Even long before the birth of the baby, some parents think about the name of the child, choosing a name according to the saints - the days dedicated to the saints. And often called the child by the name of the saint, on whose day he was born. They even asked before "not how to name the baby", but "how you will call it." It was during the rite of the sacrament of baptism that a person received his name. And today we are asking ourselves whether it is necessary to baptize a child at all.
Why baptize children?
So, why baptize a child and why do they baptize children in general? Many parents do not even imagine anything else, even if they do not regularly attend church themselves, do not really know a single prayer. The meaning of the child's baptism is that he is adjacent to the people of God by this mystery, becomes closer to God himself. All sins are removed from him. It would seem, what kind of sins can a newborn man have and why is it necessary to baptize an unreasonable child? Maybe he will grow up and make his own choice? Here it is not a question of perfect sin. It must be interpreted as follows: a man died in sin and rose again in Christ. He receives the body of the Lord during the sacrament, is greased with peace, a rite of churching is taking place. All this translates the spiritual status of the infant to another level. This is what gives the child baptism.
Before the rite of baptism the child is selected by the godparents. It is necessary to seriously approach the choice of candidates, because now all of his life they will be spiritual mentors of the newly baptized. At any moment of their lives they should be ready to support, instruct and prompt in a difficult situation, not letting go of the right path of life.
Can I refuse to baptize a child, some people ask. If the chosen receiver does not feel the strength and is not ready to bear responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child, then it is even better to refuse. After all, throughout the rest of your life you will be bound by spiritual ties. You can not cancel this relationship or change your mind after the rite. The canonical rules do not provide for this. After all, you see, our parents are alone, we can not be born again in the physical
Maybe the priest can refuse to conduct a baptismal ceremony if the legal parents are the godparents. Or the chosen receptor will be of a different religion. According to the canons of Orthodoxy, people must necessarily be perceived as converts to the Orthodox faith. Otherwise, how he will teach him the spiritual laws of this particular religion.
Everyone himself makes his own destiny and his child. But still it's better to bring your baby to church. After all, it's not for nothing that we Orthodox Christians observe these traditions for more than a dozen centuries.