Christening is the second birth of a baby, but before God. Parents carefully prepare for this important event, scrupulously approach the choice of the godparent with his mother. Often, the right choice is given with great difficulty, because not everyone agrees to take on this responsibility. The church says that any person can baptize a child, but he must become a true parent from the holy spirit throughout his life. Whom to choose for such a responsible title, and can a woman and a man who is husband and wife be godmothers?
Godparents husband and wife: the opinion of the Moscow Patriarch about the reasons for the prohibition of
The main demand of the Orthodox Church for those who baptize a child is they must believe steadfastly, live a church life, know at least the most basic prayers( "Gospel", "Our Father"for example).This is urgently needed so that in the future they can fully exercise the role of teachers for their godson. Parents of the church should give basic knowledge about the Orthodox faith, the spiritual principles of human existence. If the recipients are ignorant people in such matters, then there are big doubts about their original desire to become godparents.
The Church strictly monitors the fulfillment of each condition relating to the sacrament of baptism, and negatively refers to cases when people consciously do not follow certain rules. There is an acute problem with the possibility of becoming godparents of a man and a woman who are married. On this account, the Orthodox religion has its own view, which should be discussed in more detail.
According to the Orthodox canons, the husband and wife can not become the spiritual parents of one child. It is believed that they are already a single whole, married. And if both of them baptize the baby, that's wrong. This position is explained by the fact that during the sacrament of baptism, the recipients must have integrity in relation to the child, and if they are already spiritually united, the rite will not be recognized as valid.
Some fathers are loyal to such a question and argue as follows: if the marriage was not made in the church, it entitles the husband and his wife to baptize one child, because their relationship was not sealed in heaven. To see for sure whether the husband and wife can be godparents, enlist the weighty opinion of the highest religious ranks and listen to what the Moscow Patriarchate thinks about this. Watch the video below, which discusses the topic in detail.
What the Catholic Church of
says A newborn baby should appear before God right after birth, cleanse himself of original sin, connect with the church. So any religion argues and calls to hold christenings at an early age. The process of performing the rite is almost the same everywhere: the baby is washed with water from a font in the temple, reads the liturgy, and at the end wears a cross. Only the requirements that allow or prohibit believers from taking certain steps differ. The Catholic Church is at odds with the Orthodox on many issues, and the rite of the sacrament of baptism was no exception.
It all begins with the parents coming to the church for a couple of weeks to discuss with the priest( priest of the Catholic Church) all the issues of preparing for the rite, to set a date, to agree with who will baptize the child. Godparents in the Catholic faith are given important powers in the life of the child, which include the duty to take him to Sunday school, prepare for religious rites( communion, confirmation).The approach to choosing godparents here is doubly difficult and is an important task for any believer.
In addition to the awareness and the high responsibility of the godparents, the Catholic faith has its own rules for choosing the spiritual father and mother. According to the requirements of the church, only people who can be considered as receivers are:
- . They believe and practice Catholicism.
- Do not have any kinship with the baby.
- Reached the 16th anniversary. If the reasons are weighty, the abbot can make an exception.
- Catholics of religion who passed the sacrament of the first Communion and confirmation( bezhmovanie).This is the ceremony of chrismation, which takes place at the age of adulthood. So Catholics confirm that they took faith consciously.
- Do not be parents of the child.
- Are the husband and the wife.
Family couple - godmothers of one child: superstitions and traditions
According to the traditions of the Orthodox Church, a man and a woman who baptize a child enter into spiritual kinship. It is valued so highly that no other union is more important than this( marital including).There are several traditions in the Orthodox faith that call into question the possibility of baptizing other people's children for a couple. Here are the main points when spouses are forbidden to be perceived:
- In the sacrament of infant baptism, a couple of people are forbidden to participate, if they are spouses. If this happens, then their marriage can not exist on the spiritual level: it will not have sacred bonds.
- Like a married couple, the couple who intend to enter into a marriage union have no right to baptize. Because at the time of baptism they will gain spiritual unity( kinship), which is praised above the corporeal, they will have to give up their relationship in favor of gaining the status of godparents.
- A couple who lives in a civil marriage also has no right to become godparents to a child, because initially such bonds are condemned by the church and considered to be fornication.
Despite these prohibitions, there are options where the husband and wife have the right to baptize children of the same family, if they meet other requirements of the Orthodox Church. They must do this separately: a man baptizes one child, and a woman baptizes another. That is, spouses can baptize siblings( or blood brothers, sisters).If they do this individually, they will not lose the sacredness of their conjugal union.
If baptism with spouse-companions is nevertheless due to ignorance, then this situation can be resolved only by the higher authority of the church( the ruling bishop).The spouses petition the ruling bishop to get out of the situation. The outcome can be in such variants: recognition of marriage as invalid or spouses will be called to repent for sin, committed by ignorance.
Who else is not allowed to make godfathers
If you decide to christen your child, you should definitely know all the requirements and customs of the church that are forbidden to take by receivers( except for husband and wife):
- of the baby's blood parents;
- of one who was not baptized or does not believe in any religion( atheist);
- person who denies any truth of the Orthodox religion;
- if he who baptizes refers to the sacrament of baptism as a magical rite, and pursues his goals( in a pagan sense);
- people who do not want to become godparents for this child;
- the adoptive father or adoptive mother;
- people who are members of other faiths;
- children under the age of 14;
- monks and representatives of church dignity;
- people whose views are not subject to morality;
- persons with mental disabilities;
- women who survive the days of purification by menstruation.
Who can be taken as a receptacle of
When parents think about the choice of a child for their own children, they should be guided not only by their own considerations. It is necessary to observe all religious rules according to which the goddess or mother can become:
- His relatives are a grandmother or grandfather, aunt or uncle. Perhaps it will be an older sister or brother who has reached the age of fourteen.
- Kumovya( those whose child you yourself are a recipient).
- Godfather of the first child. It happens that a person already baptized a baby in one family, but they had a second child, and the same godparents who baptized the firstborn were taken by the followers.
- If there are no survivors, then they can become a priest who performs the rite.
- Pregnant woman.
- An unmarried girl who has no children.
Dear parents, you need to understand that the godparents need to choose a person who does not just participate in church rites, but truly loves the baby, can become for him a spiritual mentor for life. Answering the question of who is allowed to take the receiver, the church means a person of the believer, responsible, conscious and loving, so that the rite has the right meaning and final destination.