The priest plunges the child into the font
Baptism is one of the most exciting ceremonies in the life of a child and his parents. This rite is the first touch to the sacred, the beginning of spiritual life. Everything matters here: the choice of godparents, the temple in which the ceremony will take place, and other attributes. In addition, among the people, some signs and warnings are associated with this sacrament, non-compliance with which, it is believed, can adversely affect the health and fate of the child.
Choice of godparents. The godfather must be at least fifteen years old, and the godmother must be thirteen. It was believed that children who had not yet reached this age were not sufficiently familiar with the laws of Christianity and could not be responsible for the godson's faith. Monks and nuns, mentally ill people and parents of their own children are prohibited from acting as godparents. The godparents of a child should not be married to each other either before or after the baptismal ceremony. On the day of the action, none of the godparents should have sex, it is advisable not to eat before the ceremony. A very important rule: in no case should a woman be a godmother during menstruation, because the child will grow up sickly, prone to skin diseases. In this case, it is better to ask someone else to become the godmother. Such a ban is also known among the people: an unmarried girl cannot be a godmother for the first girl in the family, because after that the godmother will not have a personal life and she will not be able to get married for a long time. A pregnant woman cannot be a godmother either. According to popular beliefs, this can harm not only the godson, but also the unborn child.
Godmother with godson
Responsibilities of Godparents. If you have been asked to become a godmother, keep in mind that this is not only a great honor, but also a significant responsibility. The duty of godparents is the spiritual upbringing of the godchild, support and care throughout life. Try to spend as much time as possible with your godson, play educational games with him, read books to him. Godparents should also help the child find his way to the temple and pray for him. Attend church with your godson, for example, during religious holidays, and remember him more often in prayers.
The choice of the temple and the time of the ceremony. The choice of the church in which your baby will be baptized should be taken very responsibly. Choose a temple where an attentive, sensitive priest serves, who will explain in detail to you all the nuances of the ceremony.
According to ancient customs, the parents of the child should not come to the rite of baptism. But the church went to meet them and now allows parents to watch the action after a special prayer. Baptism of a child should be carried out no earlier than on the fortieth day of the baby's life. The explanation here is simple: the fact is that after giving birth, women should not enter the church for forty days. And since the mother should take communion after the baptism of the child, it is considered better to conduct the ceremony no earlier than this date.
Preparation for the ceremony. The clothes in which you will come to the ceremony should be modest, preferably in a long skirt and with your head covered. A baptismal rite is not the best opportunity to show off your new showy pants or a trendy miniskirt.
Regarding what exactly godparents should do during the ceremony, it is better to ask the priest directly, since there may be some differences in churches of different denominations. In the Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, godparents are required to know the basic prayers: “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God” and “Symbol of Faith”.
As a rule, they take with them kryzhma - a large white towel, always new, or a piece of white cloth, candles, sometimes for a symbolic sacrifice - white bread and red wine.
Baby in christening clothes
According to church rules, the godmother buys clothes for the child: a shirt and a thin cap with lace and ribbons (blue for a boy, pink for a girl), as well as a cap. In specialized stores, it is easy to find ready-made baptismal kits, but it would be much better if the godmother sews such clothes herself. A festive shirt, according to custom, is kept for life as a kind of amulet. The towel is not washed after the rite of baptism, they are later covered with a child during illness, to alleviate his condition. The godfather, as a rule, buys a cross and a chain. Sometimes he also pays for the rite of baptism, but this, of course, depends on the circumstances and agreement with the child's parents.
The rite of baptism in various church denominations
Greek Catholic Church
Baptism occurs through three immersion in water or watering the head. If necessary, this rite can be performed by any believer, for example, if the child is very sick, and there is no priest nearby. It is necessary to pour water on the child, calling on the Holy Spirit with these words: “The servant of God (or the servant of God) is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen." Thus a person becomes a godfather. Although the temple of God is a special place for the performance of all the holy sacraments, therefore it is better to baptize a child in a church. But if there are special circumstances, say, a child is sick or it is very cold outside, then a priest can be invited home.
Roman Catholic Church
The ceremony usually takes place during the Liturgy in the church. All believers take part in the action. They pray for the health of the child, mother, godfathers. Babies are brought to church a few weeks after birth, depending on the state of their health. Although it happens that the priest is asked to come home or to the hospital. The rite itself looks like this: the priest opens the child’s head, pours blessed water on it and, pronouncing her name, says: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.” If an older person wants to be baptized, he must prepare for this sacrament for more than two years, because simultaneously with baptism, she also receives the sacrament of the first confession.
Orthodox Church
Throughout the ceremony, the godparents stand next to the priest and one of them holds the child in his arms. Before the ceremony, a priest in white robes walks around the room where the ceremony takes place and reads three prayers. After that, he asks the godfathers to turn to the west with the godson - symbolically, there is the abode of Satan. After that, the priest puts several questions, which are answered by the godparents. These questions may differ in different churches, but mostly they sound like this: “do you renounce Satan” “Or do you renounce all his works” “Or do you renounce all service to him?” All questions should be answered with “I renounce. »Questions and answers are repeated three times. After that, the godparents should read the "Creed" - a summary of the foundations of the Christian religion, which all believers should know by heart. Then the chrismation takes place: the priest anoints the forehead, eyes, mouth, ears, chest, arms and legs of the child with a cross-shaped movement. After that, the rite of baptism is carried out directly - three times the child is immersed in the font.
Chrismation of an infant
Seventh Day Adventists
Baptism is performed by a baptist - a person who has the right to conduct such a ceremony. This right is passed down from generation to generation. Everyone can be present during this sacrament, because the one who is baptized publicly declares openly that he makes a covenant with God. There is a baptism with full immersion in water, which means: this person died to sin. If a person is sick, he can be baptized at home. The main condition is that baptism should be carried out in water with the words: "Baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit according to one's faith."
Christening gifts. According to tradition, it is customary to give a silver spoon for christening, this is called a “by the tooth” gift. That is, you give the first spoonful of the child, with the help of which she will subsequently be fed. On such a spoon, you can make an engraving - the name of the child or Christian symbols. Icons, spiritual literature will also be an appropriate gift.
For a girl, a good christening gift would be a piece of jewelry that the child can wear when they grow up. You can also give a large soft toy. Quite often, the parents of a child are given special gift sets of children's clothes or children's bedding for christening.
The main thing at christening, however, is not gifts at all, but an awareness of the deep meaning of the sacrament of baptism, because this is the spiritual birth of a new person, which is much more important than the physical birth.
Folk signs associated with the rite of baptism
Do not wipe up water that has fallen on the baby during baptism
To make your child lucky in life, try to treat the first person you meet with a piece of bread or rolls on the way to church.
If a boy and a girl are being baptized at the same time, make sure the boy is baptized first.
If a child screams during the ceremony, this is very good! In some places, it is believed that if a child is too calm during baptism, then he is too good for life on this earth.
It is considered very bad luck for your child to be the first to be baptized in a new church.
Water that has fallen on the child's face during the rite of baptism cannot be wiped off, it should be allowed to dry. Young children, as a rule, really do not like it when water gets on their face and begin to react violently, but those present should be patient and not wipe the water from the baby's face.
There were widespread beliefs that newborn children were most vulnerable to the actions of evil spirits. Therefore, in order to protect against them, the child was periodically covered with a garment of her father before the rite of baptism. To protect against evil spirits, garlic, bread, salt or a piece of iron were also placed in the baby's crib.
It is not desirable that baptism be immediately after the funeral. If it takes place immediately after the wedding, then the child will grow up cheerful and rich.
In order for the baby to grow up happy, healthy and rich, the mother of the child should bring a silver coin, an egg and a pinch of salt with her to the baptismal ceremony.
Perhaps someone will consider that the observance of all these rituals is superfluous, they say, and so it will cost. But, perhaps, nevertheless, one should not neglect these, in fact, not at all complicated rules and conduct experiments in such an important matter as the rite of baptism. After all, the future of a child largely depends on the awareness and moderation of their parents.
