Responsibilities of a godmother when baptizing a girl or boy

It would be a great honor for any woman to become a godmother, but in addition to the honor, there also comes a huge responsibility. The obligations of the godmother consist not only of directly taking part in the rite of Baptism and congratulating the godson on the occasion, but also in providing him with certain assistance throughout his life’s journey.

About the author About the book

Holy Baptism

A person’s acceptance of the Christian faith passes through the sacrament of Baptism, the meaning of which is to free a person from original sin. This ritual is performed only once in a lifetime. This tradition arose many centuries ago, and although it has undergone certain changes, it has still retained the basic rules and canons.

The essence of Christianity is ritual immersion in water, because it is believed that a person immersed in water becomes cleansed of his sins. The Epiphany rite, like several centuries ago, is performed by a priest. In most cases, this sacrament takes place in the Church, but it is not prohibited to perform it at home. As a rule, Baptism takes from forty-five minutes to an hour. According to established traditions, it is strongly recommended that a child be given only a Christian name.

Requirements for a godmother

Work as a courier at Yandex.Eda (up to 3,400 rubles per shift) leave a request →

The woman who is planning to be taken as a godmother must be warned about this in advance of the ceremony. After all, she needs not only to know the text of the prayer, but also to understand the very essence of Baptism. And, it goes without saying that only a woman who reveres Orthodoxy, who lives according to God’s commandments, can receive such a high honor. She must have knowledge of certain prayers that define the essence of Orthodoxy. First of all, these are the prayers to the “Heavenly King”, “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary”, “Creed” and, naturally, “Our Father”.

Recommendations for choosing gifts

According to tradition, the godparents buy their godchildren a pectoral cross, a shirt and a kryzhma for the sacrament. Other baptismal gifts may include:

icon – often ordered specifically according to the size of the baby’s height;
books of spiritual content;
Gospel;
collections of prayers.

Many additionally present things that do not have religious significance, but serve as gifts for the acquired spiritual child. The godfather often orders video recording of the ceremony and pays for the festive table. Children are given children's silverware - spoons, cups. Girls can be presented with jewelry “for growth.”

Responsibility for godchildren remains with the godchildren for life. They are responsible for education in Orthodox traditions. Choosing worthy godparents will help the child find good friends and mentors not only in matters of faith, but also in life.

Responsibilities of a Godmother

From the moment a woman becomes a godmother, she is entrusted with the responsibility of praying to the Almighty for the support of the baby and helping the child become Orthodox as he grows up. Accordingly, the godmother is supposed to be with the child more often and help him overcome complicated life situations.

The godmother should teach the New Testament and talk about God in accessible words, pray together with her godson in the Church, constantly receive communion both herself and involve the child in this rite. It is also necessary to congratulate the godchild annually on his birthday and Angel Day.

Throughout life, the godmother is supposed to spiritually instruct her godson and demonstrate an example of the Christian way of life.

How to become a godmother

What does it take to become a godmother? Firstly, know the basics of the Orthodox faith and participate in the Sacraments of the Church. Seriously approach the issue of the responsibilities of a godmother, study all the information about the role of a godmother in the life of a child. And at the same time lead a virtuous, Christian life, worthy of imitation for the younger generation.

Becoming a godmother is an honorable duty. If you are confident in your abilities, then there may be several godchildren. But everyone will need to be held accountable before God. The successor can be a close family friend, relative, or just a good acquaintance whom parents entrust with the spiritual upbringing of their child.

Preparing for baptism

Preparations for Holy Epiphany must begin in advance. The woman chosen by the named mother two or three days before this ceremony is obliged to confess and receive communion. On the day of baptism, she should not eat or engage in carnal pleasures. Also, by the beginning of the sacrament of Baptism, the named mother must know exactly the prayers “Our Father” and “Creed”.

It should be emphasized that the future godmother is obliged to make or buy baptismal clothes and a towel for Holy Baptism, and on the day of christening she must wear a breast cross.

Responsibilities of the godmother at baptism

The requirements for the named mother when baptizing a girl and a boy have been slightly changed.

This difference lies in the actions after dipping the child into the water: if it is a boy, then the godfather takes him, and if it is a girl, the godmother takes her. All other responsibilities are the same.

Thus, during baptism, it is required that the godmother be dressed in a discreet long-cut dress, and her head must be covered with a scarf.
After lowering the child into the water, the woman needs to take her goddaughter in her arms and dress her in white clothes.
The godmother should hold the child while walking around the font and during the prayer service, as well as during the anointing with oil.
The godmother must understand that after Holy Baptism she is destined to become a spiritual mentor in the difficult life path of her godson.

How many times can you be a godfather?

A person who decides to become a godfather must understand that he is acquiring a child for whom he is responsible before God, to whom he must be an example. The Church allows you to have any number of godchildren and does not limit the desire to take children under spiritual care. The role of a father or mother before Christ comes with serious responsibilities. You can't get away with christening gifts alone. Taking the baby from the font, the godfather takes care of moral education, personality formation, and bringing him to church.

Important: you should not be offended if a person refuses to become a child’s godfather. Perhaps he does not feel the strength to bear such responsibility, does not consider himself worthy and capable of instructing in Orthodox education.

Responsibilities of the named mother after baptism

Become a courier of the Yandex.Food service right now (up to 3,400 rubles per shift) leave a request →

After the completion of the Baptism ceremony, the named mother must take care of her godson, she is entrusted with responsibility before God for raising the child according to the principles of Christian morality. The named mother should also send prayers for the health of her godson, constantly take care of him, attend church with the child and, if necessary, unconditionally support the child.

The godmother is obliged to actively participate in the spiritual development of the godson, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. Responsibility in raising a child especially increases if some kind of grief has happened to the biological parents. The named mother is obliged to know the prayers herself, read them and teach her godson. The godmother needs to prepare the child for first communion and encourage him to attend church regularly and without coercion.

^ Responsibilities of godparents

Godparents have 3 main responsibilities towards their godchildren:

Prayer room . The godfather is obliged to pray for his godson, and also, as he grows up, to teach prayer, so that the godson himself can communicate with God, thank the Creator and ask Him for help in all life circumstances.
Moral . Using your own example, you must show your child human virtues - love, kindness, mercy, etc., so that the child grows up to be a truly good Christian.
Doctrinal . Teach the godson the basics of the Christian faith. (If you yourself are not sufficiently informed, then there will be a reason to undergo at least public conversations (catechesis).

How is the sacrament of child baptism performed?

Based on the fact that after the birth of a child, the biological mother is considered “unclean”, she is not allowed to be in the Church until the cleansing prayer read by the clergyman on the fortieth day after birth. Therefore, the main burden of responsibilities during Baptism falls on the godmother. She holds the child in her arms, undresses and dresses him, and, if necessary, consoles him.

Despite the generally accepted collection of donations for the rite of baptism, in certain cases priests must perform this sacrament without donations.

As a rule, baptism takes place in the Church, but if the child is unwell, a priest is invited home to perform the specified rite, although after recovery the child must be brought to church for churching.

We must not forget that if the child’s name is in the Saints, it remains unchanged at Baptism. In other cases, the child is named after the Saint on whose day the sacrament is performed.

About the author About the book

Considering that the rite of Baptism marked the beginning of a spiritual connection between godparents, based on the strictest prohibition of carnal relations between spiritual relatives, marriages between the godfather and the godson’s mother are not allowed.

Also, biological mother and father cannot be godparents to their child.

The rite of Baptism itself begins with the priest reading out prohibition prayers, thereby driving Satan away from the child in the name of God. Then the godfather and mother, on behalf of the baptized person, renounce Satan three times, three times proclaiming union with Jesus Christ as God and King. The Creed is recited, which sets out the foundations of the confession of Orthodoxy. After this, the priest blesses the water and oil - oil, which is used to anoint the child.

Having taken the baby out of the water, after dipping it three times, he is placed in the kryzhma - baptismal swaddling cloth (it should be noted that instead of immersing the child in water, you can simply douse or spray him with water). Then the rite of Confirmation occurs and tonsure is performed - cutting off a small lock of hair from the baby. The end of the rite of Baptism and the putting on of a cross on the child’s body marks the birth of a new Christian. A person can be baptized only once throughout his life - this is due to the fact that a person is physically born only once.

Memo to Godparents “Answers to questions”

If the godson is already an adult and himself utters the words of renunciation, then the godparents present at the same time become guarantors before the Church of the fidelity of his words. Godparents are obliged to teach their godchildren to resort to the saving Sacraments of the Church, mainly confession and communion, they must 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, pray and observe other provisions of the church charter. But the main thing is that godparents should always pray for their godson. Obviously, strangers cannot be godparents, for example, some compassionate grandmother from the church, whom the parents persuaded to “hold” the baby at baptism. But you should also not take simply close people or relatives as godparents who do not meet the spiritual requirements that were set out above. Godparents should not become an object of personal gain for the parents of the person being baptized. The desire to become related to an advantageous person, for example, a boss, often guides parents when choosing godparents for a child. At the same time, forgetting about the true purpose of baptism, parents can deprive the child of a real godfather, and impose on him one who subsequently will not care at all about the spiritual education of the child, for which he himself will also answer before God. Unrepentant sinners and people leading an immoral lifestyle cannot become godparents. Some of the details of baptism include the following question: Is it possible for a woman to become a godmother on the days of monthly cleansing? What to do if this does happen? On such days, women should refrain from participating in church sacraments, which include baptism. But if this did happen, then it is necessary to repent of this in confession. Perhaps someone reading this article will become a godfather in the near future. Realizing the importance of the decision being made, they will be interested in: How can future godparents prepare for baptism? There are no special rules for preparing recipients for baptism. At some churches, special conversations are held, the purpose of which is usually to explain to a person all the provisions of the Orthodox faith regarding baptism and succession. If it is possible to attend such conversations, then it is necessary to do so, because... this is very useful for future godparents. If future godparents are sufficiently churched, constantly confess and receive communion, then attending such conversations will be quite a sufficient measure of preparation for them. If potential recipients themselves are not yet sufficiently churched, then good preparation for them will be not only the acquisition of the necessary knowledge about church life, but also the study of the Holy Scriptures, the basic rules of Christian piety, as well as three days of fasting, confession and communion before the sacrament of baptism. There are several other traditions regarding recipients. Usually the godfather takes upon himself the cost (if any) of the baptism itself and the purchase of a pectoral cross for his godson. The godmother buys a baptismal cross for the girl and also brings things necessary for baptism. Typically, a baptismal set includes a baptismal shirt, a sheet and a towel. But these traditions are not mandatory. Often, different regions and even individual churches have their own traditions, the implementation of which is strictly monitored by parishioners and even priests, although they do not have any dogmatic or canonical basis. Therefore, it is better to learn more about them in the temple in which the baptism will take place. Sometimes you hear a purely technical question related to baptism: What should godparents give for baptism (to the godson, to the godson's parents, to the priest)? This question does not lie in the spiritual realm, regulated by canonical rules and traditions. But I think that the gift should be useful and remind of the day of baptism. Useful gifts on the day of baptism could be icons, the Gospel, spiritual literature, prayer books, etc. In general, in church shops you can now find a lot of interesting and spiritually useful things, so purchasing a worthy gift should not be a big difficulty. A fairly common question asked by unchurched parents is the question: Can heterodox Christians or non-Orthodox Christians become godparents? It is quite obvious that they do not, for they will not be able to teach their godson the truths of the Orthodox faith. Not being members of the Orthodox Church, they cannot take part in church sacraments at all. Unfortunately, many parents do not ask about this in advance and, without any remorse, invite non-Orthodox and non-Orthodox people to be godparents to their children. At baptism, of course, no one talks about this. But then, having learned about the inadmissibility of what they had done, the parents came running to the temple, asking: What to do if this happened by mistake? Is baptism considered valid in this case? Is it necessary to baptize a child? First of all, such situations show the extreme irresponsibility of parents when choosing godparents for their child. Nevertheless, such cases are not uncommon, and they occur among unchurched people who do not live a church life. A clear answer to the question “what to do in this case?” It is impossible to give, because There is nothing like this in the church canons. This is not surprising, because canons and rules were written for members of the Orthodox Church, which cannot be said about heterodox and non-Orthodox people. Nevertheless, as an accomplished fact, baptism took place, and it cannot be called invalid. It is legal and valid, and the baptized person has become a full-fledged Orthodox Christian, because was baptized by an Orthodox priest in the name of the Holy Trinity. No rebaptism is required; there is no such concept at all in the Orthodox Church. A person is born physically once; he cannot repeat this again. Likewise, a person can only be born once for spiritual life, so there can be only one baptism. Let me make a small digression and tell the reader how I once had to witness a not very pleasant scene. A young married couple brought their newborn son to be baptized in the temple. The couple worked in a foreign company and invited one of their colleagues, a foreigner, Lutheran by religion, to become godfather. True, the godmother was supposed to be a girl of the Orthodox faith. Neither the parents nor the future godparents were distinguished by special knowledge in the field of Orthodox doctrine. The parents of the child received the news of the impossibility of having a Lutheran as their son’s godparents with hostility. They were asked to find another godfather or baptize the child with one godmother. But this proposal angered father and mother even more. The persistent desire to see this particular person as the recipient prevailed over the common sense of the parents and the priest had to refuse to baptize the child. Thus, the illiteracy of the parents became an obstacle to the baptism of their child. Thank God that such situations have never occurred in my priestly practice. An inquisitive reader may well assume that there may be some obstacles to accepting the sacrament of baptism. And he will be absolutely right. So: In what case can a priest refuse to baptize a person? Orthodox believe in the Trinity of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The founder of the Christian faith was the Son - the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, a person who does not accept the Divinity of Christ and does not believe in the Holy Trinity cannot be an Orthodox Christian. Also, a person who denies the truths of the Orthodox faith cannot become an Orthodox Christian. The priest has the right to refuse baptism to a person if he is going to accept the sacrament as some kind of magical rite or has some kind of pagan belief regarding baptism itself. But this is a separate issue and I will touch on it later. A very common question about godparents is: Can spouses or those about to get married become godparents? The spiritual relationship established between recipients in the sacrament of baptism is higher than any other union, even marriage. Therefore, spouses cannot become godparents of one child. By doing this, they will cast doubt on the possibility of the continued existence of their marriage. But individually they may well be godparents to different children from the same family. Those planning to get married cannot become godparents, because Having become recipients, they will have a spiritual degree of kinship, which is higher than the physical one. They will have to end their relationship and limit themselves to only spiritual kinship. Unfortunately, many people do not know this. And from this ignorance sometimes completely undesirable consequences follow, such as the marriage of the recipients. So: What to do if a man and woman became godparents of one child and then got married? If this happened due to their ignorance of church canons, then it’s not so bad. It is worse if, knowing about the impossibility of their marriage, they nevertheless decided to get married, and at the wedding they did not tell the priest anything about their spiritual relationship. In any case, this issue can only be resolved by the highest church authority in the person of the ruling bishop. To do this, you must contact the diocesan administration with a corresponding petition addressed to the ruling bishop. The marriage will either be declared invalid or the spouses will be called to repentance for a sin committed in ignorance. There is also a slightly different situation when, out of ignorance, spouses become recipients. The question arises: What to do if, out of ignorance, spouses become recipients? The resolution of this issue is also under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop. In such a case, it is worth doing the same as in the case of married adoptees, i.e. contact the diocesan administration with a corresponding petition addressed to the bishop. Sometimes unchurched parents of children, wanting to choose godparents for their children, ask the following question: Can people living in a civil marriage become godparents? At first glance, this is a rather complex issue, but from the church point of view it is resolved unambiguously. Such a family cannot be called complete. And in general, prodigal cohabitation cannot be called a family. After all, in fact, people living in a so-called civil marriage live in fornication. This is a big problem in modern society. People who have been baptized in the Orthodox Church, at a minimum, who recognize themselves as Christians, for some unknown reason, refuse to legitimize their union not only before God (which is undoubtedly more important), but also before the state. There are countless excuses to hear. But, unfortunately, these people simply do not want to understand that they are looking for any excuses for themselves. For God, the desire to “get to know each other better” or “not wanting to stain your passport with unnecessary stamps” cannot be an excuse for fornication. In fact, people living in a “civil” marriage trample all Christian concepts about marriage and family. Christian marriage presupposes the responsibility of the spouses for each other. During the wedding, they become one whole, and not two different people who made a promise to henceforth live under the same roof. Marriage can be compared to two legs of one body. If one leg stumbles or breaks, won't the other one bear the entire weight of the body? And in a “civil” marriage, people don’t even want to take on the responsibility of putting a stamp in their passport. What then can we say about such irresponsible people who still want to be godparents? What good things can they teach a child? Is it possible that, having very shaky moral foundations, they will be able to set a good example for their godson? No way. Also, according to church canons, people leading an immoral life (“civil” marriage should be regarded as such) cannot be recipients of the baptismal font. And if these people finally decide to legitimize their relationship before God and the state, then they, especially, will not be able to be godparents to one child. Despite the apparent complexity of the question, there can be only one answer to it - unequivocally: no. The topic of gender relations is always very pressing in all areas of human life. It goes without saying that this results in various issues that are directly related to baptism. Here is one of them: Can a young man (or girl) become a godfather for his bride (groom)? In this case, they will have to terminate their relationship and limit themselves to only a spiritual connection, because... in the sacrament of baptism, one of them will become the godparent of the other. Can a son marry his own mother? Or should the daughter marry her own father? Quite obviously not. Of course, church canons cannot allow this to happen. Much more often than others there are questions about the possible adoption of close relatives. So: Can relatives become godparents? Grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and aunts may well become godparents to their little relatives. There is no contradiction to this in church canons. But they should not be married to each other. Can an adoptive father (mother) become a godfather to an adopted child? According to Rule 53 of the VI Ecumenical Council, this is unacceptable. Based on the fact that a spiritual relationship is established between godparents and parents, the inquisitive reader may ask the following question: Can the child’s parents become godparents for the children of their godfathers (their children’s godparents)? Yes, this is completely acceptable. Such an action does not in any way violate the spiritual relationship established between parents and recipients, but only strengthens it. One of the parents, for example, the mother of a child, can become godmother to the daughter of one of the godfathers. And the father may well be the godfather of the son of another godfather or godfather. Other options are possible, but, in any case, spouses cannot become adopters of one child. Sometimes people ask the following question: Can a priest be a godfather (including the one who performs the sacrament of baptism)? Yes maybe.
In general, this question is very pressing. From time to time I hear requests to become a godfather from complete strangers. Parents bring their child to baptism. For some reason, there was no godfather for the child. They begin to ask to become the child’s godfather, motivating this request by the fact that they heard from someone that in the absence of a godfather, the priest must fulfill this role. We have to refuse and baptize with one godmother. A priest is a person like everyone else, and he may well refuse to strangers to be their child’s godfather. After all, he will have to bear responsibility for raising his godchild. But how can he do this if he sees this child for the first time and is completely unfamiliar with his parents? And, most likely, he will never see it again. Obviously this is impossible. But a priest (even if he himself will perform the sacrament of baptism) or, for example, a deacon (and the one who will serve with the priest at the sacrament of baptism) may well become recipients of the children of their friends, acquaintances or parishioners. There are no canonical obstacles to this. Continuing the theme of adoption, one cannot help but recall such a phenomenon as the desire of parents, for some, sometimes completely incomprehensible, reasons, to “adopt a godfather in absentia.”
Is it possible to take a godfather “in absentia”? The very meaning of succession involves the godfather accepting his godson from the font itself. By his presence, the godfather agrees to be the recipient of the baptized person and undertakes to raise him in the Orthodox faith. There is no way to do this in absentia. In the end, the person who is being tried to be “registered in absentia” as a godparent may not at all agree to this action and, as a result, the person being baptized may be left without a godparent at all. Sometimes you hear questions from parishioners about the following: How many times can a person become a godfather? In the Orthodox Church there is no clear canonical definition regarding how many times a person can become a godfather during his life. The main thing that a person agreeing to become a successor must remember is that this is a great responsibility for which he will have to answer before God. The measure of this responsibility determines how many times a person can take on succession. This measure is different for each person and, sooner or later, a person may have to abandon the new adoption. Is it possible to refuse to become a godfather? Wouldn't that be a sin? If a person feels internally unprepared or has serious fears that he will not be able to conscientiously fulfill the duties of a godparent, then he may well refuse the child’s parents (or the person being baptized, if this is an adult) to become their child’s godparent. There is no sin in this. This will be more honest towards the child, his parents and himself than, having taken responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child, not fulfilling his immediate responsibilities. Continuing this topic, I will give a few more questions that people usually ask regarding the number of possible godchildren. Can you become a godfather in the family in the family, if he had already been to him by the first? Yes, you can. There are no canonical obstacles to this. Is it possible for one person during baptism to be a recipient in several people (for example, in the twins) ? There are no canonical prohibitions. But technically it can be quite difficult if they baptize babies. The receiver will have to be kept and taken from the font of both babies at the same time. It will be better if every godson has their own godparents. After all, each of the baptized by separately is different people who have the right to their godfather. Probably, many will be interested in the following question: at what age can you become a recipient? Minor children cannot become godparents. But, even if a person has not yet reached adulthood, his age should be such when he can realize the severity of the responsibility taken, and will conscientiously fulfill his duties of the godmother. It seems that this can be an age close to adulthood. Relations between the parents of the child and the godfather also have an important role in raising children. It is good when parents and godparents have spiritual unity and all their efforts direct to the proper spiritual education of their child. But human relations are not always cloudless, and sometimes you have to hear the following question: what if you quarreled with the parents of the godson and for this reason you cannot see him? The answer suggests itself: to make peace with the parents of the godson. For what can people who have spiritual kinship and at the same time be in hostility with each other? It is worth thinking not about personal ambitions, but about raising a child and, having gained patience and humility, try to establish relations with the parents of the godson. The same can be advised to the parents of the child. But not always a quarrel is the reason that the godfather cannot see the godson for a long time. What to do if, for objective reasons, you have not seen your godson for years? I think that objective reasons are the physical removal of the godmother from the godson. This is possible if the parents moved to another city, the country with the child. In this case, it remains only to pray for the godson and, if possible, communicate with him with the help of all available means of communication. Unfortunately, some godparents, after the baby, completely forget about their immediate duties. Sometimes the reason for this is not only an elementary ignorance of the recipient of his duties, but his falling into the grave sins, which make their own spiritual life very difficult. Then the child’s parents involuntarily have a completely rightful question: is it possible to abandon the processions who do not fulfill their duties, who fell into grave sins or leading an immoral lifestyle? The Orthodox Church does not know the rank of refusal. But parents can find an adult who, not being an actual receiver from the font, would help in the spiritual education of the child. At the same time, it is impossible to consider it godfather. But having such an assistant is better than to even deprive the child of communication with a spiritual mentor and friend. After all, such a moment may come when a child begins to look for spiritual authority not only in the family, but also beyond. And at that moment, such an assistant would be very helpful. And as they grow older, the child can be taught to pray for the godfather. After all, the spiritual connection of the child with the person who accepted him from the font will not be broken if he assumes responsibility for a person who himself lost this responsibility. It happens that children surpass their parents and mentors in prayer and piety. The prayer for the sinker or lost will be a manifestation of love for this person. After all, it is not without reason that the Apostle Jacob says in his message to Christians: “Pray for each other to heal, there can be a lot of reinforced prayer of the righteous” (James 5, 16). But all these actions must be agreed with your confessor and get a blessing on them. And here is another interesting question, periodically asked by people: when there is no need for godfathers? There is always a need for godparents. Especially for children. But not every adult baptized boasts good knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and church canons. If necessary, an adult can be baptized without godfather, because He has a conscious faith in God and can independently pronounce the words of renunciation of Satan, be combined to Christ and read the symbol of faith. He completely gives the report to his actions. What cannot be said about babies and young children. For them, all this is done by the godparents. But, in case of extreme need, you can baptize a child without recipients. Such a need, undoubtedly, may be a complete absence of worthy godparents. The godless time left an imprint on the fate of many people. The result of this was that some people, after many years of unbelief, finally gained faith in God, but coming to the temple, did not know whether they were baptized in childhood by believers. A logical question arises: is it necessary to baptize a person who does not know for sure whether he was baptized in childhood? According to the 84th rule of the VI Ecumenical Council, such people need to be baptized in case, if there are no witnesses who could confirm or refute the fact of their baptism. In this case, the person is baptized, pronouncing the formula: "It is not baptized, the slave (slave) of God is baptized ...". Something I'm all about children and about children. Among readers, perhaps there are people who have not yet been given the saving sacrament of baptism, but with all their souls strive for him. So: what does a person who himself is preparing to become an Orthodox Christian needs to know? How can he prepare for the sacrament of baptism? The knowledge of a person about faith begins with the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, a person who wants to be baptized first of all needs to read the gospel. After reading the gospel, a person may have a certain number of questions requiring a competent answer. Such answers can be obtained on the so -called announcing conversations that are held in many temples. In such conversations, the foundations of the Orthodox faith are explained to the desire to accept baptism. If at the temple in which a person is going to be baptized, there are no such conversations, then you can ask all the questions of interest to the priest in the temple. It will also be useful to read some books explaining Christian dogmas, for example, the Law of God. It will be good if, before the adoption of the sacrament of baptism, a person learned a symbol of faith in which a briefly set out the Orthodox creation of God and the Church. This prayer will be read at baptism, and it would be fine if the baptized person confessed his faith. Direct preparation begins a few days before baptism. These days are special, so you should not scatter attention to other, even very important problems. It is worth devoting this time to spiritual and moral thoughts, avoid fuss, empty conversations, participation in various amusements. It must be remembered that baptism, like other sacraments, is great and holy. He must be approached with the greatest trepidation and reverence. It is advisable to follow the post for 2-3 days living in marriage the day before to refrain from marital relations at night. To be baptized, you need to be extremely clean and tidy. You can wear new elegant clothes. Women should not use cosmetics, as well as always, while visiting the temple. Many superstitions are associated with the sacrament of baptism, which I would also like to touch in this article. One of the most common superstitions is: can a girl be the first to baptize a girl? They say that if the first to baptize the girl, and not the boy, then the godmother will give her his happiness ... This statement is also a superstition, which has no reason in the Holy Scriptures, or in church canons and traditions. And happiness, if it is deserved before God, will not go anywhere from a person. Another strange thought that I have heard repeatedly heard: can a pregnant woman become a godmother? Will this somehow affect her own child or godson? Of course you can. Such a delusion is in no way connected with church canons and traditions and is also superstition. Participation in church sacraments can only be beneficial for the future mother. I also had to baptize pregnant women. Kids were born strong and healthy. A lot of superstitions are associated with the so -called intersection. Moreover, the reasons for such a crazy action sometimes indicate very bizarre and even funny. But most of these justifications are of pagan and occult origin. Here, for example, is one of the most common superstitions that have occult origin: whether it is necessary to cross the new attempts to not act in order to relieve the damage to a person in order to remove the damage to a person so that the new attempts of witchcraft do not act, because Sorpowed by the name? Honestly, hearing such statements, I want to laugh heartily. But, unfortunately, there is no laughing. To what pagan density should the Orthodox person need to decide that baptism is a certain magical ritual, a kind of antidote from damage. The antidote from a certain uncertain substance, the definition of which no one even knows. What is this ghostly damage? It is unlikely that one of those who is so afraid of her will be able to clearly answer this question. This is not surprising. Instead of looking for God in life and fulfilling His commandments, the “church” people with enviable zeal are looking for the mother of all evils in everything - damage. And where does it come from? I will allow myself a small lyrical digression. There is a man along the street, stumbled. All - jinxed! Urgently, run to the temple to put a candle so that everything is fine and the evil eye passes. While going to the temple, he stumbled again. Looks like they were not only jinxed, but also damaged the damage! Wow, unknown! Well, nothing, now I’ll come to the temple, I will pray, I will buy candles, I will stick all the candlesticks, I will fight all over the corruption. A man ran to the temple, stumbled again on a porch and fell. All - go to bed and die! Damage to death, a generic curse, and there is still some muck there, I forgot the name, but something is also very terrible. The cocktail "Three in one"! The prayer will not help against this candle, here is a serious matter, the spell of the ancient voodoo! There is only one way out - to be baptized again, and only with a new name, so that when these very voodoo seniorly whisper in the old name and the needles stuck into the dolls, all their spells flew by. They will not know the new name. And all witchcraft is made in the name, do you not know? There will be a fun when they whisper and conjure there hard, but everything will fly by! Batz, bam and - by! Eh, it’s good when there is baptism - a cure for all diseases! This is something like this, the superstitions associated with crossing appear. But more often the sources of these superstitions are the figures of the occult sciences, i.e. Gadalka, psychics, healers and other personality "gifted". These tireless “generators” of new -fashioned occult terminology go to all sorts of tricks for the seduction of man. The generic curses, and the crown of celibacy, and the karmic nodes of destinies, crossings, love spells with lapels and other occult nonsense are used. And all that needs to be done to get rid of all this is to cross. And damage as did not happen. And laughter and sin! But many peck these near -church tricks “Mother Glafir” and “Fathers of Tikhon”, and run to the temple for repeated baptism. It’s good if they say where they have such a hot desire to cross themselves, and they will be refused this blasphemy, having previously explained how the hiking to the occultists are fraught with. And some do not even say that they are already baptized and re -baptized. There are those who are baptized several times, because Previous baptisms "did not help." And they will not help! It is difficult to imagine more blasphemy over the sacrament. After all, the Lord knows the heart of man, knows about all his thoughts. It is worth saying a few words about the name that “good people” so advise to change. The name is called a person on the eighth day from birth, but since many do not know about it, mainly the prayer for the name of the name is read by the priest immediately before baptism. Surely everyone knows that the name is called a person in honor of any of the holy saints. And it is precisely this saint that is our patron saint and sing for us before God. And, of course, it is thought that every Christian should call his saint as often as possible and ask for his prayers to the throne of the Almighty. But what happens in reality? Not only does a person neglect his name, but also neglects his saints, in whose honor he is named. And instead of calling for the help of his heavenly patron - his saint at the time of trouble or danger, he is engaged in visiting fortune -tellers and psychics. The "reward" will follow the appropriate. There is another superstition directly related to the sacrament of baptism itself. Almost immediately behind the baptism, a rite of hair tonsure is followed. At the same time, the recipient is given a piece of wax, into which it is supposed to roll up the cut hair. This wax should be thrown into the water. This is what the most interesting begins. Not the news, where does the question come from: is it true that if the wax with the cut hair sinks at baptism, then the life of the baptized will be short -lived? No, this is superstition. According to the laws of physics, wax cannot drown in water at all. But if you throw it with a height with sufficient strength, then at the first moment it will really go under water. Fortunately, if a superstitious recipient does not see this moment and “fortune -telling on the baptismal wax” will give a positive result. But, it is worth a godfather to notice the moment of immersion of the wax in the water - there are immediately lamentations, and the newly -made Christian is almost buried alive. After that, it is sometimes difficult to remove from a state of terrible depression of the parents of the child, who is transmitted about the “sign of God”, seen on baptism. Of course, this superstition has no basis in church canons and traditions. Summing up, I would like to note that baptism is a great sacrament, and the approach to it should be revered and deliberate. It is regrettable to see people who have accepted the sacrament of baptism and continue to live the former sinful life. Baptizing, a person must remember that now he is an Orthodox Christian, a warrior of Christ, a member of the Church. This obliges a lot. First of all, to love. Love for God and neighbor. So let each of us, regardless of when he was baptized, fulfills these commandments. Then we can hope that the Lord will introduce us into the kingdom of heaven. That kingdom, the path into which the sacrament of baptism reveals to us !!!

How the ceremony goes - step by step

At the beginning of the ceremony, the priest reads prohibition prayers, in this way, in the name of the Almighty, driving out Satan from the person being baptized.
Then the baptized person, or named parents on his behalf, renounces Satan three times, three times declaring reunion with Jesus Christ as God and King.
The Creed is read three times, which sets out the essence of the confession of the Orthodox faith.
Then the priest consecrates the water and oil - oil. Oil is used to anoint the person being baptized, after which he will be in the tree of the Church of Christ.
Three times the baby is lowered into the water, from which he is placed in a baptismal swaddling cloth - kryzhma.
Next comes the Sacrament of Confirmation.
During the reading of the Gospel, tonsure is performed: the priest cuts off a small lock of hair from the child.
At the end of the ceremony, as a sign that the baby has already become a Christian, he is given a cross.

Prayers for a child's baptism;
Rules for baptism - on what dates it is possible;
How to dedicate a cross.

What should a godmother wear? Appearance of the godmother at the christening

It is required to respect church traditions, among others, those that relate to observing the rules of strict clothing when attending the rite of Baptism. It is mandatory for godparents to have crosses that were consecrated in the church.

The godmother is prohibited from arriving at the ceremony in trousers; she must wear a dress that covers her shoulders and legs below the knees, and a scarf on her head. Immodest clothing and flashy makeup are not permissible; it is not recommended to come in high heels, as this will lead to great inconvenience, because the child will need to be held in your arms for a long period.

Is it possible to baptize on critical days?

The date of christening is agreed upon by the parents not only with the priest, but also with the godmother, because this date cannot coincide with the period of the woman’s monthly purification. On critical days, women are prohibited from entering the temple; they are not allowed to participate in any sacraments or rituals.

If suddenly these days come unexpectedly, then you cannot hide this fact; it is better to explain the situation to the parents and reschedule the christening date.

In the event that it is not possible to reschedule the date of the sacrament, this issue is discussed with the priest. Sometimes the godmother is allowed to be present at the ceremony and simply observe it, but it is strictly forbidden to receive the child after the font and kiss the icons.

Prayers and traditional vows may be said. Such a rite is considered completed, and the woman at baptism is included in the certificate as a godmother, while she is also assigned all the responsibilities provided for by the sacrament and church charter.