What to do if a person does not know baptized. Is it possible to be baptized if you don’t know whether you are baptized or not? They say that before baptizing your child, you should confess and receive communion

“Those who approach baptism carelessly and without preparation do not secure redemption by skill in goodness.”
Saint Gregory the Theologian

Indeed, in our time, godparents, for the most part, resemble a man with a weapon in his hands, who does not know at all what to do with it. These are those people who, having been baptized, no matter what age, never became Christians. The grace-filled change that involves giving a person the Sacrament of Baptism did not occur in them. All this is because no conscious faith in Christ was invested in their baptism. Then isn’t the baptism of such people profanation?

We must face the truth directly that the Sacrament, intended to gather the choice wheat into the bins of the Church of Christ and reject the tares, has long ceased to correspond to this purpose. We must honestly say that, for the most part, we baptize people who are not inclined to live according to the commandments of Christ, who do not plan to remain in His Church. Even the recent demand by the hierarchy for mandatory announcement and preliminary preparation of people before baptism does not change the situation. People, having formally read something, having attended interviews, taking advantage of the condescension of most priests, who are already satisfied with at least this, are baptized and then immediately forget about the temple. And some, in order to avoid unnecessary work for them, look for priests who baptize immediately, upon request.

For such people, baptism is an end in itself, and Christ, for the sake of Whom a person must be baptized, is something superfluous and unnecessary. There is some kind of pagan, consumerist attitude towards the gifts of the Church. So can such baptisms be considered valid at all? An example from the church history of the Middle Ages casts doubt on this.

In the 12th century, several Turks came to the Patriarchal Synod in Constantinople and declared that they were Christians. “How did it happen that you, a Turk, a Mohammedan, were baptized?” - they were asked. They replied that they, the Turks, “have a custom of having their children baptized by Orthodox priests,” because, in their opinion, “every newborn child contains an evil spirit and stinks like a dog” until the child receives Christian baptism.

The Synod did not recognize such baptism, because they sought it not as a means that cleanses from all spiritual filth, enlightens and sanctifies a person, not with good Orthodox intentions, but as a kind of “bodily medicine and sorcery” (Bishop Nikodim Milash). In addition, those Turks continued to raise their children in the Mohammedan faith; they, too, were not interested in Jesus Christ, as such. What a similarity between the 12th and 21st centuries regarding Truth!

Maybe it’s enough to desecrate a church shrine?

Isn't it time to put a barrier to an unreasonable attitude towards the Sacrament of Baptism? Maybe we need to remember the first centuries of Christianity and use the Sacrament of baptism only within the church community? In any case, this will be more consistent with God's truth. Maybe it’s enough to desecrate a church shrine? There is no need to delude yourself - a baptized person does not yet mean a Christian. Will the righteous wrath of God befall us for this nonsense?

But in order to correct this situation, the church people must raise their spiritual and moral demands on themselves. For only our condescending attitude towards our own weaknesses allowed this absurdity to happen, when the great Sacrament of the Church became so accessible that sometimes simply unrepentant sinners lay claim to it. Money and baptism must become mutually exclusive. A certain choice must be made - between God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

What is Baptism as a Sacrament? How does it happen?

Baptism is a Sacrament in which a believer, by immersing his body three times in water with the invocation of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, dies to a carnal, sinful life and is reborn from the Holy Spirit into a spiritual life. In Baptism, a person is cleansed of original sin - the sin of his forefathers, communicated to him through birth. The sacrament of Baptism can be performed on a person only once (just as a person is born only once).

The baptism of an infant is performed according to the faith of the recipients, who have the sacred duty to teach children the true faith and help them become worthy members of the Church of Christ.

The baptismal kit for your baby should be the one that is recommended to you in the church where you will be baptizing him. They can easily tell you what you need. Mainly it is a baptismal cross and a baptismal shirt. The baptism of one baby lasts about forty minutes.

This sacrament consists of Announcements(reading special prayers over those preparing for baptism - “prohibitions”), renunciation of Satan and union with Christ, that is, union with Him, and confession of the Orthodox faith. Here the godparents must pronounce the appropriate words for the baby.

Immediately after the end of the Announcement, the follow-up begins Baptism. The most noticeable and important moment is the three-time immersion of the baby in the font with the words pronounced: “The servant of God (servant of God) (name) is baptized in the name of the Father, amen. And the Son, amen. And the Holy Spirit, amen." At this time, the godfather (of the same sex as the person being baptized), taking a towel in his hands, prepares to receive his godfather from the font. The one who has received Baptism then dresses in new white clothes and puts a cross on him.

Immediately after this, another Sacrament is performed - Confirmation, in which the person being baptized, when the parts of the body are anointed with the consecrated Myrrh, in the name of the Holy Spirit, is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, strengthening him in spiritual life. After this, the priest and godparents with the newly baptized person walk around the font three times as a sign of the spiritual joy of union with Christ for eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then an excerpt from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans is read, dedicated to the topic of baptism, and an excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew - about the sending of the Apostles by the Lord Jesus Christ to the worldwide preaching of the faith with the command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, the priest washes the myrrh from the body of the baptized person with a special sponge dipped in holy water, saying the words: “Thou art justified. You have become enlightened. You are sanctified. You have washed yourself in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You were baptized. You have become enlightened. You have been anointed with chrism. You have been sanctified in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.”

Next, the priest cuts the hair of the newly baptized in a cross shape (on four sides) with the words: “The servant of God (name) is tonsured in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen,” puts the hair on a wax cake and lowers it into the font. tonsure symbolizes submission to God and at the same time marks the small sacrifice that the newly baptized person brings to God in thanksgiving for the beginning of a new, spiritual life. After making petitions for godparents and the newly baptized, the Sacrament of Baptism ends.

This is usually immediately followed by churching, denoting the first offering to the temple. The baby, taken by the priest in his arms, is carried through the temple, brought to the Royal Doors and brought into the altar (boys only), after which he is given to his parents. Churching symbolizes the dedication of the baby to God according to the Old Testament model. After baptism, the baby should be given communion.

Why are only boys brought into the altar?

In principle, boys should not be included there either, this is just a tradition.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council determined: Let no one belonging to the ranks of the laity be allowed to enter the sacred altar... (rule 69). The famous canonist Bishop. gives the following comment to this resolution: “In view of the mystery of the bloodless sacrifice offered at the altar, it was forbidden, from the earliest times of the church, to enter the altar to anyone who did not belong to the clergy. “The altar is reserved for sacred persons only.”

They say that before baptizing your child, you should confess and receive communion.

Even without regard to the Baptism of a child, Orthodox Christians are called by the Church to regularly begin the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. If you have not done this before, then it would be good to take the first step towards a full church life before the Baptism of your own baby.

This is not a formal requirement, but a natural internal norm - because, introducing a child to church life through the sacrament of Baptism, introducing him into the fence of the Church - why should we ourselves remain outside it? For an adult who has not repented for many years, or has never in his life, and has not begun to accept the Holy Mysteries of Christ, is at this moment a very conditional Christian. Only by motivating himself to life in the sacraments of the Church does he actualize his Christianity.

What is the Orthodox name for a baby?

The right to choose a child's name belongs to his parents. Lists of names of saints - calendars - can help you in choosing a name. In the calendar, names are arranged in calendar order.

There is no unambiguous church tradition for choosing names - often parents choose a name for the baby from the list of those saints who are glorified on the very day of the child’s birth, or on the eighth day, when the rite of naming is performed, or during the period of forty days (when the Sacrament of Baptism is usually performed). It is wise to choose a name from the church calendar list of names that are fairly close to the child's birthday. But, however, this is not some kind of obligatory church institution, and if there is some deep desire to name a child in honor of this or that saint, or some kind of vow on the part of the parents, or something else, then this is not an obstacle at all .

When choosing a name, you can familiarize yourself not only with what this or that name means, but also with the life of the saint in whose honor you want to name your baby: what kind of saint he is, where and when he lived, what was his way of life, on what days is his memory celebrated?
Cm. .

Why do some churches close the church during the sacrament of Baptism (without doing this during other sacraments) or ask people who call themselves Orthodox not to enter it?

Because during the Baptism of an adult, it is not very pleasant for the person being baptized or the one being baptized if strangers look at him, who is sufficiently exposed physically, and observe the greatest sacrament with the curious gaze of those who have no prayerful relationship with it. It seems that a prudent Orthodox person will not simply go as a spectator to someone else’s Baptism if he was not invited there. And if he lacks tact, then the church ministers act prudently by removing the curious from the church while the sacrament of Baptism is being performed.

What should come first - faith or Baptism? Can you be baptized to believe?

Baptism is a Sacrament, that is, a special action of God, in which, with the response of the desire of the person himself (certainly the person himself), he dies to a sinful and passionate life and is born into a new one - life in Christ Jesus.

On the other hand, deep faith is what a baptized and churched person should strive for throughout his life. All people are sinners, and one must strive to acquire faith in such a way that works are combined with it. Faith, among other things, is an effort of will. In the Gospel, one person who met the Savior exclaimed: “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief." () This man already believed in the Lord, but he wanted to believe even more, stronger, more decisively.

It will be easier to strengthen your faith if you live the church life and not look at it from the outside.

Why do we baptize babies? They still can’t choose their own religion and consciously follow Christ?

A person is saved not on his own, not as an individual who unilaterally decides how to be and act in this life, but as a member of the Church, a community in which everyone is responsible for each other. Therefore, an adult can vouch for the baby and say: I will try to make sure that he grows up to be a good Orthodox Christian. And while he cannot answer for himself, his godfather and godmother pledge their faith for him.

Does a person have the right to be baptized at any age?

Baptism is possible for a person of any age on any day of the year.

At what age is it better to baptize a child?

A person can be baptized at any time from his first breath to his very last breath. In ancient times, there was a custom to baptize a child on the eighth day of birth, but this was not a mandatory rule.
It is most convenient to baptize a child during the first months of birth. At this time, the baby still does not distinguish his mother from the “strange aunt” who will hold him in her arms during Baptism, and the “bearded uncle” who will always come up to him and “do something with him” is not scary for him.
Older children already perceive reality quite consciously, they see that they are surrounded by people unfamiliar to them, and that their mother is either not there at all or for some reason she does not come to them, and may experience anxiety about this.

Is it necessary to be baptized again if a person was “baptized by his grandmother at home”?

Baptism is the only Sacrament of the Church that, in case of emergency, can be performed by a layman. During the years of persecution, cases of such baptism were not uncommon - there were few churches and priests.
In addition, in earlier times, midwives sometimes baptized newborn babies if their lives were in danger: for example, if the child received a birth injury. This baptism is usually called "immersion." If a child died after such baptism, he was buried as a Christian; if he survived, then he was brought to the temple and the priest supplemented the baptism performed by the layman with the necessary prayers and sacred rites.
Thus, in any case, a person baptized by a layman must “complete” his baptism in the temple. However, in earlier times, midwives were specially trained in how to perform baptism correctly; in the Soviet years, it is often completely unknown who baptized and how, whether this person was trained, whether he knew what and how to do. Therefore, for the sake of confidence in the actual performance of the Sacrament, priests most often baptize such “immersed” as if there was a doubt about whether they were baptized or not.

Can parents attend Baptism?

They may well not just be present, but pray together with the priest and godparents for their baby. There are no obstacles to this.

When is Baptism performed?

Baptism can take place at any time. However, in churches the procedure for performing Baptism is established differently depending on the internal routine, opportunities and circumstances. Therefore, you should worry in advance about finding out about the procedure for performing Baptism in the church in which you want to baptize your child.

What does an adult who wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism need?

For an adult, the basis for Baptism is the presence of a sincere Orthodox faith.
The purpose of Baptism is union with God. Therefore, the one who comes to the baptismal font needs to decide for himself very important questions: does he need it and is he ready for it? Baptism is inappropriate if a person uses it to seek some earthly blessings, success, or hopes to solve his family problems. Therefore, another important condition for Baptism is a strong desire to live as a Christian.
After the Sacrament has been performed, a person must begin a full-fledged church life: regularly go to church, learn about divine services, pray, that is, learn to live in God. If this does not happen, Baptism will have no meaning.
It is necessary to prepare for Baptism: at a minimum, carefully read these public conversations, read at least one of the Gospels, know by heart or close to the text the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.
It would be simply wonderful to prepare for confession: to remember your sins, wrongs and bad inclinations. Many priests do very correctly by confessing the catechumens before Baptism.

Is it possible to baptize during Lent?

Yes, you can. Moreover, in earlier times, fasts served as preparation not only for a specific holiday, but also for joining new members, i.e. to the Baptism of the Catechumens. Thus, in the ancient Church people were baptized mainly on the eve of major Church holidays, including during Lent. Traces of this are still preserved in the peculiarities of the services of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Easter and Pentecost.

In what case can a priest refuse Baptism to a person?

A priest not only can, but must refuse Baptism to a person if he does not believe in God as the Orthodox Church teaches to believe, since faith is an indispensable condition for Baptism.
Among the reasons for refusal of Baptism may be a person’s unpreparedness and a magical attitude towards Baptism. The magical attitude towards Baptism is the desire to use it to protect yourself from the forces of evil, to get rid of “damage” or the “evil eye”, and to receive all kinds of spiritual or material “bonuses”.
People who are drunk or leading an immoral lifestyle will not be baptized until they repent and reform.

What to do if it is known for sure that a person has been baptized, but no one remembers the name with which he was baptized? Baptize a second time?

This situation occurs quite often. There is no need to baptize a person a second time - you can only baptize once. But you can give a person a new name. Any priest has the right to do this simply by confessing a person and giving him communion with a new name.

How many times can you be baptized?

Definitely - once. Baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person can only be born once. The Orthodox Creed says: “I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.” Secondary baptism is unacceptable.

What to do if you don’t know whether you are baptized or not, and there is no one to ask?

You need to be baptized, but at the same time warn the priest that you may be baptized, but you don’t know for sure. The priest will perform Baptism according to a special rite for such cases.

About godparents (successors)

What responsibilities do godfathers and mothers have towards their godchildren?

Godparents have three main responsibilities towards their godchildren:
1. Prayer room. The godfather is obliged to pray for his godson, and also, as he grows up, to teach prayer, so that the godson himself can communicate with God and ask Him for help in all his life circumstances.
2. Doctrinal. Teach the godson the basics of the Christian faith.
3. Moral. Using your own example, show your godson human virtues - love, kindness, mercy, and others, so that he grows into a truly good Christian.

How should future godparents prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism?

Godparents are guarantors for their godson. They are entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the spiritual and moral education of their godson. His godparents teach him the basics of the Orthodox faith, prayer and the way of life of a true Christian. Consequently, the godparents themselves must know both the Gospel and church life well, have good prayer practice, and regularly participate in divine services and Church Sacraments.
Have you decided to become a godfather, but do not meet the requirements? Make it a reason to start moving in that direction.
First, listen to public conversations in the temple or on.
Then read either the Gospel of Mark or Luke. Choose for yourself - the first is shorter, the second is clearer. You can also find them in; more precisely, in the New Testament.
Read the text carefully - during Baptism, one of the godparents reads it by heart or from a sheet of paper. It would also be good if by the time of Baptism you knew it by heart.
After Baptism, deepen and expand your knowledge of Biblical history, pray at home and participate in church services - this way you will gradually acquire the practical skills of a Christian.

Is it possible to become a godfather in absentia without participating in the Baptism of an infant?

The original name for godparents is godparents. They received this name because they “received” the person being baptized from the font; at the same time, the Church, as it were, delegates to them part of its care for the new Christian and teaching him Christian life and morality, therefore, not only is the presence of godparents required during Baptism and their active participation, but also their conscious desire to take on such responsibility.

Can representatives of other religions become godparents?

Definitely not.
In Baptism, the recipients testify to the Orthodox faith, and according to their faith, the baby receives the Sacrament. This alone makes it impossible for representatives of other religions to become recipients of Baptism.
In addition, godparents take on the responsibility of raising their godson in Orthodoxy. Representatives of other religions cannot fulfill these duties because for us Christianity is not a theory, but life itself in Christ. This life can only be taught by those who live this way themselves.
The question arises: can representatives of other Christian denominations, for example Catholics or Lutherans, then become godparents? The answer is negative - they cannot for the same reasons. Only Orthodox Christians can become recipients of Baptism.

What things should you bring with you to Baptism and which godparent should do it?

For Baptism you will need a baptismal set. As a rule, this is a pectoral cross with a chain or ribbon, several candles, and a baptismal shirt. The cross can also be purchased in regular stores, but then you should ask a priest to consecrate it.
You will need a towel or diaper to wrap and dry your baby after the bath.
According to an unwritten tradition, the godfather acquires a cross for a boy, and the godmother for a girl. Although this rule does not have to be followed.

How many godfathers and mothers should a person have?

One. As a rule, they are the same gender as the child, that is, for a boy - godfather, and for a girl - godmother.
The possibility of having both a godfather and a godmother for a child is a pious custom.
It is not customary to have more than two receivers.

How to choose godparents for a child?

The main criterion for choosing a godfather or godmother should be whether this person will subsequently be able to help in the Christian education of the person received from the font. The degree of acquaintance and simply the friendliness of the relationship are also important, but this is not the main thing.
In former times, concern for expanding the circle of people who would seriously help the newborn child made it undesirable to invite close relatives as godparents. It was believed that they, due to natural kinship, would help the child. For this reason, natural grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts rarely became recipients. However, this is not prohibited, and is now becoming more and more common.

Can a pregnant woman become a godmother?

Maybe. Pregnancy is not an obstacle to adoption. In addition, if a pregnant woman herself wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, then she can do so.

Who can't be a godfather?

Minors; Gentiles; mentally ill; completely ignorant of the faith; persons in a state of intoxication; A married couple cannot be godparents for the same child.

What should godparents give to their godson?

This question lies in the area of human customs and does not concern spiritual life, regulated by Church rules and canons. In other words, this is a personal matter for the godparents. You don't have to give anything at all.
However, it seems that the gift, if it does take place, should be useful and remind of Baptism. This could be the Bible or the New Testament, a pectoral cross or an icon of the saint after whom the child is named. There are many options.

If godparents do not fulfill their duties, is it possible to take other godparents and what needs to be done for this?

In the literal sense of the word - it is impossible. Only the one who received the child from the font will be the godfather. However, in a sense, this can be done.
Let's draw a parallel with an ordinary birth: let's say a father and mother, having given birth to their baby, abandon him, do not fulfill their parental responsibilities and do not care for him. In this case, someone can adopt the child and raise him as his own. This person will become, although adopted, a parent in the true sense of the word.
The same is true in spiritual birth. If the real godparents do not fulfill their duties, and there is a person who can and wants to take on their function, then he should receive a blessing for this from the priest and after that begin to take full care of the child. And you can also call him “godfather”.
In this case, the child cannot be baptized a second time.

Can a young man become godfather to his bride?

Definitely not. A spiritual relationship arises between the godparent and godson, which excludes the possibility of marriage.

How many times can a person become a godfather?

As many as he deems possible.
Being a godparent is a lot of responsibility. Some may dare to take on such responsibility once or twice, some five or six, and some perhaps ten. Everyone determines this measure for themselves.

Can a person refuse to become a godfather? Wouldn't that be a sin?

Maybe. If he feels that he is not ready to bear responsibility for the child, then it will be more honest to the parents and to the child and to himself to say so directly than to formally become a godfather and not fulfill his duties.

Is it possible to become a godfather for two or three children from the same family?

Yes, you can. There are no canonical obstacles to this.

– If a person does not remember whether he was baptized as a child, and no one can say for sure what to do in this case?

– If there is even the slightest doubt whether you are baptized or not, of course, you need to be baptized. And perceive this not as a second baptism, but as the first and last.

Some priests in this case baptize with the addition of the phrase: “If not baptized, such and such a servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” But, in my opinion, the Lord does not need to be told why we baptize. He sees everything and knows everything Himself.

By the way, such a situation happened in my life. I became a church member during my school years. And only when I became a church member did I find out that my great-grandmother baptized me as a child. And not in the church, but by herself. In Soviet times, such a practice occurred - in those places where there were no churches, or when there was no opportunity to take a child to church, baptism was performed by believing relatives. Now this practice also exists, but only in case of mortal danger. When there is a real threat to life, baptism can be performed by any Orthodox Christian, but subsequently it must be supplemented by confirmation.

The great-grandmother was a very pious churchgoer; her brother, a hieromonk, accepted death as a new martyr. There was no doubt about her faith, but as to how the baptism was performed, questions remained - whether she was anointed later or not.

At that time, I was already helping at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and was in close contact with the Lavra monks. And they said that if there is even the slightest doubt, you definitely need to be baptized.

And I was baptized, in the Dnieper. It was March 1, 1991. The baptism was performed by the current governor of the Kyiv Goloseevsk Hermitage, Father Isaac - he was the only one who agreed to go to the Dnieper to baptize at this time of year.

I wanted it to be done right - with a three-time total immersion. But in Kyiv at that time there were no baptisteries, and the only such opportunity to be baptized was in the river. I didn’t want to put it off either: how is it possible not to participate in the sacraments? Before that, I confessed and received communion, but since I learned about doubts regarding my baptism, I no longer dared to take communion.

I remember that a strong icy wind was blowing - Father Isaac’s veil was wrapped up and fluttering like a flag. Ice floes floated past us along the river. I was baptized three times by immersion, immediately after that I went to the Liturgy and received communion.

What’s interesting is that although the water was icy, neither I nor the baptizing monk had any health problems: the grace of the sacrament protected...

“I considered it necessary to baptize without recipients”

– Vladyka, and now about the successors... My godson’s birthday is approaching, and when I get ready to visit, I worry that I see him very rarely and never take him to communion. I feel responsible and guilty, but I cannot understand what exactly I am responsible for and what exactly I am guilty of.

– This is exactly the case when it is not the result that is important, but the process. The Lord guides each person by His providence, and only God knows whether the soul of the godson will be saved. But at the Last Judgment He will ask the godfather what he did to ensure that this soul was saved, and what efforts he made so that the child would become an Orthodox Christian and inherit Eternal Life.

Well, besides, you need to understand that the function of the recipient is not to take you to communion.

- What then? The role of godparents is now so blurred that it is generally unclear what they should do.

– A very interesting question. In my practice, there was a case when young parents asked to baptize their child. They were faced with a problem: none of their relatives or acquaintances were suitable for the role of successor. “We are now becoming churchgoers ourselves, trying to live in the Orthodox way,” they explained. – Knowing what the responsibilities of the receivers are, we understand that there is no one who could take on these functions. All our friends and relatives are kind and good people, but none of them lives a church life.”

The parents understood that if they took godparents “for show,” it would be a profanation of the sacrament. And in this case, I considered it necessary to baptize the child without godparents.

We know that infants are baptized according to the faith of those who bring them to baptism. As a rule, parents bring it, and children also receive education in Orthodoxy, in any case, the “main content” in the family. The godparent takes part in the life of the godson extremely rarely.

The only case known to me was with one of the brethren of our monastery. During the period of his churching, his godmother, a believing woman, helped him a lot. She really worked hard for him to set on the path to Christ, and really fully fulfilled the functions that a recipient should bear. But this, I repeat, is the only such story.

But, of course, it is better to adhere to the practice that has existed for centuries in the Orthodox Church: when, at baptism, the recipient or recipient takes responsibility before the Lord for the fact that the child will grow up as an Orthodox Christian.

“You baptize, and then we’ll see...”

– What exactly do godparents need to do for this?

– According to the statutes of the Orthodox Church, according to ancient tradition, a boy is given a successor, and a girl is given a successor. Now, as a rule, each child has two godparents. And in some regions there are several pairs of godparents. But this is already a human addition - people simply want to become related to the family of the baptized baby. This has nothing in common with the Orthodox Christian tradition, and is not conditioned in any way from a spiritual point of view.

In general, in my opinion, the institution of godparenthood in our time is deeply and seriously profaned by its attitude towards the responsibilities of godparents. In many ways, the blame for this lies with us, the clergy. We do not pay enough attention to working with people who come to church with the desire to baptize a child.

By the way, in our Ioninsky monastery and in the monastery in the village of Neshcherov near Kiev, a conversation with parents and adoptive parents is mandatory. In Neshcherovo there are even several conversations - both with those being married and with those being baptized, and it is impossible to be baptized or get married until people have listened to the entire course.

Some priests say: “What courses! They only push away, people turn around and go to church to be baptized, where no one pays attention to it.”

Nothing of the kind. As experience shows, people get baptized and get married very willingly and advise their acquaintances - they say, in such and such a church they take the sacrament seriously, go and get baptized there.

The fault of the clergy that they do not work with the flock in this direction does not explain the tasks of their successors, and does not warn against hasty agreement to step on such a spiritually dangerous path. I truly believe that becoming a recipient is spiritually dangerous.

– Can you explain why?

– There are several aspects. Ideally, parents who themselves live a church life invite an Orthodox person to baptize their children. In this case, of course, it’s hardly worth refusing. Yes, this is a responsibility, but the risk of an unkind answer at the terrible judgment of Christ is significantly reduced. The father and mother are involved in upbringing themselves, and the godfather only helps - he gives spiritual literature, goes on pilgrimages together.

But when an Orthodox person is invited to be a recipient by non-church people, I always ask him to think very, very carefully. How close is this family to you, how loyal are the parents to Christianity, are they ready to give the opportunity to really participate in the upbringing of their child? In most cases, it turns out that they are not ready: “Well, you baptize, and then we’ll see...”

Therefore, you need to weigh everything carefully - after all, this is a great responsibility, you are vouching before God for this baby.

If, out of cowardice, or foolishness, or for some other reason - perhaps out of love for this family - a person agreed to become a godfather, and then they say to him: “Thank you, we don’t need your advice, we ourselves will raise our child in those traditions that we consider necessary,” in this case, the task of the recipient is to pray for the godson day and night, to the best of his ability. Commemorate at morning and evening prayers, submit notes for the Liturgy. Try to make up for the lack of physical communication with prayerful communication.

“Don’t you need grace yourself?”

– What to do if the godson grows up outside the Church and does not receive communion?

– Try to talk to parents, explain, make every effort to ensure that they give the opportunity to communicate with the child on this topic.

Regarding the communion of children, I am close to the opinion of Archpriest Alexy Uminsky, who believes that a child should receive communion together with his parents. This is what I say to everyone who offers a baby for blessing.

If parents are asked why they give communion to their children, the majority will answer - “so that the Lord will give grace, so that the child will unite with the Lord, receiving His Body and Blood.” But, excuse me, don’t you need grace yourself? Do you not need communion with the Body and Blood of Christ?

Children perceive only personal example, and, as many years of experience show, no matter how many believing grandmothers carry babies to communion, if mom and dad are far from the faith, in almost 100% of cases the child, as soon as he becomes independent, completely forgets about the temple.

Only by the grace of God can he come to church already at a conscious age. Not to return - because he, in fact, had never been here: he was not raised in the faith at home, he did not wake up and fall asleep with prayer, and did not live in a Christian atmosphere. Therefore, it is impossible to say that he will return to the temple. He will come there.

Of course, the baby needs communion. And if the godfather takes the trouble and carries the child to the Chalice, this is better than if the godson lived outside the sacraments altogether. But how much this will affect his Christian upbringing is a big question.

Therefore, it is important to make every effort to ensure that you have the opportunity to communicate with your child. Not the way it is now accepted - when the godfather comes once a year on a birthday, or on Angel's Day, or on New Year's, gives some nonsense, exchanges two or three touching phrases with the godson, thus serving his duty, and leaves with a pure heart.

Make no mistake, this is not succession. This behavior has nothing to do with Christianity at all; on the contrary, the relationship between the godfather and the godson is being profaned, and for this you will have to answer before God.

You need to communicate with your child, including on Christian topics, read Christian books with him, and visit church together. If this meets with a categorical refusal from the parents, then take upon yourself the feat of prayer for the godson. This is important because the godfather’s task is not to give gifts, but to lead people to Christ.

– Many are embarrassed to talk about religion and faith or have no experience communicating with a child on such topics...

– If everything is so complicated, you shouldn’t agree to be godparents to non-church parents.

Call yourself a milk mushroom - get into the back. Try now, look for words. Be sure to pray before doing this. By the grace of God, by His admonition, an understanding will come of how to reach the child. You need to get down to business only with prayer, asking the Lord for help.

“If you don’t take communion, it’s 100% hell”

– Question about another situation. Many of us were baptized in Soviet times, when parents were often against it, and grandmother and aunt or friend carried their children to church for baptism in secret. The child grew up, became a church member, but his godparents never came to church. Do a believing godson have responsibilities towards his non-church godfather?

- How to do this? Older people, as a rule, react with hostility when “the egg begins to teach the chicken.” Especially in spiritual matters.

– Again, you need to get down to business by praying. Ask the Lord for help, realizing your unworthiness, your narrow-mindedness, worthlessness and stupidity. When will the Lord give grace? When we understand that we turn to Him because we ourselves are weak.

If a person wants to learn how to ski, but comes to an instructor and starts telling him how well he can do everything, and he only needs the instructor to show him a couple of tricks, it is clear that when descending from the mountain, such a smart guy will mess things up and get injured. And when there is an understanding that all I can do is walk on a straight ski track and slide down the hill near the house, then the instructor begins to teach properly, and all this leads to a specific result.

Likewise, if we humble ourselves, if we realize that we are not capable of anything, without the Lord “we cannot do anything,” then the Lord Himself comes to the rescue.

Be sure to pray and think about how you can interest an adult, elderly person in this regard. Invite him on an excursion to the temple or give him a book or brochure. It happens that if you directly offer to read something, a person will refuse: “How is that? I lived my life, and then some green snot decided to teach me...” In such cases, a “workaround maneuver” can work - when some book that may be of interest is left somewhere in a visible place or forgotten.

Often older people have more time and are accustomed to reading. Therefore, there is a possibility that the “forgotten” book will be read, and some grain will fall on the heart. There are a lot of options, the main thing is to think.

On the contrary, someone may be affected by a blow to the forehead, as they say, and the person will shake himself up.

We had one grandfather in Ioninsky - a good man, an excellent mechanic, he came and helped. Somehow we noticed that he began to appear less often. It turned out that he was sick and was in the hospital. And in general it was clear that the person was slowly declining (it is clear from many older people that they are declining). We were on friendly terms, and I asked him directly: “Lenya, do you even believe in God?” - “Well, yes, I believe.” - “When was the last time you took communion?” - “Oh, I don’t know when.” - “If you don’t take communion, you’ll go to hell.” - “Exactly?” – “100 percent...” – “How can I do it to take communion?..”

The man was already approaching 80 and had no time for long conversations. I explained to him the simplest things, what he could understand. It is clear that he had had enough of fasting and long services, but he prepared for communion and began to take communion regularly. Six months later, he peacefully departed to the Lord, and I believe that the Lord accepted him. Because a person in purity of heart responded to the call: “Take, eat.” I just got up and came.

There can be no compromise when it comes to relationships with God.

– Why invite adoptive parents at all if the child’s parents are believers and themselves intend to raise the baby in the Orthodox faith?

- We need a receiver. We know the words of Christ: “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.” The more people begin to pray for a child so that he will inherit the Kingdom of God, the better. An extra prayer book, as they say, won’t hurt.

And in the future, especially in adolescence, when the opinion of a stranger is often more important for a teenager than the parent’s, it will be easier for the godson to talk with his godson about faith and spiritual life. He will be able to help the child stay within the church fence when he is tempted to leave it.

This is also why it is important to take as a successor a person of one mind and striving for life in Christ.

– Is it possible for friends of different religions to baptize each other’s children? For example, Orthodox Christians can be godparents in Catholic families.

– As one of my acquaintances said, “I see some kind of slyness in this!”

If an Orthodox Christian agrees to be the foster child of a child of Catholic parents, what Creed will he read in church during the Sacrament of Baptism? To which temple will he take this child to receive communion, in what faith will he instruct him?

One of two things is either deceit in relation to faith, when there is no difference what to believe and how to believe. Or a person obviously does not plan to perform the functions of a godfather, and for him participation in the Sacrament is only a reason to enter into closer and more friendly relations with this family. Again, this is a profanation of successionism.

– People often act in such a way as not to annoy their neighbors...

– There can be no compromises on the issue of eternity and relationships with God. And the human factor cannot be an excuse for apostasy from faith, from the Law of God.

From the lives of saints, we know a lot of cases when parents begged their children to renounce Christ, appealing to some kind of related, family feelings. In Soviet times, there were many times when parents or children persuaded their relatives not to go to church.

That is, at all times, people were ready to go to death for firmness in their faith, but for some reason, out of motives, no matter how bad someone thought about us, we are so easily ready to retreat from Christ.

These are very serious things and cannot be joked with.

– Why, when we give notes with names in churches, they always ask whether the person has been baptized. Many, in their sincere desire to pray for their neighbor, do not know whether he is baptized or not. And those who come to church are confused, upset and often even repulsed by the fact that there is such biased attention to the question of baptized/not baptized. People ask: “Can’t we just accept the note and just pray for the sick person?”

– The Church at the Liturgy prays only for those who are its children. It is quite possible to submit notes at prayer services with the names of unbaptized people - first of all, so that the Lord will enlighten their hearts with the knowledge of the truth.

I would divide the answer to this question into two parts. If we know for sure that a person has not been baptized and does not want to be baptized, we cannot submit notes about him for the Liturgy. But if it is unknown whether our loved one has been baptized, it is better to give it, and the Lord, who knows the heart, firstly, will not make this prayer a sin for us, and secondly, with His grace he will certainly have mercy on this person.

Dear friends! We invite you to take part in a discussion on the topic of public conversations before baptism. How do you evaluate the introduction of such conversations? What results do you think they should bring. What problems do you see with this? How do you see solutions to these problems?
Send your answers by email [email protected]

What is Baptism as a Sacrament? How does it happen?

The baptism of an infant is performed according to the faith of the recipients, who have the sacred duty to teach children the true faith and help them become worthy members of the Church of Christ.

A christening set for a girl has both a number of common features and a number of differences from that for a male baby. Its most important part is, of course, the pectoral cross, which is given to the baby by her godfather. But in addition to this, you also need a set of appropriate baptismal clothes, which includes a scarf, a dress and a towel (kryzhma). It is necessary in order to wrap the crumbs after dipping into the font. Christening sets for girls are often decorated with embroidery and other decorative elements. But make sure there are not too many of them. This can create inconvenience for both the girl and the godparents during Baptism. A baptismal set for a boy, as a rule, is more restrained in decor and consists of a baptismal shirt, a cap and, again, a towel. And, of course, a pectoral cross. Sometimes baptismal sets are also supplemented with booties. When purchasing a baptismal set for a boy, make sure that all things are as comfortable as possible. This is true for both girls’ and boys’ clothes.

This sacrament consists of the Annunciation (reading special prayers - “prohibitions” over those preparing for baptism), renunciation of Satan and union with Christ, that is, union with Him, and confession of the Orthodox faith. Here the godparents must pronounce the appropriate words for the baby.

Immediately after the end of the Announcement, the sequence of Baptism begins. The most noticeable and important moment is the baby’s three-time immersion in the font with the words pronounced: “K the servant of God is condemned (servant of God) (Name) in the name of the Father, amen. And the Son, amen. And the Holy Spirit, amen" At this time, the godfather (of the same sex as the person being baptized), taking a towel in his hands, prepares to receive his godfather from the font. The one who has received Baptism then dresses in new white clothes and puts a cross on him.

Immediately after this, another Sacrament is performed - in which the person being baptized, when the parts of the body are anointed with the consecrated Myrrh, in the name of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given, strengthening him in spiritual life. After this, the priest and godparents with the newly baptized person walk around the font three times as a sign of the spiritual joy of union with Christ for eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then an excerpt from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans is read, dedicated to the topic of baptism, and an excerpt from - about the sending of the Apostles by the Lord Jesus Christ to the worldwide preaching of the faith with the command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, the priest washes the myrrh from the body of the baptized person with a special sponge dipped in holy water, saying the words: “Thou art justified. You have become enlightened. You are sanctified. You have washed yourself in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You were baptized. You have become enlightened. You have been anointed with chrism. You have been sanctified in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.”

Next, the priest cuts the newly baptized person’s hair in a cross shape (on four sides) with the words: “ Slave gets tonsured(A) God's(Name) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen", puts his hair on a wax cake and lowers it into the font. Tonsure symbolizes submission to God and at the same time marks the small sacrifice that the newly baptized person brings to God in gratitude for the beginning of a new, spiritual life. After making petitions for godparents and the newly baptized, the Sacrament of Baptism ends.

This is usually immediately followed by churching, signifying the first bringing into the temple. The baby, taken by the priest in his arms, is carried through the temple, brought to the Royal Doors and brought into the altar (boys only), after which he is given to his parents. Churching symbolizes the dedication of the baby to God according to the Old Testament model. After baptism, the baby should be given communion.

Why are only boys brought into the altar?

In principle, boys should not be included there either, this is just a tradition. The Sixth Ecumenical Council determined: None of all those belonging to the category of laity will be allowed to enter the sacred altar... (). The famous canonist Bishop. gives the following comment to this resolution: “In view of the mystery of the bloodless sacrifice offered at the altar, it was forbidden, from the earliest times of the church, to enter the altar to anyone who did not belong to the clergy. “The altar is reserved for sacred persons only.”

They say that before baptizing your child, you should confess and receive communion.

Even without regard to the Baptism of a child, Orthodox Christians are called by the Church to regularly approach the saint. If you have not done this before, then it would be good to take the first step towards a full church life before the Baptism of your own baby.

What is the Orthodox name for a baby?

The right to choose a child's name belongs to his parents. Lists of names of saints - calendars - can help you in choosing a name. In the calendar, names are arranged in calendar order.

Why do some churches close the church during the sacrament of Baptism (without doing this during other sacraments) or ask people who call themselves Orthodox not to enter it?

What should come first - faith or Baptism? Can you be baptized to believe?

On the other hand, this is what a baptized and churched person should strive for throughout his life. All people are sinners, and one must strive to acquire faith in such a way that works are combined with it. Faith, among other things, is an effort of will. In the Gospel, one person who met the Savior exclaimed: “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief." () This man already believed in the Lord, but he wanted to believe even more, stronger, more decisively.

It will be easier to strengthen your faith if you live the church life and not look at it from the outside.

Why do we baptize babies? They still can’t choose their own religion and consciously follow Christ?

Does a person have the right to be baptized at any age?

Baptism is possible for a person of any age on any day of the year.

At what age is it better to baptize a child?

It is most convenient to baptize a child during the first months of birth. At this time, the baby still does not distinguish his mother from the “strange aunt” who will hold him in her arms during Baptism, and the “bearded uncle” who will always come up to him and “do something with him” is not scary for him.

Older children already perceive reality quite consciously, they see that they are surrounded by people unfamiliar to them, and that their mother is either not there at all or for some reason she does not come to them, and may experience anxiety about this.

Is it necessary to be baptized again if a person was “baptized by his grandmother at home”?

Baptism is the only Sacrament of the Church that, in case of emergency, can be performed by a layman. During the years of persecution of the Church, cases of such baptism were not uncommon - there were few churches and priests.

In addition, in earlier times, midwives sometimes baptized newborn babies if their lives were in danger: for example, if the child received a birth injury. This baptism is usually called "immersion." If a child died after such baptism, he was buried as a Christian; if he survived, then he was brought to the temple and the priest supplemented the baptism performed by the layman with the necessary prayers and sacred rites.

Thus, in any case, a person baptized by a layman must “complete” his baptism in the temple. However, in earlier times, midwives were specially trained in how to perform baptism correctly; in the Soviet years, it is often completely unknown who baptized and how, whether this person was trained, whether he knew what and how to do. Therefore, for the sake of confidence in the actual performance of the Sacrament, priests most often baptize such “immersed” as if there was a doubt about whether they were baptized or not.

Can parents attend Baptism?

They may well not just be present, but pray together with the priest and godparents for their baby. There are no obstacles to this.

When is Baptism performed?

What does an adult who wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism need?

After the Sacrament has been performed, a person must begin a full-fledged church life: regularly go to church, learn about divine services, pray, that is, learn to live in God. If this does not happen, Baptism will have no meaning.

It is necessary to prepare for Baptism: at a minimum, carefully read these public conversations, read at least one of the Gospels, know by heart or close to the text the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

It would be simply wonderful to prepare for confession: to remember your sins, wrongs and bad inclinations. Many priests do very correctly by confessing the catechumens before Baptism.

Is it possible to baptize during Lent?

Yes, you can. Moreover, in previous times, fasts served as preparation not only for a specific holiday, but also for the entry of new members into the Church, i.e. to the Baptism of the Catechumens. Thus, in the ancient Church people were baptized mainly on the eve of major Church holidays, including during Lent. Traces of this are still preserved in the peculiarities of the services of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Easter and Pentecost.

In what case can a priest refuse Baptism to a person?

A priest not only can, but must refuse Baptism to a person if he does not believe in God as the Orthodox Church teaches to believe, since faith is an indispensable condition for Baptism.

Among the reasons for refusal of Baptism may be a person’s unpreparedness and a magical attitude towards Baptism. The magical attitude towards Baptism is the desire to use it to protect yourself from the forces of evil, to get rid of it, and to receive all kinds of spiritual or material “bonuses”.

People who are drunk or leading an immoral lifestyle will not be baptized until they repent and reform.

What to do if it is known for sure that a person has been baptized, but no one remembers the name with which he was baptized? Baptize a second time?

How many times can you be baptized?

Definitely - once. Baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person can only be born once. The Orthodox Creed says: “I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.” Secondary baptism is unacceptable.

What to do if you don’t know whether you are baptized or not, and there is no one to ask?

You need to be baptized, but at the same time warn the priest that you may be baptized, but you don’t know for sure. The priest will perform Baptism according to a special rite for such cases.

What responsibilities do godfathers and mothers have towards their godchildren?

How should future godparents prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism?

Have you decided to become a godfather, but do not meet the requirements? Make it a reason to start moving in that direction. To get started, listen to public conversations in church or at specialized courses organized in your diocese. Then read either the Gospel of Mark or Luke. Choose for yourself - the first is shorter, the second is clearer. You can also find them in the Bible; more precisely - in the New Testament. Carefully read the text of the Creed - during Baptism, one of the godparents reads it by heart or from a sheet of paper. It would also be good if by the time of Baptism you knew the prayer “Our Father” by heart.

After Baptism, deepen and expand your knowledge of Biblical history, pray at home and participate in church services - this way you will gradually acquire the practical skills of a Christian.

Is it possible to become a godfather in absentia without participating in the Baptism of an infant?

Can representatives of other religions become godparents?

In addition, godparents take on the responsibility of raising their godson in Orthodoxy. Representatives of other religions cannot fulfill these duties because for us Christianity is not a theory, but life itself in Christ. This life can only be taught by those who live this way themselves.

The question arises: can representatives of other Christian denominations, for example Catholics or Lutherans, then become godparents? The answer is negative - they cannot for the same reasons. Only Orthodox Christians can become recipients of Baptism.

What things should you bring with you to Baptism and which godparent should do it?

For Baptism you will need a baptismal set. As a rule, this is a pectoral cross with a chain or ribbon, several candles, and a baptismal shirt. The cross can also be purchased in regular stores, but then you should ask a priest to consecrate it. You will need a towel or diaper to wrap and dry your baby after the bath. According to an unwritten tradition, the godfather acquires a cross for a boy, and the godmother for a girl. Although this rule does not have to be followed.

How many godfathers and mothers should a person have?

One. As a rule, they are the same gender as the child, that is, for a boy - godfather, and for a girl - godmother. The possibility of having both a godfather and a godmother for a child is a pious custom. It is not customary to have more than two receivers.

How to choose godparents for a child?

The main criterion for choosing a godfather or godmother should be whether this person will subsequently be able to help in the Christian education of the person received from the font. The degree of acquaintance and simply the friendliness of the relationship are also important, but this is not the main thing. In former times, concern for expanding the circle of people who would seriously help the newborn child made it undesirable to invite close relatives as godparents. It was believed that they, due to natural kinship, would help the child. For this reason, natural grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts rarely became recipients. However, this is not prohibited, and is now becoming more and more common.

Can a pregnant woman become a godmother?

Maybe. Pregnancy is not an obstacle to adoption. In addition, if a pregnant woman herself wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, then she can do so.

Who can't be a godfather?

Minors; Gentiles; mentally ill; completely ignorant of the faith; drunk persons

What should godparents give to their godson?

This question lies in the area of human customs and does not concern spiritual life, regulated by Church rules and canons. In other words, this is a personal matter for the godparents. You don't have to give anything at all. However, it seems that the gift, if it does take place, should be useful and remind of Baptism. This could be the Bible or the New Testament, a pectoral cross or an icon of the saint after whom the child is named. There are many options.

If godparents do not fulfill their duties, is it possible to take other godparents and what needs to be done for this?

In the literal sense of the word - it is impossible. Only the one who received the child from the font will be the godfather. However, in a sense, this can be done. Let's draw a parallel with an ordinary birth: let's say a father and mother, having given birth to their baby, abandon him, do not fulfill their parental responsibilities and do not care for him. In this case, someone can adopt the child and raise him as his own. This person will become, although adopted, a parent in the true sense of the word. The same is true in spiritual birth. If the real godparents do not fulfill their duties, and there is a person who can and wants to take on their function, then he should receive a blessing for this from the priest and after that begin to take full care of the child. And you can also call him “godfather”. In this case, the child cannot be baptized a second time.

Can a young man become godfather to his bride?

Definitely not. A spiritual relationship arises between the godparent and godson, which excludes the possibility of marriage.

How many times can a person become a godfather?

As many as he deems possible. Being a godparent is a lot of responsibility. Some may dare to take on such responsibility once or twice, some five or six, and some perhaps ten. Everyone determines this measure for themselves.

Can a person refuse to become a godfather? Wouldn't that be a sin?

Is it possible to become a godfather for two or three children from the same family?

Yes, you can. There are no canonical obstacles to this.

The demon, who lived in a person and was expelled, walks through deserted places and finds no peace for himself. And he says: “I will return to my house.” He returns and sees that the house is not occupied. Then he takes seven more evil demons and comes and inhabits this person. For the latter, this settlement is even more bitter than the previous one (Matt. 12:43-45). How to understand this?

The man was baptized and began to continue his previous sinful life, did not go to church and pray. At baptism he received the Holy Spirit into himself, but lost the grace given to him in this Sacrament, and the Holy Spirit leaves him. His soul becomes empty, graceless. The evil spirit, expelled at baptism, returns to its former abode and sees that it is not occupied by the Holy Spirit, and occupies it, and even brings other demons with it...

This happens to us. A huge stream of people goes to be baptized, because now everyone is baptized, for them it is some kind of magical ritual. People don't know why they are baptized. Before being baptized, a person must study the Holy Scriptures, constantly go to church, and learn Christian life. What does the Lord expect from him? If a person is baptized, then he should know that this is a second birth - the birth of the soul. The Lord forgives sins (personal and original sin), gives a Guardian Angel; this person is given the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. A person dies together with Christ and is resurrected when he is immersed in water three times... Therefore, even after baptism, he must be with Christ, live according to His commandments. Otherwise, he will work for the devil, and his soul will be inhabited by demons.

The man was baptized as an adult. Continuing his sinful life, he became an apostate from Christ. What awaits the soul of such a person? Wouldn't it have been better for him not to be baptized at all than not to justify the mercy of God?

The Monk Macarius the Great was walking through the desert one day and came across a human skull. He was a special person before God, had the grace of the Holy Spirit, and much was revealed to him from God. He, being in special grace, hit the skull with his staff and asked:

Tell me, who are you and where are you?

“I am an idol priest,” he answered. “I am in hell.”

“Do you find any joy,” asked the Reverend.

There is joy when Christians in the Orthodox Church commemorate their dead on Saturdays and Sundays. There is light then in the upper layers of hell, and part of it penetrates to us. Then we see each other. This brings us great joy.

The monk also asked:

And below you - the idol priests - is there anyone?

Orthodox Christians who were baptized, but did not go to Church, did not wear crosses, did not repent of their sins, did not confess, lived unmarried, did not receive communion and died without repentance. They are even lower than those pagans who did not know the True God.

I was baptized not in church, but at home, and not by a priest, but by my grandfather. Is this baptism considered valid?

Saint John Chrysostom says that no one has the right to perform the sacraments except the bishop and the priest. But there is a caveat: it happens that a person is dying, and the priest is not nearby. Then a person can be immersed in water by an Orthodox Christian, one who constantly goes to church, lives according to the commandments, observes all fasts, prays, confesses; such a person can immerse the sick person three times in the “Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” If this Orthodox Christian baptized a dying person, and the sick person recovered, then you need to get to the nearest church, to the priest and ask to complete the sacrament through anointing.

Previously, I know there were many such people who were baptized by their grandmother or grandfather. But sometimes these grandfathers and grandmothers did not go to church themselves; if they prayed to God, it was at home. And this is no longer considered to be an Orthodox person. Therefore, people who were baptized by their grandparents need to be baptized again.

My husband wants to be baptized. Can I be his godmother?

If you are a godmother to your husband, then he will already be your spiritual relative - a godson, and you will not be able to continue your marital relationship with him.

It often happened that a girl and a boy were friends and wanted to get married. And then they are somehow asked to become godmothers and godfathers, and they agree. After baptism, they became spiritual relatives - godfather and godfather, and they no longer have the right to marry.

If a husband and wife have become godparents to someone, they should not continue to live according to the flesh, they should live like brother and sister.

My daughter used to live unbaptized, having children, having abortions, now she has been baptized. Is her sin absolved for having abortions? Does baptism remove all sins from a person?

Yes, it is said that in baptism a person is born again. The Lord writes it in the Book of Life. He who is not baptized is not in the Book of Life. During baptism, a person is forgiven all sins, both original and personal sins. This is what it says in the Holy Scripture: when the holy prophet John the Baptist baptized, he immersed a person up to his head, he confessed his sins, and he immersed him completely in water with his head - he baptized (Matthew 1: 4-5). Therefore, in the Orthodox Church this Sacrament is truly performed this way: before the Sacrament, a person confesses his main sins...

I have to baptize in a women's colony. I call each one individually and ask: “What are your sins? Who did you kill?” - and then I baptize. At this time, all sins are forgiven. And we ask about sins committed before baptism so that the person becomes aware of them and does not repeat them after being baptized.

Then he is immersed headlong into water three times; Special prayers are read for the expulsion of an unclean spirit and for the dedication of this person to God.

In the Sacrament of Baptism, new citizens of the Orthodox Church, new children of God are born.

Something interesting is happening with the Sacrament of Baptism. Many people turn baptism into magic. They believe that the most important thing is to be baptized. How should this be understood? When a child is born, if his parents do not feed and water him, he will die. And the parents will be murderers. The same thing happens when a person is baptized. He was born spiritually, and if he does not pray, does not confess, repent and receive communion, then he dies spiritually.

The one who pushed this person to perform baptism unknowingly, irresponsibly, will be the same murderer.

A huge mass of people are now baptized, but then they don’t go to church, they don’t pray to God, they don’t repent. But they say with conviction about their strong position in the Christian world: “We are the baptized...” And what is the use of the fact that you are baptized? A man became a member of the Church, a cell in the Body of Christ, and suddenly he did not go to church. He again falls into darkness, into the power of Satan, and therefore suffers and is tormented.

The Apostolic Canons say that baptism is performed by complete immersion. My daughter was sprinkled. Is this really baptism?

Saint John Chrysostom says that baptism is performed by immersion in water, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Plunging into the water, as if into a tomb, we die with Christ. And after being immersed three times, we are resurrected together with Christ, just as He was resurrected on the third day. Christ entered the waters of the Jordan and plunged into them. That is why we are immersed in the waters of the font of salvation.

If a person is near death and wishes to be baptized, he should, as Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer says, be doused with water so that the whole body is washed with water. I had to baptize a sick woman in Ivanovo; she was a bedridden patient - a cripple. They lifted her out of bed, held her over the basin, and I poured a full bucket of pre-blessed water on her. They wrapped her up and put her in bed. They put on a white shirt, and it lay clean and bright, like a newborn baby.

Sprinkling is a Catholic, Uniate technique. Sometimes in a Uniate church there are 100 people waiting to be baptized. The priest takes a brush and sprinkles everyone at once. Who will get water and who won't? Maybe there is a woman standing there in a wig, and a few drops will fall on her wig, but she remains unbaptized! There is a blessing from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to perform baptism only by immersion. To do this, baptisteries must be built in churches. A small platform is selected, three steps are built down; water is poured into the pool, and the person can freely plunge headlong... Usually those people who have been baptized by sprinkling are rebaptized with the wording: “Unless baptized...”

When we receive baptism, we often do not realize what the Orthodox faith is and what it gives to a person.

The other day a young man came to our monastery and said: “I want to be baptized, to accept the Holy Orthodox Faith.” We ask him:

Well, what do you know about Orthodoxy? What is it?

He hesitated, then said:

I cannot formulate it, but deep down I feel that I should become Orthodox.

Then he was asked:

Do you know how many disciples Jesus Christ had?

Yes, I know. Three.

And who betrayed Him?

I know he was betrayed by the devil.

That’s how we talked to him and realized that a person is not yet ready to become a real Orthodox true Christian.

When we are baptized, we read the Creed. What is he talking about? That we believe in our One Lord Jesus Christ, in the Life-Giving Trinity.

I had to talk to this young man, Volodya:

Tell me, why did Christ come into the world?

Well, tell people how to live correctly. Show them the way.

It seems that he answered correctly.

And who was He supposed to be?

Well, like a tour guide.

No, dear. I must tell you that before the birth of Christ, 5508 years passed after the fall of the first people, Adam and Eve. None of the people after death entered the abode of Paradise; everyone went to hell. For the righteous there was “Abraham’s bosom,” where there was no torment.

Lord is Love. He himself took on human flesh and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. He gave the Gospel law and took upon himself the sins of the entire human race, starting from Adam to the last man. He atoned for both my and your sins two thousand years ago with His Blood. How many more people will be born on earth - their sins have already been washed away by the Blood of Christ. The Lord suffered for everyone. And he left us faith and repentance.

If we now do not believe in the One God, the Creator of the Universe, Heaven and Earth, if we do not repent, we will be punished for our sins.

We talked with him for a long time. Later I gave him the Gospel. Time has passed, I ask:

So how many disciples did Christ have?

Father, twelve, and besides them there are seventy more.

How did you know?

They worked with me.

Well, thank God! But you can't be baptized yet. You are "raw, unprocessed material." You don't know what the Lord wants from you. Internally you must change. After all, what is repentance? This is a change of thoughts, a change of life. The fact that we baptize you now is of little use: as you were, so you will remain. Nothing will change in you, no change will happen in your life. For example, how do parents prepare for the birth of their first child? They prepare the children's dowry: a crib, a stroller, everything necessary. This is exactly how a person is born into the spiritual world. For his birth into the world of spirits, everything must also be prepared.

For example, you cannot give a person a diploma of graduation from a university when he has just entered the institute. He hasn’t received his education yet, he’s not yet an engineer or a doctor. He needs to work hard and learn a lot.

It’s exactly the same in Orthodoxy. I know from experience that you can baptize a thousand people, but they will pass by the Church. They will not truly become churchgoers; after baptism they will die spiritually because they are not prepared.

A person can be baptized when he has studied the Gospel, began to read morning and evening prayers, and learned to speak to God in his own words. And, most importantly, prepared for a life change.

Those who prepared themselves changed internally and felt inner grace after receiving baptism. And they began a completely different life.

Sometimes a person who has begun to live in the spiritual world has so much grace and spiritual strength that he is ready to convert everyone to faith.

Volodya says:

Well, that’s it, now I’ll go and convert all my friends!

My dear, how can you convert people to the faith when you yourself haven’t really read the Gospel? After all, if a person is drowning, then only someone who is a good swimmer can save him. And if he doesn’t know how to swim and tries to save, then both will go to the bottom. You must first feel the ground under your feet. A person in faith must stand firmly on his feet, be a convinced, living Orthodox Christian. Without deviating from the Gospel into heresy, one must be able to explain what the Orthodox faith is. After all, many have been burned by reading the Holy Scriptures without knowing its interpretation. The Bible is a double-edged sword; if you take it the wrong way, you will be circumcised.

If loved ones persuade an unbeliever to accept baptism, can he be saved?

The Lord says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. And whoever does not believe will be condemned.” If a person received spiritual birth from God in the sacrament of baptism, but did not go to church, did not pray, did not confess, did not receive the Holy Gifts, his spiritual life ends there and his soul dies.

Now there are many such people. They usually go to church very rarely. What are parishioners like?

There are “everyday” parishioners, there are “Sunday” parishioners, and there are “holiday” ones.

There are “Lenten” ones, there are “Thursday ones” (they come to receive communion on Maundy Thursday), there are “Easter ones”. They say: “No matter how you come to church, everyone sings “Christ is Risen!” There are “Christmas” ones, there are those who go only on their Angel Day. There are parishioners “of need”, they don’t show up in church at all, they call a priest to the house to confess sins, to offer unction, to receive communion.

There are “baptismal and funeral” parishioners: they brought the baby, baptized him, and he is not in the church all his life. And then they will bring you in a hearse and sing “Rest in peace with the saints...” Of course, these are not Orthodox Christians. They are thrown out of the Church, like a premature fetus from a mother’s womb, and are in darkness, in the power of the devil.

Received baptism - must constantly attend the temple of God, be a living member of the Church. Let us recall the Apostolic rule: if a person has not been to church for three Sundays without a good reason, then he is cast out of the Church by the Holy Spirit and is in darkness, in the power of the devil. Only through the sacrament of repentance, where he promises God to correct himself and attend divine services, can he be reborn into spiritual life. The priest reads a special prayer, and this soul rejoins the Holy Apostolic Church.

I was baptized at home. Do I need to be rebaptized?

If grandmothers who did not go to church were baptized at home, then they must be baptized again. When we lived in Siberia, there was an old man with a beard who walked around the villages and baptized everyone for a glass of vodka. Before "baptism" he will take a glass, and then "baptize". But it was simply blasphemy. He'll dip it three times, and then they'll give him another glass, and he'll fall off somewhere...

Now there are churches everywhere, they are open, so this sacrament should only be performed in a church. But at home (or in a hospital) you can baptize as an exception, and among the laity only true Orthodox Christians have the right to baptize. If a sick person (an adult or a small baby) is near death, and it takes a long time to get a priest, an Orthodox person can baptize, the one who receives communion worthily, constantly confesses, in whom the grace of God lives. He, saying: “The servant of God (name) is baptized in the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen. And the Holy Spirit. Amen,” immerses the person three times. This baptism is considered valid. If the patient remains alive, then the baptism must be supplemented by the priest with confirmation and prayers from the rite of baptism.

We recently baptized a boy. He now has great temptations, he is nervous and shouts: “There is no God, but only the devil.” He took off his cross and accused him of being forced to be baptized. How to pray for him to help?

We need to pray for him. This is still so... childish with him. Maybe I watched something on TV, and a pernicious, demonic seed was planted in my soul. That's why he says those words.

But about the fact that there is a demon, but there is no God... But where did He go? How many thousands of years was there - and suddenly “He is not there”? There were people about whom the wise David said: “A fool says in his heart: there is no God.” Only a crazy person can say that there is no God.

The soul of such a person is saturated with sin to the last cell. And, of course, there is no God in it - the Lord comes to those who call on Him. And those who do not remember Him, He watches over them and reminds them of Himself, of His love for the lost through sorrows, illnesses, and all kinds of misfortunes. Someone will say: “Wow, this is love!” And we rarely remember God when everything is good with us. But as soon as someone died, got into an accident, went to prison, they immediately turned to God: “The last hope is in Him!” A popular proverb says: “Like anxiety, so does God.”

Anyone who says there is no God can be believed. This is true. There is no God in him! In his heart is not the grace of God, but the antichrist denial of God, the hellish flame of godlessness. How many such people are there! But today they deny God, and tomorrow the Lord will let them know His existence. And such people come to confession, repent, cry.

Why are only boys brought into the altar?

They say that before baptizing your child, you should confess and receive communion.

What is the Orthodox name for a baby?

Why do some churches close the church during the sacrament of Baptism (without doing this during other sacraments) or ask people who call themselves Orthodox not to enter it?

What should come first - faith or Baptism? Can you be baptized to believe?

Why do we baptize babies? They still can’t choose their own religion and consciously follow Christ?

Does a person have the right to be baptized at any age?

At what age is it better to baptize a child?

Is it necessary to be baptized again if a person was “baptized by his grandmother at home”?

Can parents attend Baptism?

When is Baptism performed?

What does an adult who wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism need?

Is it possible to baptize during Lent?

In what case can a priest refuse Baptism to a person?

What to do if it is known for sure that a person has been baptized, but no one remembers the name with which he was baptized? Baptize a second time?

How many times can you be baptized?

What to do if you don’t know whether you are baptized or not, and there is no one to ask?

About godparents (successors)

What responsibilities do godfathers and mothers have towards their godchildren?

How should future godparents prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism?

Is it possible to become a godfather in absentia without participating in the Baptism of an infant?

Can representatives of other religions become godparents?

What things should you bring with you to Baptism and which godparent should do it?

How many godfathers and mothers should a person have?

How to choose godparents for a child?

Can a pregnant woman become a godmother?

Who can't be a godfather?

What should godparents give to their godson?

If godparents do not fulfill their duties, is it possible to take other godparents and what needs to be done for this?

Can a young man become godfather to his bride?

How many times can a person become a godfather?

Can a person refuse to become a godfather? Wouldn't that be a sin?

Is it possible to become a godfather for two or three children from the same family?

“I considered it necessary to baptize without recipients”

“You baptize, and then we’ll see...”

“Don’t you need grace yourself?”

“If you don’t take communion, it’s 100% hell”

There can be no compromise when it comes to relationships with God.

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