Tuesday, September 11, 2012

This picture just amuses me


Posted by Byzantine, TX

7 comments:

  1. FrStephenLourieSeptember 11, 2012 at 11:57 AM

    what is the theological reasoning for this practice?
    it is a little amusing, where is the God parent?

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    1. Byzantine, TXSeptember 11, 2012 at 12:05 PM

      In the Slavic practice I'm familiar with the baby is placed on the solea for the godparent to gather up after the priest has placed the baby there. As to why this is the method... anyone?

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  2. Archpriest John MorrisSeptember 11, 2012 at 2:22 PM

    It is a custom for the priest gives the baby back to its parents after the Baptism and say something like, "Today you have given your son/daughter to Christ and His Holy Church. We give him/her back to you with the prayer that you will raise him/her to love Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church."
    I suspect that is what is taking place in this picture.

    Fr. John W. Morris

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    1. BbSeptember 13, 2012 at 3:22 AM

      The Moldovans say this, but in a different way. The unchurched mother stays in the narthex, and, after the baptism, the godmother returns the child to the mother through the church doors, saying those words. They do this exchange three times, then the mother comes in to be churched.

      At least that's the custom our Moldovans know from their homeland. It might be quite localised for all I know.

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    2. A readerSeptember 13, 2012 at 8:31 AM

      This confuses me a bit. By the time that an infant is baptized (forty days at earliest, barring medical emergency), he is churched along with his mother before the baptism can occur. She, thus, would not remain in the narthex. In U.S. Greek practice, it is unusual for the child to be baptized before several months pass. The churching, of course, occurs on the fortieth day. What I don't know, and would be interested to learn, is whether Orthodox cultures other than the Slavic continue to name the child on its eighth day. This practice, too, has provided our family with wonderful memories of the priest coming to our home to bestow the name.

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  3. A readerSeptember 12, 2012 at 8:23 PM

    At the end of an infant baptism, the priest gently lays the child down there at the top of the steps. The mother "walks" on her knees up the steps to receive back her newly-baptized child. I did this for all of my children; it is quite meaningful to the mother. All four were Slavic-style baptisms.

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    1. A readerSeptember 12, 2012 at 8:26 PM

      Oops. I meant to type "up TO the steps . . ." I did not ascend the steps on my knees! Rather, I "walked" from where I had been standing throughout the service.

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