The rules of the child's baptism in the Orthodox Church

The baptism of a child is a very important sacrament, for which people who profess the Orthodox faith are preparing for a long time. This rite symbolizes the adoption of a newborn in the number of believers, familiarizing him with the church and attracting a guardian angel to him. The baptism of a child in the Orthodox Church is subject to certain rules, which must be known to biological and godparents, as well as other relatives of the baby who wish to participate in the sacrament.

New rules for the baptism of a child in the Orthodox Church

The rules of the child's baptism in the Orthodox Church, both boys and girls, boil down to the following:

1. You can baptize a child at any age, but before his 40th birthday, his mother should not participate in any church ordinances, including baptism. Meanwhile, if the child is in mortal danger or seriously ill, there are no obstacles to organize the arrival of the priest in the intensive care unit of the hospital or other place where the newborn is, and conduct the ceremony right there. If the baby's health is in order, most priests recommend waiting until the moment when he turns 40 days old.
2. During the sacrament in the Orthodox Church, the baby should be dipped into the water 3 times. To worry because of this should not be, because the water in the font is warm, and in the churches themselves there is heating, so you can conduct the ritual even in winter. Meanwhile, in some churches for various reasons this rule is not respected - crumbs can be dipped only once or simply sprinkled with holy water.
3. For the conduct of the sacrament of baptism, priests should not demand a monetary reward. Although in some churches a certain amount is set, which must be paid for the rite, in fact, if parishioners do not have money, their child must baptize for free.
4. Contrary to popular belief, a child does not necessarily have to have two godparents at once. Meanwhile, the girl under any circumstances should have a godmother, and the boy's father.
5. The godparents can not be married or in love, and also be a blood brother and sister. In addition, the biological mother and father do not have the right to baptize their own child. The godmother should not expect her own child. If it happened that a woman baptized a baby, but did not know about her "interesting" position, she must repent of her sin in confession.
6. According to the decrees of the Holy Synod of 1836-1837. The godfather must reach 15 years, and the godmother - 13. Today, most churches require that both godparents be of legal age. Of course, they must also practice the Orthodox faith.
7. Ideally, both godfathers before the rite of baptism must go to confession and have a conversation with the priest, and also learn the prayer "Symbol of Faith". It can be done in any temple, it is not necessary to go to the one in which the sacrament itself will be held.
8. For baptism, you must buy a baptismal shirt, a cross and a towel. As a general rule, this duty falls on the shoulders of the godparents.
9. The name of the child for baptism can be chosen according to the Saints or at his own discretion. As a rule, if the child's name is Orthodox, they do not change it for the ritual. If the name of the kid is not Orthodox, it is in any case replaced with a church one.
10. Baptism of twins is allowed in one day. Despite this, the parents of the parents of the children must necessarily be different.