Baptism is a sacrament during which God's grace is transmitted to a person through certain sacred actions. The Orthodox Church considers baptism to be the spiritual birth of man.
Instructions
Step 1
During the sacrament of baptism, a guardian angel is assigned to the child, who then guards the person throughout his life. Baptism is a very serious matter, therefore, you need to approach its organization as carefully as possible, the thoughts of all participants in the ceremony should be sincere, transparent and pure.
Step 2
The sooner a child is baptized, the better. The Church believes that newborns should be baptized on the eighth day of life, because it was at this age that the infant Jesus was dedicated to Heavenly Father, or after forty days, which is more common today. It is believed that the first forty days after giving birth, a woman who gives birth is in a state of physiological impurity, so she cannot go to church, and in her absence it is better not to baptize. After the fortieth day, a special prayer is read over the woman to the woman in labor, which gives her the opportunity to participate in church sacraments, one of which is the baptism of her own child.
Step 3
However, many parents who baptized their children before the end of these forty days say that it is better for the child himself to be baptized as early as possible. This is due to the fact that newborns sleep most of the time, and in this state they receive less stress from the unfamiliar environment and the crowd of people around.
Step 4
Baptism can be performed on any day of the week, there are no restrictions. The choice of the day depends solely on the capabilities of the temple you have chosen and on your wishes.
Step 5
Before baptizing a child, you must choose a name for him. In Orthodox families, children are given names in honor of certain saints. There is a complete list of their names, which is called saints. This list is most often found on Church calendars. Previously, children were named after those saints whose memory falls on the day of baptism. However, this is a tradition, not a requirement. Priests always take into account the wishes of the parents about the names.
Step 6
It is not necessary to name the child by the name of one of the saints, on the day of commemoration of which he was born, you can choose one of the names of the saints who are commemorated a week and within a week after the birth of the child. If the parents have difficulties with the name, the priest can independently determine the heavenly patron. Most often, the priest is guided by the fame of the saint, so that the grown-up child can find the biography of the person whose name he was named. The day of remembrance of the saint, whose name was named at the baptism of a person, is considered the day of his name day or the day of an angel.
