Surely every parent at one time wondered: "What is the baptism of a child for and is it necessary at all, at what age is it better to perform this ceremony and how not to make a mistake with the choice of godparents?" Let's try to answer these questions and learn more about how the Sacrament of Baptism takes place and what is needed for it.
So, what is the baptism of a child for?
Baptism is a Christian Sacrament, during which God's invisible grace is communicated to the child through some visible sacred deeds. This is the main event in a person's life, this is his spiritual birth. It is believed that the Orthodox rite of baptism washes away original sin from the baby and makes him clean before God again. During baptism, an angel is assigned to the child, who will keep and protect him throughout his life. Subsequently, a baptized person can get married in a church, become a godparent himself, and his relatives alwayswill be able to light a candle in the church for his he alth.
When is the best time to baptize?
The rite of baptism of an infant according to the rules is carried out on the fortieth day after his birth. By this time, the young mother is completely physiologically cleansed after childbirth and can visit the temple. Yes, and a baby at this age tolerates the ceremony quite calmly, unlike older children, when they already begin to distinguish “their own” from “strangers” and can be frightened of a new environment and a large crowd of people.
Name calling
Before the rite of baptism, it is very important for parents to choose the name under which the baby will be baptized. It is believed that much in the fate of a person depends on him. It is desirable that the church name of the child be known to as few people as possible. It is chosen, as a rule, in honor of some saint. In the old days, the baby was given the name of the saint whose memory fell on the day of christening, but today parents are given complete freedom to choose a heavenly patron for their child.
Choosing godparents
Acquisition by a child of spiritual mentors, godparents involved in his Orthodox upbringing is another important reason why a child's baptism is needed. The choice of godparents should be approached very responsibly. In this matter, you should not start from the degree of your friendship or kinship with the candidates under consideration. First of all, think about how godparents will appreciate and cope with the mission entrusted to them. After all, their participationends with the adoption of the child from the baptismal font, but, rather, just begins. It is they who are responsible for ensuring that the child regularly visits the temple, fasts, takes communion, and it is they who are called to constantly pray for him.
How is the rite of baptism?
Godparents bring the baby into the temple without clothes, wrapped only in a white diaper, stand in front of the font and repeat the prayers for baptism after the priest, read the "Creed", promise to fulfill the commandments of God and renounce the devil. Then the priest takes the baby from their hands and lowers it three times into the font. Simultaneously with baptism, the Sacrament of Confirmation is also performed, after which the already baptized baby is returned to the godparents, and they, in turn, must take the baby in their arms and wrap it in a kryzhma. After that, the priest will put a cross on him and cut his hair, marking this small sacrifice of the person being baptized to the Lord in gratitude for the beginning of a new spiritual life. After the completion of the ceremony, the baby is carried around the font three times as a sign of eternal union with the bosom of the Church. And, finally, the priest brings the boys to the altar, and the girls are helped to venerate the icon of the Mother of God.
Christening celebration
If now you have understood for yourself why you need the baptism of a child, and decided to perform this Christian Sacrament, then you should think over the program of the celebration in advance. Traditionally, all guests are invited to the house where the child lives and celebrate the holiday with a plentiful feast. Since christening was originally considered a children's holiday, and onmany children of different ages are invited, then there must be a lot of sweets, cookies, nuts, pies and gingerbread on the table. And, to symbolically complete the celebration, you can serve a cake in the form of a cross.
