an important event from the earthly life of the Savior - the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, which was performed by John the Baptist.

The holiday received its second name, Epiphany, as a sign of the miracle that occurred during the performance of the Sacrament. At the moment of Baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven on the Savior in the form of a dove, and a voice proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God. Epiphany is included in the cycle of the twelve Orthodox holidays and has 4 days before the celebration and 8 days after the celebration.

The main tradition of Epiphany is the blessing of water, which is called agiasma. The process of consecration takes place both in churches and on reservoirs, and twice - the first time on the eve of the holiday on January 18, and the second time directly on the 19th. It is believed that agiasma is a shrine that can heal both soul and body. Blessed water is sprinkled on living quarters and given to sick people to drink, as well as to those who for some reason cannot be admitted to the Sacrament of Communion. Such water cannot be used for domestic needs; it is stored in a glass vessel near the icons.

Many Orthodox believers make sure to visit the temple on this day in order to stock up on holy water until the next Epiphany. On the eve of the holiday, Christians observe strict fasting - the main meal that evening is a traditional millet dish called sochivo.

It is allowed to start a full meal after the morning liturgy and communion with blessed water.

One of the traditions of Epiphany is swimming in ice holes with blessed water - Jordans, but this is not mandatory, unlike confession and communion. It is believed that such a bath at Epiphany strengthens the body and cleanses the soul.

Photo of a child's baptism

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