Parents must consciously decide to raise their child in the Orthodox faith. A child can be baptized at any age, but not earlier than 40 days after birth.
It is necessary to select godparents (foster children) for the child. These are people who are entrusted by the church with the responsibility to engage in the spiritual education of the child: take him to church, pray for him.
Having chosen a temple, find the priest and find out on what day the child can be baptized. The priest will tell you the specifics of performing the sacrament and invite future godparents to a conversation about the spiritual meaning of Baptism, and list what will be needed during the celebration of the sacrament.
For 3 days before Baptism, godparents and parents of the child are advised to fast. Before Baptism, they need to confess and receive communion.
It is better to buy everything you need for Baptism in advance. Candles and crosses must be blessed.
All items for Baptism must be white or cream in color and decorated with Orthodox symbols
What needs to be done before a child is baptized?
Before baptizing a child, parents need to choose good godparents. Then the child’s parents and godparents undergo a special interview with the priest and sign up for a specific time and day when the sacrament will be performed. You will also need to know certain Christian prayers by heart, prepare a baptismal set for the baby, a towel for baptism, and a pectoral cross with a chain. The pectoral cross serves as an image of our life cross, which manifests itself in all sorrows, joys, worries and concerns. If a person carries his life’s cross with dignity and without grumbling, then he will rejoice at his salvation and will be in the heavenly abodes. The task of the godparents and parents of the child is to show him a good example with their lives, to teach him the basic principles of Christian behavior and worldview.
Choice of godparents
- Godparents can be people baptized in the Orthodox faith and who understand the basics of spiritual issues.
- Relatives and friends of the parents can be godparents, but not the parents themselves.
- The recipients should not be monastic people.
- Husband and wife, as well as those planning to get married, cannot act as godparents of one child.
- The godmother must be over 13 years old and the godfather must be over 15 years old.
- Although the custom of having two godparents has already been firmly established, according to church canons, one godfather is considered to be the spiritual parent (father), of the same sex as the child: a girl has a godmother, a boy has a godfather.
- A pregnant woman can also be a godmother.
What you need to know before baptizing a child
The child’s parents and his godparents should know certain Christian prayers, which include the prayer “Our Father,” “Heavenly King,” “Hail, Virgin Mary,” and also know by heart or at least be able to read the “Creed” prayer well. When you come to church with your baby for his baptism, you need to know why you want to do it. Parents and godparents always wish the best for the child. The greatest good for every person is the salvation of his soul. The life that is given to us on earth is temporary and fleeting, it is a preparation for eternity. The eternal fate of the soul depends on how we live it. If a child is baptized, they will pray for him in church and at home, he will be brought up in a Christian spirit, strive to do good deeds and please God, then there will be every chance of saving his soul. And this is the goal and responsibility that is entrusted to parents and godparents by God himself.
The baptism of a child is an event that occurs only once in a lifetime. It should be a step on the path of the spiritual ladder. Going up stairs is always more difficult than going down. The same applies to spiritual life: doing good deeds, especially when we don’t want to, is much more difficult than relaxing and allowing ourselves to say or do something thoughtlessly. The Holy Scripture says that for every idle word, i.e. thoughtlessly, a person will answer before God on the Day of Judgment. Raising a child is a very difficult and responsible task. After baptism, the Lord gives invisible grace not only to the child to grow physically and spiritually, but also to his parents and godparents to raise the child correctly. The main thing is that they listen to the suggestions that the Lord will send through their hearts and thoughts.
How to behave during the sacrament
If 40 days have not passed after the birth, then the mother cannot enter the temple. After 40 days, a prayer of consecration is read over the mother and then she can attend Baptism.
It is good if godparents know the “Our Father” and the “Creed” by heart. During the Baptism, the recipients will be asked to read these prayers. Also, godparents and parents renounce their sins and the devil, and promise to act according to God’s commandments.
During the entire sacrament, the child is held in the arms of the godparent (mother for the girl, father for the boy). Then the baby is handed over to the priest, he dips the baby into the font three times, and the godparents receive the child from the font. Then anointing is performed, the godparents and the child walk around the font three times.
During Baptism, the procedure of churching takes place. The boy is brought behind the altar, they bow to the throne and the child is carried out. Girls are prohibited from being brought behind the altar. At the end of Baptism, children are placed next to the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, and then handed over to their godparents. Parents are also given a certificate of baptism.
If you want to capture the Sacrament of Baptism in a photo or video, agree on this with the priest in advance.
The cross can be gold or silver, preferably with rounded edges
About the meaning and purpose of baptism
The simplest and most obvious meaning of baptism is that it is entry into the church. Just a person comes to the font and leaves, having been baptized, a new member of the church. The church in this case is considered as a grapevine, and a person as a twig, which in baptism is grafted onto the root, begins to feed on the beneficial juices, grow and bear fruit. In baptism, membership is not stated, much less purchased, but a mysterious mystical religious act of a person’s growth into Christianity.
Baptism can also be likened to adoption, but not legal, but rather natural.
The Gospel conveys to us the words of Christ: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” Both the goal and the condition are defined here. First, faith in Christ the Savior, recognition of the need for salvation from sin, then baptism as evidence of this, then the acquisition of salvation. Without confidence in the existence of God, without personal trust in Christ the Son of God, without the desire to enter into communication with Him and be faithful to Him, there is no Christian faith. In other words, without admitting your sins, without realizing that you are perishing without Christ, without wanting to be saved, it is impossible to proceed to baptism. Baptism is an act of personal faith; it cannot replace or create faith. It is impossible to be baptized according to someone's faith.
This awareness was so important for the first Christians that converts were prepared for baptism for many months, sometimes up to several years. This preparation was based on a test of the person's faith and the testimony of the sponsors that they were serious about joining the church. The purpose of the training was to teach the basics of religious doctrine and practical skills of Christian life, such as prayer, fulfillment of moral commandments, participation in community life through one or another service.
Baptism for Christians has always been the beginning of a new life. In the middle of the first century, the Apostle Paul wrote amazing words to the Christian brothers in Rome. “Or have you forgotten that when we were baptized to unite with Christ Jesus, we thereby shared His death: by baptism - participation in death - we buried ourselves with Him. And now, like Christ raised from the dead by the greatness of the Father's Glory, we too can live a new life. And if we died the same death as He did, and thereby united with Him, then we will rise again, like Him. We know that the old man in us died with Him on the cross so that our sinful nature would be rendered powerless, so that we would cease to be slaves to sin. After all, the deceased is freed from sin. We believe that since we died with Christ, we will live with Him. We know that Christ, risen from the dead, will no longer die, death no longer has power over Him. So let sin not reign in your mortal body and do not subject you to its lusts. Give yourself - those who have died and those who have found life - to God and your whole being to God as an instrument of good. Let sin no longer rule you, because you are not in the power of the Law, but in the power of God’s goodness.”
“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.
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.
What the Orthodox Church says
The clergy have nothing against the baby receiving a different name at baptism. First of all, the priest will suggest baptizing the child with the same name that was given at birth, so as not to get confused. It often happens that they want to submit a note or pray for a person, but cannot do this because they do not know what name he was baptized with.
It is now fashionable to name children with names of foreign origin. In these cases, and also if the child’s name has not been borne by any Orthodox saint, a consonant name is chosen. Sometimes parents give the name of the great martyr, who is venerated on the baby’s birthday or christening day. In any case, you first need to ask a clergyman for advice.
As for pagan beliefs regarding the evil eye and damage, church ministers repeat that Orthodox parishioners should not believe in it. For this reason alone, it is not worth giving a second name at baptism.
Should a child be baptized?
From unchurched people you can often hear the opinion that children do not need to be baptized in infancy. They say “when he grows up, he will decide for himself,” “you can’t choose a child’s faith,” “and if he doesn’t believe in God at all.”
This discussion is also relevant among Christians. For example, among various Protestant movements the idea is popular that a person should receive Baptism at a conscious age. This must be a voluntary and deliberate step, which only a more or less adult person is capable of. However, for the Orthodox, the issue is resolved unequivocally in favor of the earliest possible Baptism.
By accepting Baptism, a child has the opportunity to grow up in a church environment with established and strong moral standards. From the very beginning of his life he can participate in the Sacraments. And the main thing is to connect with God through Communion. Baptism is not just a beautiful ritual or a tribute to tradition. “Going to the temple” does not end with this Sacrament. With him, the path to salvation that has lasted an entire earthly life just begins.
An important place in the upbringing of a little Christian is occupied by the example of the pious life of parents. Only under such conditions will a person baptized in infancy, having matured, not make any claims as to why he was baptized and “chose the faith for him.”
Baptism ceremony
Almost all rituals that take place in the church are based on magic. It's important to understand this.
Take for example the ritual of communion: a person is given a piece of bread - the flesh of Christ and red wine - his blood. And what matters is not what a person drinks and eats. The important thing is that he consciously sets himself up to eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood.
In Voodoo magic - the most terrible of magics - this is the blackest rite: to eat the flesh of your defeated enemy and drink his blood in order to make his essence your slave forever.
The rite of communion uses the principle of identification. Identification means the transfer of astral-mental properties from one entity to another. That is, a person, identifying himself with Christ, takes on the properties of an already deceased person, thereby joining the world of the dead.
Baptism is a rite of blocking the development of a person’s essence, a rite of connecting the next donor to the egregor of the Orthodox Church.
This is a way to make a person blind so that he never understands what is happening in his life and in the world around him.
What is baptism?
Let's turn to the brochure “On the Sacrament of Baptism,” published by the Orthodox publishing house “Blagovest” in 2001 and analyze some aspects of this rite.
- “...man is naturally born a sinner and guilty before the justice of God.”
The main task of the church is to awaken a sense of guilt in a person, force him to pray and repent, and keep him in fear.
If this is successful, a person becomes a “servant of God” (remember: “The servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...”), a “slain sheep” and joins the “flock” of Christ’s sheep, and becomes ideologically controlled. Added to this is the energy dependence that is placed on a person during the rite of baptism.
- “If a newborn baby must be baptized, then the priest reads a special prayer over his mother on the fortieth day.”
From this, I think, it is already clear that in the rite of baptism there is a connection with the energy of death.
- When anointing is done, a person receives the “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Otherwise, these gifts are called “seals of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” These seals are placed crosswise on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, arms and legs.
Thus, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th energy centers, which are responsible for the integrity of the will, clairvoyance, creativity and human feelings, are closed), and the organs of information perception are also blocked.
Myrrh, by the way, is also used to anoint the dead.
- Tonsuring.
Small strands are cut crosswise on the back of the head, near the forehead, on the right and left sides of the head. Then the hair is rolled up in a piece of wax and thrown into the font.
In magic this is called envolting to death!
With the help of this ritual, a person becomes completely attached to the Christian egregor, and at the same time to the egregor of magic.
- Churching.
The priest reads the prayer: “Now, O Master, you release Your servant in peace, according to Your word: for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation of tongues, and the glory of Your people Israel” - everything is clear, comments are unnecessary.
In its early stages, the rite of baptism had no biblical basis.
Adolf Harnack, a famous theologian, writes about this:
“It is impossible to directly prove that Jesus instituted baptism, since the words quoted by Matthew (28:19) are not the saying of God.”
It is also interesting to note that baptism is carried out in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, which was not in any of the early manuscripts.
Adolf Harnack points out that “this trinitarian formula is alien to the mouth of Jesus and did not have the authority in the apostolic era that it should have had if it had come from Jesus himself.”
Another point is the inconstancy of the sacrament of baptism in general Christian theology.
Baptism, as it is now understood, means that the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, enters a person and takes away his sins. If we accept this, then it is not clear how, at a later stage in the life of the same person, Satan drives the Holy Spirit out of him and leads the person into sin through temptation.
The question arises: can the devil tempt a person filled and guarded by the Holy Spirit?
Thus, it is quite clear that baptism is not based at all on the teachings of Jesus.
And let's listen to what eniologists say about the rite of baptism.
Anastasia NATALICH, eniocorrector at the Research Center “ENIO”:
“It is believed that a baptized child is protected by divine power, while an unbaptized one is more vulnerable. The natural desire of parents - to protect their child from all sorts of harm - obliges them to follow traditions. Everyone does it, so it’s “right.”
Suddenly something happens, the thought immediately arises: “Maybe because I’m not baptized, and therefore not protected?” You need to understand that the best protection for a child is the parents. This is how nature works.
Conflicts, misunderstandings, and troubles between father and mother are reflected in the child.
As for the ritual, firstly, to carry it out at an unconscious age is a violation of a person’s will.
Christ was baptized at the age of 33. A person must decide for himself whether he needs it or not.
Secondly, the rite of baptism involves water - a universal information carrier that ideally preserves and structures information. What information does church water carry is another question...
It is not uncommon for a person to be given a middle name at baptism. During correction, eniologists, as a rule, see exactly the child’s middle name.
Another parallel channel opens in a person, giving a serious energy load to fate. The same burden arises if a person is named after someone else.
If a child has two names, he begins to live with two streamers, and the passage of fate is somewhat more complicated.”
Any ritual introduces a person into an altered state of awareness. Hypnosis, meditation, breathing exercises, contemplation, defocusing attention, prayer, etc. have the same effects.
But in an altered state of consciousness, a person cannot fully analyze what is happening and there is a very high probability of an alien influence on his consciousness, in other words - zombification.
When and where to baptize?
You can baptize a child both during Lent and on church holidays, with the exception of the main Orthodox holidays: Christmas, Easter and Trinity.
- Baptism can take place in any church you like, but it is advisable that it be closer to home. The less time it takes to travel, the better for the baby.
- You need to find out in advance how and when the sacrament of baptism will take place. Most often, the temple requires a preliminary registration.
- Tradition involves the baptism of a child on the 40th day after birth, but this is not mandatory. A sick, weak child can be baptized immediately after birth, or even at a completely advanced age. Usually, on the 40th day, babies were baptized because until this time the mother of the child cleanses her body after childbirth, the woman is considered unclean.
- Most often, children are baptized in the spring and summer for reasons so as not to catch a cold in the baby. In winter, the sacrament is performed in the heated chapel of the temple. The water in the font is heated to a comfortable temperature for a small child.
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