“Those who come to baptism carelessly and without preparation do not provide redemption by skill in good.”
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 him. These are the people who, having been baptized, no matter at what age, never became Christians. They did not experience that grace-filled change that is supposed to give a person the Sacrament of Baptism. All this because no conscious faith in Christ was invested in their baptism. Then isn't the baptism of such people a profanation?

We must directly face the truth that the Sacrament, intended to gather the choice wheat in the bins of the Church of Christ, and to reject the tares, has long ceased to correspond to this purpose. It must be honestly said that we, for the most part, baptize people who are not determined to live according to the commandments of Christ, who do not plan to remain in His Church. Even the recent requirement of the hierarchy of obligatory disclosure, preliminary preparation of people before baptism does not change the situation. After formally honoring something, attending interviews, taking advantage of the indulgence of most priests who are already satisfied with at least this, people get baptized and then immediately forget about the church. And some, in order to avoid unnecessary work for them, are looking for priests who baptize immediately, on demand.

For such people, baptism is an end in itself, and Christ, for the sake of whose acquisition 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, in general, be considered valid? 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, claiming to be Christians. “How did it happen that you, Turks, Mohammedans, were christened?” they were asked. They answered that they, the Turks, “have a custom of having their children baptized by Orthodox priests,” because, in their opinion, “an evil spirit is in every newborn child and stinks like a dog” until the child receives Christian baptism.

The Synod did not recognize such baptism, because they were looking for it not as a means that cleanses from all spiritual filth, enlightens and sanctifies a person, not with a good Orthodox intention, 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 were also not interested in Jesus Christ, as such. What similarities between the 12th and 21st centuries in regard to Truth!

Maybe it's enough to subject the church shrine to desecration?

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

But in order to rectify this situation, the people of the Church must raise their spiritual and moral requirements towards themselves. For only our condescending attitude towards our own infirmities allowed this absurdity to take place, when the great Sacrament of the Church became so accessible that sometimes simply unrepentant sinners lay claim to it. Money and baptism should become mutually exclusive. We must make a certain choice - between God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

The demon that lived in man and was expelled walks through deserted places and does not find peace. And he says, "I will return to my house." He comes back 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 former (Matt. 12:43-45). How to understand it?

The man was baptized and began to continue his former sinful life, did not go to church and pray. At baptism, he received the Holy Spirit into himself, but lost the grace bestowed on 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 habitation and sees that it is not occupied by the Holy Spirit, and occupies it, moreover, it brings other demons with it...

This is how it happens with 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 do not know why they are baptized. Before being baptized, a person must study the Holy Scriptures, constantly go to church, and learn the Christian life. What does the Lord expect from him? If a person is baptized, then he must 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 communicated the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Chrismation. A person dies 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 demons will inhabit his soul.

The man was baptized at a mature age. Continuing a sinful life, he became an apostate from Christ. What awaits the soul of such a person? Would it not be better for him not to be baptized at all than not to justify the mercy of God?

Saint Macarius the Great was once walking through the desert and met 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, struck the skull with his staff and asked:

Tell me who are you and where are you?

I am an idol priest, he replied. I am in hell.

Do you ever find consolation, the Reverend asked.

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

The Reverend also asked:

And below you - idol priests - is there anyone?

Orthodox Christians who were baptized, but did not go to Church, did not wear crosses, did not repent of 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 a church, but at home, and not by a priest, but by my grandfather. Is this baptism considered valid?

St. John Chrysostom says that no one has the right to perform the sacraments, except for the bishop and the priest. But there is a caveat: it happens that a person is dying, but there is no priest 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 patient three times in the "Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." If this Orthodox Christian performed the baptism of a dying person, and the patient recovered, then you need to get to the nearest church, to the priest and ask him to complete the sacrament through chrismation.

In the past, I know there were many such people who were baptized by their grandparents. But sometimes these grandfathers and grandmothers did not go to church themselves; if they prayed to God, then at home. And it is no longer considered that a person is Orthodox. Therefore, people who were baptized by grandparents need to be baptized again.

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

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

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

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

My daughter used to live unbaptized, had children, had abortions, now she has been baptized. Is the sin for abortion removed from her? 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. Who is not baptized is not in the Book of Life. During baptism, a person is forgiven all sins, both original and personal sins. So it is said in Holy Scripture: when the holy prophet John the Baptist baptized, he immersed a person to the head, he confessed sins, and he immersed him completely in water with his head - baptized (Matt. 1, 4-5). Therefore, in the Orthodox Church, this Sacrament is truly performed in this way: before the Sacrament, a person confesses the main sins ...

I have to baptize in the 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 the sins committed before baptism so that a person realizes them and does not repeat, having been baptized.

Then he is immersed with his head three times in water; special prayers are read for the expulsion of an unclean spirit and for the consecration of this person to God.

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

Something interesting is happening with the Sacrament of Baptism. Many turn baptism into magic. They think 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, he will die. And parents will be killers. The same thing happens when a person is baptized. He was spiritually born, and if he does not pray, does not confess, repent and take communion, then he spiritually dies.

The one who pushed this person to be baptized unknowingly, irresponsibly, will be the same killer.

A huge mass of people are now being 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 baptized ..." And what's the point that you are baptized? A person became a member of the Church, a cell in the Body of Christ, and suddenly did not go to church. He again falls into darkness, into the power of Satan, therefore he suffers and suffers.

The Apostolic Canons say that baptism is done by total 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 into a tomb, we die with Christ. And after a threefold immersion, together with Christ, we are resurrected, just as He was resurrected on the third day. Christ entered the waters of the Jordan and sank into them. Therefore, we also plunge into the waters of the font of salvation.

If a person is near death and wishes to be baptized, he should, as St. Ignatius the God-bearer says, be poured 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. She was lifted out of bed, held over the basin, and I poured a full bucket of pre-consecrated water over her. They wrapped her up and put her on the bed. They put on a white shirt, and she lay clean and bright, like a newborn baby.

Sprinkling is a Catholic, Uniate technique. In a Uniate church, sometimes there are 100 people who want to be baptized. The priest takes a brush and sprinkles everyone at once. Who will get water, and who will not. Maybe there is a woman in a wig standing there, and a few drops will fall on her wig, but she remains unbaptized! There is the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to perform baptism only by immersion. To do this, churches need to build baptistery. A small platform is selected, three steps are built down; water is poured into the pool, and a person can freely dive headlong ... Usually, those people who have been baptized by sprinkling are rebaptized with the wording: "If not baptized ..."

When we are baptized, we often do not realize what the Orthodox faith is, what it gives 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 it is?

He hesitated, then says:

I cannot formulate, but in the depths of my soul I feel that I must 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 the devil betrayed him.

This is 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? About the fact that we believe in our One Lord Jesus Christ, in the Life-Giving Trinity.

I had to talk to this young man, Volodya:

Why did Christ come into the world?

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

It looks like he answered correctly.

And who was he supposed to be?

Well, like a tour guide.

No dear. I must tell you that 5508 years passed before the birth of Christ 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.

The 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, took upon Himself the sins of the entire human race, from Adam to the last man. Both mine and your sins two thousand years ago He atoned for 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 all. And left us faith and repentance.

If we do not now 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 in addition to them, seventy more.

How did you know?

They did work with me.

Well, thank God! But you can't be baptized yet. You are "raw, raw material." You don't know what the Lord wants from you. On the inside, you must change. After all, what is repentance? It is a change of mind, a change of life. From the fact that we will baptize you now, there is little sense: what you were, you will remain so. Nothing will change in you, nothing will change in your life. How do parents prepare for the birth of their first child? They prepare a dowry for children: a crib, a stroller, everything you need. 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, it is impossible to give a person a diploma of graduation from a university when he has just entered the institute. He has not yet received an education, he is not yet an engineer or a doctor. He needs to work hard, learn a lot.

The same is true 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 a church, after baptism they will die spiritually, because they are not prepared.

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

Those who prepared themselves changed internally, after being baptized they felt inner grace. And they started 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, I'll go now and I'll turn all my friends!

My dear, how can you convert people to faith, when you yourself have not really read the Gospel? After all, if a person is drowning, then only one who swims well himself can save him. And if he does not know how to swim and will 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 burned themselves while reading the Holy Scriptures, not knowing its interpretation. The Bible is a double-edged sword, if you take it wrong, you will be cut off.

If relatives persuaded an unbeliever to accept baptism, can he be saved?

The Lord says: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But whoever does not believe will be condemned." If a person in the sacrament of baptism received a spiritual birth from God, but did not go to church, did not pray, did not confess, did not partake of 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 "daily" parishioners, there are "Sunday" parishioners, and there are "holiday" parishioners.

There are "Lenten", there are "Thursday" (they come to take communion on Maundy Thursday), there are "Easter". Such people say: “No matter how you come to church, everyone sings “Christ is Risen!” There are “Christmas”, there are those who go only on their day of the Angel. confess sins, pardon, take communion.

There are "baptismal-burial" parishioners: they brought the baby, baptized him, and he has not been in the church all his life. And then they will bring it in a hearse, they will sing "Let me rest with the saints ..." Of course, these are not Orthodox Christians. They are cast out of the Church, like a premature fetus from a mother's womb, and are in darkness, in the power of the devil.

Accepted baptism - must constantly attend the temple of God, be a living member of the Church. Let us recall the Apostolic rule: if a person, without a valid reason, has not been in the temple for three Sundays, then he is cast out of the Church by the Holy Spirit, 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 am baptized at home. Do I need to be baptized?

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

Now there are churches everywhere, they are open, therefore this sacrament should be performed only in the temple. But at home (or in a hospital) one can be baptized as an exception, and among the laity only real 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 fetch 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," dips the person three times. This baptism is considered valid. If the patient remains alive, then baptism must be supplemented by the priest with chrismation and prayers from the rite of baptism.

We recently baptized a boy. He is now in great temptation, he is nervous and shouts: "There is no God, but there is only the devil." He took off his cross, accuses that he was forced to be baptized. How to pray for him to help?

You need to pray for him. It's still so ... childish with him. Maybe he watched something on TV, and a pernicious, demonic seed was planted in the 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 has he been - and suddenly "He is not there"? There were such people about whom the wise David said: "The fool speaks in his heart: there is no God." Only an insane person can say that there is no God.

The soul of such a person is saturated with sin to the last cell. And in it, of course, there is no God - the Lord goes to those who call on Him. And whoever does not remember Him, He watches over those 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 we are doing well. But as soon as someone died, got into an accident, went to prison, then immediately to God: "The last hope is in Him!" A popular proverb says: "As anxiety, so to God."

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

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

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

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

The baptismal set for your baby should be the one recommended to you in the church where you will baptize him. They will easily tell you what you need. This is mainly a baptismal cross and a baptismal shirt. The baptism of one baby lasts about forty minutes.

The baptismal set for a girl has both a number of common features and a number of differences from that for a male baby. The most important part of it is, of course, the pectoral cross, which is given to the baby by her godfather. But in addition to it, a set of appropriate christening clothes is also needed, which includes a scarf, a dress and a towel (kryzhma). It is necessary in order to wrap the baby after dipping into the font. Christening sets for girls are often decorated with embroidery and other decorative elements. But make sure there aren't 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 hat and, again, a cape towel. And, of course, a pectoral cross. Sometimes christening sets are also complemented by booties. When purchasing a baptismal set for a boy, pay attention that all things are as convenient as possible. This is true, both for clothes for girls and for boys.

This sacrament consists of the Announcement (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, for the baby, the godparents should pronounce the appropriate words.

Immediately after the end of the Announcement, the Baptism begins. The most noticeable and important moment is the threefold immersion of the baby in the font with the pronunciation of the words: “K the servant of God is resounding (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, is preparing to receive his godfather from the font. After that, the one who has received Baptism is dressed in new white clothes, a cross is put on him.

Immediately after this, another Sacrament is performed - in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the person being baptized, while anointing the parts of the body in the name of the Holy Spirit, strengthening him in spiritual life. After that, the priest and the godparents with the newly baptized go 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 Lord Jesus Christ sending the apostles to the worldwide preaching of faith with the command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. After the myrrh, the priest is washed from the body of the baptized person with a special sponge dipped in holy water, with the words: “Thou hast been justified. Thou hast been enlightened. Thou hast been sanctified. Thou hast been washed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You were baptized. Thou hast been enlightened. Thou hast been anointed. Thou hast been sanctified, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.”

Next, the priest cuts the hair of the newly baptized cross-shaped (on four sides) with the words: “ Slave gets haircut(a) God's(name) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen”, folds her hair on a wax cake and lowers it into the font. The tonsure symbolizes obedience to God and at the same time marks the small sacrifice that the newly baptized brings to God in thanksgiving for the beginning of a new, spiritual life. After the utterance of petitions for godparents and the newly baptized, the sacrament of baptism ends.

This is usually immediately followed by churching, which marks the first bringing to the temple. The baby, taken by the priest in his arms, is carried by him through the temple, brought to the Royal Doors and brought into the altar (only boys), 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 infant should be given communion.

Why are only boys brought to the altar?

In principle, boys should not be brought there either, this is just a tradition. The Sixth Ecumenical Council determined: None of all those belonging to the category of the laity should be allowed to enter the inside of the sacred altar ... (). Renowned canonist ep. gives this decree the following commentary: “In view of the mystery of the bloodless sacrifice offered at the altar, it was forbidden, from ancient times of the church, to enter the altar to anyone who did not belong to the clergy. "The altar is for sacred persons only."

They say that before you baptize your child, you should confess and take communion.

Even regardless of the Baptism of the child, Orthodox Christians are called by the Church to regularly approach and saint. If you have not done this until now, then it will be good to take the first step towards a full-fledged church life by anticipating the Baptism of your own baby.

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

What is the Orthodox name for the baby?

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

There is no unequivocal church tradition of choosing names - often parents choose a name for the baby from the list of those saints who are glorified on the very day the child is born, 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 a list of church calendar names that are close enough after the child's birthday. But by the way, this is not some kind of obligatory church establishment, and if there is some deep desire to name the 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 get acquainted 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 is it, where and when did he live, what was his lifestyle, on which days his memory is celebrated.

Why do some churches close the church for the time of the sacrament of Baptism (not 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 being baptized, if strangers look at him, sufficiently bodily exposed, observe the greatest sacrament, the curious look of those who have nothing to do with prayer. It seems that a prudent Orthodox person will not go simply as a spectator to someone else's Baptism, if he was not invited there. And if he lacks tact, then church ministers act prudently, removing the curious from the temple at the time of the sacrament of Baptism.

What must come first, faith or baptism? Is it possible to be baptized to believe?

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

And on the other hand, this is what a baptized and churched person should strive for all his life. All people are sinners, and one must strive for such an acquisition of faith, with which deeds are combined. Faith, among other things, is an effort of the 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.

Strengthening in faith will be easier if you live the church life, and not look at it from the outside.

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

A person is saved not on his own, not as an individual who single-handedly decides how he should 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 as 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 best to baptize a child?

You can baptize a person at any time from his first to his very last breath. In ancient times, it was customary to baptize a child on the eighth day from birth, but this was not a mandatory rule.

It is most convenient to baptize a child during the first months from birth. At this time, the baby still does not distinguish his mother from the “alien 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 terrible for him.

Older children already quite consciously perceive reality, they see that they are surrounded by people they do not know, and their mothers are either not at all or for some reason she does not go to them, and may experience anxiety about this.

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

Baptism is the only Sacrament of the Church, which, in case of emergency, can be performed even by a lay person. During the years of persecution of the Church, cases of such baptism were not rare - there were few churches and priests.

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

Thus, in any case, a person baptized by a lay person must “refill” the baptism in the temple. However, in the old days, midwives were specially taught how to properly perform baptism; 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 doubt whether they were baptized or not.

Can parents attend Baptism?

They may well, and not just be present, but pray 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 how to find out about the procedure for performing Baptism in the temple in which you want to baptize your child.

What does an adult person 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, those who come to the baptismal font need to decide for themselves very important questions: does he need this and is he ready for this? Baptism is inappropriate if a person with his help is looking for 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 celebration of the Sacrament, a person must begin a full-fledged church life: go to church regularly, learn divine services, pray, that is, learn to live in God. If this does not happen, Baptism will not make any sense.

It is necessary to prepare for Baptism: at least carefully read these catechumens, read at least one of the Gospels, know by heart or close to the text the Creed and the prayer "Our Father".

It would be just wonderful to prepare for confession: to remember your sins, wrongs and bad inclinations. Many priests do it very correctly when they confess catechumens before Baptism.

Is it possible to baptize during Lent?

Yes, you can. Moreover, in former times, fasting served as a preparation not only for a certain 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 feasts, 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 a person to be baptized?

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

Among the grounds for refusing baptism may be a person's unpreparedness and a magical attitude towards baptism. The magical attitude to Baptism is the desire to use it to protect oneself from the forces of evil, to get rid of, to receive all kinds of spiritual or material "bonuses".

Persons in a state of intoxication and leading an immoral lifestyle will not be baptized until their repentance and correction.

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

This situation occurs quite often. It is not necessary to baptize a person a second time - you can baptize only once. But you can give a person a new name. Any priest has the right to do this simply by confessing a person and communion him with a new name.

How many times can you be baptized?

Definitely one time. Baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person can be born only once. The Orthodox Creed says: "I confess one baptism for the remission of sins." Secondary baptism is not allowed.

What to do if you do not know whether you are baptized or not, and there is no one to find out from?

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 about it. The priest will perform Baptism according to a special order for such cases.

What duties do godfathers and mothers have towards their godchildren?

Godparents have three main duties towards godchildren:
1. Prayer. The godfather is obliged to pray for his godchild, and also, as he grows, teach him to pray, so that the godson himself can communicate with God and ask Him for help in all his life circumstances.
2. Doctrine. Teach the godson the basics of the Christian faith.
3. Preacher. By your own example, show the godson human virtues - love, kindness, mercy, and others, so that he grows into a real good Christian.

How should future godparents prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism?

Godparents are guarantors for their godson. They are entrusted with the duty to take care of the spiritual and moral education of their godson. 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. To get started, listen to the catechumens in the temple or at specialized courses organized in your diocese. Then read your choice of Mark or Luke. Choose for yourself - the first is shorter, the second is clearer. You can also find them in the Bible; Specifically, the New Testament. Carefully read the text of the Creed - during Baptism, one of the godparents reads it by heart or from a sheet. It would also be good if by the time of Epiphany you knew the prayer “Our Father” by heart.

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

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

The original name of godparents is godparents. They received such a name because they "received" the baptized from the font; at the same time, the Church, as it were, delegates to them part of her concern for the new Christian and teaching him the Christian life and morality, therefore, not only the presence of the godparents during Baptism and their active participation is obligatory, 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 infant receives the Sacrament. This alone makes it impossible for representatives of other religions to become godparents at Baptism.

In addition, the godparents take on the obligation to educate the 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 themselves live this way.

The question arises: can then representatives of other Christian denominations, for example, Catholics or Lutherans, become godparents? The answer is no - they can't for the same reasons. Only Orthodox Christians can become recipients at Baptism.

Which of the things you need to bring with you to Baptism and which of the godparents should do this?

For Baptism you will need a baptismal kit. As a rule, this is a pectoral cross with a chain or ribbon, several candles, a baptismal shirt. The cross can also be purchased in ordinary stores, but then you should ask the priest to consecrate it. You will need a towel or diaper to wrap and dry the baby after the font. According to an unwritten tradition, a godfather acquires a cross for a boy, and a 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, the same sex as the child, that is, for a boy - a godfather, and for a girl - a godmother. The opportunity for a child to have both a godfather and a godmother is a pious custom. It is not customary to have more than two recipients.

How to choose godparents for a child?

The main criterion for choosing a godfather or godmother should be whether this person can subsequently help in the Christian upbringing of the person received from the font. The degree of acquaintance and just the friendliness of the relationship are also important, but this is not the main thing. In the old days, concern about expanding the circle of people who would seriously help the newborn child made it undesirable to invite the next of kin as godparents. It was believed that, by virtue of natural kinship, they would help the child anyway. For this reason, family grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts rarely became foster parents. Nevertheless, it is not forbidden, and now it is becoming more and more frequent.

Can a pregnant woman become a godmother?

Maybe. Pregnancy is not an obstacle to acceptance. In addition, if a pregnant woman herself wants to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, then she may well do it.

Who can't be a godmother?

minors; Gentiles; the mentally ill; wholly ignorant of the faith; intoxicated persons

What should godparents give to a godson?

This question lies in the realm of human customs and does not concern the spiritual life regulated by Church rules and canons. In other words, this is a personal matter of the godparents. You may not give anything at all. However, it seems that the gift, if there is one, should be useful and remind of Baptism. It can be the Bible or the New Testament, a pectoral cross or an icon of the saint in whose honor 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 truest sense of the word, it is impossible. The godfather will be only the one who perceived the child from the font. However, in a sense, this can be done. Let's draw a parallel with ordinary birth: let's say a father and mother, having given birth to their baby, refuse him, do not fulfill their parental duties and do not take care of him. In this case, the child can be adopted by someone and raised as a native. This person will become, although adopted, but a parent in the true sense of the word. It is the same with spiritual birth. If 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 care of the child in every possible way. And "godfather" at the same time it can also be called. At the same time, a child cannot be baptized again.

Can a young man become godfather to his bride?

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

How many times can a person become a godfather?

As many as you think possible. Being a godparent is a big responsibility. Someone may dare to take on such responsibility once or twice, someone five or six, and someone perhaps ten. Everyone determines this measure for himself.

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

Maybe. If he feels that he is not ready to be responsible for the child, then it will be more honest to both the parents and the child and to himself to say this directly, rather than formally becoming a godfather and not fulfilling 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 barriers to this.

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

- If there is even the slightest doubt, baptized or not, of course, you need to be baptized. And take it 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, a servant of God such and such is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." But I don't think the Lord needs to be told why we baptize. He sees everything and knows everything.

By the way, such a situation just happened in my life. I became a church member during my school years. It was only when I became a church member that I learned that my great-grandmother had baptized me as a child. And not in the church, but on her own. In Soviet times, there was such a practice - in those places where there were no churches, or when there was no opportunity to take the child to the temple, believing relatives performed baptism. 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 chrismation.

Great-grandmother was a very pious church person, her brother, a hieromonk, accepted death as a new martyr. There was no doubt about her faith, but there were questions about how the baptism was performed - whether she was anointed afterwards or not.

At that time, I already helped in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and closely communicated with the monks of the Lavra. And they said that if there is even the slightest doubt, it is necessary to be baptized.

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

I wanted everything to be right - with three times full immersion. And in Kyiv there were no baptistery at that time, 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 took communion, but since I learned about the doubts about my baptism, I no longer dared to take communion.

I remember that a strong icy wind was blowing - Father Isaac's phelonion turned up and fluttered like a flag. Ice floes floated past us along the river. I was baptized three times by immersion, right after that I went to the Liturgy and took communion.

Interestingly, although the water was ice cold, neither I nor the monk who baptized had any health problems: the grace of the sacrament protected ...

“I found it necessary to baptize without godparents”

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

– This is exactly the case when not the result is important, but the process. The Lord guides every 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 receiver is not to lead to communion.

– What then? The role of godparents is now so blurred that it is not at all clear what they should do.

– A very interesting question. In my practice, there was a case when young parents asked to have their child baptized. They faced a problem: none of the relatives or acquaintances was suitable for the role of the recipient. “Now we are going to church ourselves, we are trying to live in the Orthodox way,” they explained. – Knowing what the duties of the recipients 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 live the church life.”

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

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

The only case known to me is with one of the brethren of our monastery. During the period of churching, his godmother, a believing woman, helped him a lot. She really worked hard for him to set foot on the path to Christ, and really completely fulfilled the functions that a beneficiary should carry. But this, again, 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 charter of the Orthodox Church, according to ancient tradition, a boy is given a godfather, a girl - a godfather. 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 offering - people just want to become related to the family of the baptized baby. It has nothing to do 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 reception in our time is deeply and seriously profaned by the attitude to the duties of godparents. Much of the blame for this lies with us, the clergy. We do not pay due attention to working with people who come to the temple with a desire to baptize a child.

By the way, in our Ioninsky monastery and in the skete in the village of Neshcherov near Kyiv, a conversation with parents and godparents is mandatory. In Neshcherovo, even several conversations - with those who are getting married, and with those who are being baptized, and it is impossible to be baptized or married until people listen to the entire course.

Some priests say: “What courses! They only repel, people turn around and go to baptize in the temple, where no one pays attention to it.

Nothing like this. As experience shows, people get baptized and get married very willingly and they advise their friends - they say, in such and such a temple they take the sacrament seriously, go and you baptize there.

The guilt of the clergy that it does not work with the flock in this direction does not explain the tasks of the recipients, does not warn against hasty consent to set foot on such a spiritually dangerous path. I do believe that becoming a recipient is spiritually dangerous.

– Can you explain why?

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

But when an Orthodox person is invited to be a godparent by non-church people, I always ask you to think very, very well. How close is this family to you, how loyal are your parents to Christianity, are they ready to give you 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 properly - after all, this is a big responsibility, you are entrusted to God for this baby.

If, due to cowardice, or unreason, 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 day and night, as far as possible, for the godson. 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 yourself need grace?”

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

- Try to talk with 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, the opinion of Archpriest Alexy Uminsky is close to me, 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 would give grace, so that the child would unite with the Lord, receiving His Body and Blood." But, excuse me, do you yourself need grace? Do you need to be part of the Body and Blood of Christ?

Children perceive only a 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 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, already at a conscious age, can he come to the temple. Not to return - because, in fact, he had never been here: he was not brought up in the faith at home, he did not wake up and fall asleep with prayer, he 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, a baby needs communion. And if the godfather takes upon himself the work and carries the child to the Chalice, this is better than if the godson lived without sacraments at all. But how much this will affect his Christian upbringing is a big question.

Therefore, it is important to make every effort to be able to communicate with the child. Not in the way it is now accepted - when the godfather comes once a year for a birthday, or on Angel's Day, or on New Year's Day, gives some nonsense, exchanges two or three touching phrases with the godson, thus serving the service, and leaves with a pure heart.

Do not flatter yourself, this is not perception. Such behavior has nothing to do with Christianity at all, on the contrary, there is a profanation of the relationship between the godfather and the godson, and for this you will have to answer before God.

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

- Many are embarrassed to “load” with conversations about religion and faith or have no experience in communicating with a child on such topics ...

- If everything is so complicated, you should not agree to be godparents with non-church parents.

Gruzdev called himself get in the body. Try now, look for words. Before that, be sure to pray. By the grace of God, by His admonition, an understanding will come of how to reach out to a 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”

– A question about a different situation. Many of us were baptized in the Soviet era, when our parents were often against it, and our grandmother and aunt or girlfriend carried the children to church for baptism in secret. The child grew up, became a church, but the godparents never came to the temple. Does a believing godson have obligations towards his non-church godfather?

- How to do it? Older people perceive, as a rule, "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 begins to tell how he can do everything well, and he only needs an instructor to show a couple of tricks, it is clear that when descending a mountain, such a clever man will break firewood and get injured. And when there is an understanding that all I can do is walk on a straight track and slide down a hill near the house, then the instructor begins to teach properly, and all this leads to a concrete 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, think about how you can interest an adult, an elderly person in this regard. Invite him on a tour of the temple or give him some book or pamphlet. It happens that if you directly offer something to read, a person will refuse: “How is it? I lived my life, and then some green snot decided to teach me ... ”In such cases, a“ workaround ”may work - when some book that may be of interest is left or forgotten somewhere in a conspicuous place.

Often older people have more time and they 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, as they say, on the forehead, and the person will shake himself.

We had one grandfather in Ioninsky - a good man, an excellent locksmith, he came and helped. Somehow noticed that he began to appear less frequently. It turned out that he was sick, he was in the hospital. And in general, it was clear that the person was slowly giving up (for many older people it is clear that they are declining). We were on friendly terms with him, and I asked him directly: “Lenya, do you believe in God at all?” “Well, yes, I do.” “When was the last time you received communion?” "Oh, I don't know when." “If you don’t take communion, you will go to hell.” - "Really?" - "100 percent..."

The man was already under 80, there was no time to have long conversations. I explained to him the simplest things, what he could perceive. It is clear what kind of fasting and lengthy divine services are from him, but he prepared for communion and began to receive communion regularly. Six months later, he peacefully went to the Lord, and I believe that the Lord accepted him. Because a person in purity of heart responded to the call: "Take, eat." Just got up and came.

There can be no compromise in the relationship with God

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

- You need a receiver. We know the words of Christ: "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them." The more people pray for a child to inherit the Kingdom of God, the better. An extra prayer book, as they say, will not hurt.

And in the future, especially at a transitional age, when the opinion of an outsider for a teenager is often more important than that of a parent, it will be easier for the godchild to talk with the godson about faith, about spiritual life. He will be able to help the child stay in the church fence when he is tempted to leave it.

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

– Can friends of different faiths baptize each other's children? For example, Orthodox being godparents in Catholic families.

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

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

One of the two 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 just an excuse to enter into closer and more friendly relations with this family. Again, this is a profanation of perception.

- Often people act in such a way so as not to annoy others ...

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

From the lives of the saints, we know a lot of cases when parents begged their children to renounce Christ, appealing to some kindred, family feelings. In Soviet times, it was so much that parents or children persuaded their relatives not to go to church.

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

These things are very serious and should not be trifled with.

- Why, when we submit notes with names in churches, they always ask if a person has been baptized. Many, in their sincere desire to pray for their neighbor, do not know whether they are baptized or not. And those who come to church are embarrassed, upset and often even repelled by the fact that there is such biased attention to the issue of being baptized / not being baptized. People ask: "Can't you take the note and just pray for the sick person?"

– The Church at the Liturgy prays only for those who are her children. It is quite possible to submit notes to prayers with the names of unbaptized people - first of all, about the Lord enlightening 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 is not baptized and does not want to be baptized, we cannot submit notes about him to the Liturgy. But if it is not known whether our loved one was baptized, it is better to submit, and the Lord who knows the hearts, firstly, will not put this prayer into sin for us, and secondly, He will certainly have mercy on this person with His grace.

Dear friends! We invite you to participate in a discussion on the topic of baptismal catechumens. How do you rate the introduction of such conversations? What results do you think they should bring. What problems do you see in this regard? How do you see solutions to these problems?
Send answers by email [email protected]

I don't know if I'm baptized or not. My mother, whom I repeatedly asked about this, says that she herself did not baptize me, but one day, having sent me to the Oryol region for the summer to her grandmother - my father's mother - she came and saw that supposedly my hair on my head had somehow been cut off, like I was baptized. I don’t know what the haircut has to do with it, so I don’t believe it. There is no cross or anything else to prove that I was baptized. What to do? How can I be baptized? I went to church in our city, but the priests say that I must find out exactly about this event by all means, otherwise no one will baptize me, because this is a sin. Communication with those places has long been lost, my grandmother, of course, died. There is no one alive who knows about it.

retiree

Ukraine. Ivano-Frankivsk

Dear Natalia, in the event that there is doubt whether the Sacrament of Baptism was actually performed, in our Church the rite of the so-called conditional Baptism is performed, when the entire procedure of the Sacrament of Baptism is performed, but only at the very moment of washing in baptismal water, the formula of the Sacrament of Baptism is pronounced with the addition words: "If not baptized (baptized) is." That is, we leave to the will of God those circumstances that are unknown to us. If Baptism was not performed, then we perform it, and if it was, in any case, we remove the confusion about the possible state of this person. About such a rite of conditional baptism and ask the priest in the temple in your city. You can learn about how the Sacrament of Baptism takes place. In particular, you will learn why a person's hair is cut off at Baptism. However, usually the hair is cut so little that it is imperceptible.