The baptism of a child.

The baptism of a child is a rite (or sacrament) that allows a newborn to go to church and to God. In the process of this action, a person is endowed with God's grace, allowing him to grow spiritually, to love his neighbors and God, and the human body from that time on becomes God's Temple. Baptism is the beginning of spiritual life, it occurs only once in a lifetime. During the sacrament the child receives a "seed of faith", which throughout his life he needs to develop and cultivate in himself.

The rite is held at the request of parents and godparents. It is important that baptism is performed with faith in God, as it is the spiritual mother and father who will carry out the Christian upbringing of the baby.

No religious parents can be religious people, own father and mother of the child, spouses and young people who are under 13 years of age.

How to prepare for the ceremony?

In some churches, parents need to attend a teaching conversation before baptizing a child . It is necessary to prepare for the baby a cross, a white christening shirt, candles and a towel. Usually the cross and the icon of the guardian angel are given to the child by his godparents. It is recommended before the sacrament to pass the sacrament and confess.

The baptism of a child.

This action occurs in the same way as John the Baptist once baptized Jesus Christ. This episode is described in the Gospel. Baptism is a triple immersion of an infant in water, or, because of the lack of immersion, pouring a child with holy water with the pronunciation of prayers.

Previously, newborns were baptized 7 days after birth. Now it is also possible and even necessary, especially if the baby has some health problems. But here it should be remembered that it is not recommended to visit the temple for a mother until the 40-day period. In this case, she can wait in the vestibule, and the ceremony will take place at the hands of the father or godparents.

During the churching, the boy is supposed to enter the altar through the southern (Ponomar) doors, bow down with him to the throne, carry through the mountain place, and then take it out, bypassing the northern gate. Girls are not allowed to enter the altar. Then the child is put to the icons of the Mother of God and Savior on the iconostasis and transferred to the pulpit. After this, the father makes three bow before the priest and the pulpit and takes his child in his arms.

Name in baptism

This issue must be considered in advance. You can baptize a child under any name. However, in Orthodoxy it has long been customary to call a baptized baby in honor of one of the saints mentioned in the Svyattsy. If the name that the child was given is not pronounced in the list of persons who are innocent, then it is possible to baptize a child during the rite as one of God's saints is called. Or choose a saint whose day corresponds to the date of birth of the child. The name at baptism remains with a person for life, it is pointed out in memos about commemoration, and it is with him that a person participates in rituals.

Until the age of 7, only the parents have the right to consent to the performance of the sacrament, since it is they who are responsible for the baby before God. From 7 to 14 years, baptism is carried out with the consent of both parents and the child. And since the age of 14, parents no longer have the right to prohibit or insist on carrying out a rite.

The Sacrament can be held any day. Some believe that baptism of a child in a leap year is undesirable. However, this is prejudice. You can conduct a ritual on any day of any year. There is also a version that the baptism of a child in fasting is unacceptable. Perhaps this opinion is caused by the fact that during the fast there are often services in the church. Therefore, baptizing a child on a holiday is not possible because of the heavy workload of the priest. In this case, it is necessary to specify in advance the time of the rite of baptism in the church .