Is it possible to be godmother to a godson's child? – Which relative can be godfather? In what case can a priest refuse to baptize a person?

Today the question of baptism comes first. Churched people are chosen as recipients, butcan parents be godparents – this question remains the most pressing for many today. In the old days, mostly adults who consciously approached a new stage in their lives had access to the baptismal rite. During the Sacrament of baptism, a spiritual rebirth of one’s soul and body took place. Infants were not baptized because their consciousness was inaccessible to God. The ritual itself meant the washing of an adult from the sins he had previously committed, and the acceptance of the grace of the Holy Spirit in a pure and renewed form. To some extent, this meant the “death” of a person in physical life, but a new birth took place in the spiritual image of a person.

Many people previously believed that this rebirth was possible only after real death, and approached the font only in old age. Advanced age is a certain indicator. But after a while, the Church decided to bring the rite of rebirth closer to the birth of a person. Today, this sacrament began to be performed in infancy with the consent of the parents. Then the question arose: can parents be godparents?

Godparents play a serious role in the life of their godson

In addition to the fact that they will have to educate their successor spiritually and be a role model for him, they will also, in the event that it is impossible to comply with the obligations to raise the child by the blood parents, will have to take on their responsibilities and duties. And that is why parents cannot be godparents to their children.

Can parents be godparents?

Only the person to whom the blood parents can completely entrust their child can become a foster child. That is, he has already been able to prove by his deeds and actions that he is truly worthy of becoming the baby’s godfather. Love for the child on the part of the future godfather is the main criterion when choosing a successor, since it is love that is the basis of the commandments of the Law of God. But the child’s parents cannot be godparents or godparents.

Godparents must be churchgoers; if those chosen are not, then you can invite them to the church for conversations with the priest, of course, at their request. The main goals of such meetings are:

Familiarization with the basics of faith in God and the church education of a person;

Reading the Law of God in its true understanding;

Mastering the Holy Scriptures;

A detailed story about the duties of godparents during the rite of Baptism, the responsibilities that will be assigned to them in the future;

Memorizing the “Creed” prayer, which recipients will have to say at baptism for their goddaughters and godchildren.

So, to summarize, we can clearly answer the question: can parents be godparents? From all of the above it follows that godparents can be relatives, acquaintances, friends, but in no case the parents themselves.

A criminal case against the Anapa deputy has been sent to the Novorossiysk court. According to Kommersant-Kuban, we are talking about Alexander Zhuravel. The 48-year-old parliamentarian is accused of murdering his godfather and illegal possession of firearms. A Kommersant-Kuban source believes that the cause of the bloody showdown could have been a debt of 2 million rubles, which the murdered man demanded to return. The deputy admitted his guilt and faces up to 15 years in prison.

The Novorossiysk prosecutor's office sent a criminal case against a 48-year-old deputy of the Anapa Municipal Council to the Primorsky District Court of the hero city. The identity of the accused is not being disclosed by the department. According to Kommersant-Kuban, we may be talking about Alexander Zhuravel, elected in the Anapa city constituency No. 10. Alexander Zhuravel was also the secretary of the Committee on Law and Order, Cossacks and Veterans Affairs, as well as a member of the party " United Russia" On the official website of Anapa, information about him is posted in the list of current parliamentarians.

The man is accused of premeditated murder (Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and illegal carrying of firearms and ammunition (Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The incident occurred on the night of May 7, 2018. As the state prosecution authorities said, the accused was located not far from a roadside cafe in the village of Raevskaya. He had a conflict with his 57-year-old godfather. As a result, the deputy shot his opponent six times in the head and torso area with a firearm, from which he died on the spot, and the shooter fled the crime scene.

According to investigators, the deputy purchased the weapon from an unidentified person. It was made independently from a gas pistol of the IZH-79-8 model. Also, the people's choice had with him a silencer and at least six rounds of 9 x 18 mm caliber. The deceased was discovered by passers-by. Immediately after the arrest, the deputy was placed in custody. Currently, according to investigators from the Investigative Committee of the Region, the accused has admitted his guilt in full.

As Kommersant-Kuban was previously told by sources in law enforcement agencies Anapa, most likely the quarrel occurred over money. Allegedly about fifteen years ago Godfather the accused lent the future deputy about 2 million rubles. and only now demanded their return. According to a source in the Anapa police, this year the accused was already a suspect in a criminal case for beating a man at a local market. The deputy allegedly did not share something with a businessman in the field of entrepreneurship. The articles of the criminal code incriminated against the deputy require imprisonment for a term of up to 15 years.

According to the SPARK-Interfax system, Alexander Zhuravel owns a 20% share authorized capital(5 thousand rubles) in Trio LLC (registered in Anapa in 2007). The main profile of the company is the activities of restaurants and food delivery services. Until 2014, Mr. Zhuravel also owned a 12.5% stake in A.S.S. LLC. (activities in the field of sports). He was elected as a deputy of the Anapa Council three times: in 2006, 2010 (83.18% of the votes) and 2015 (88.40%). According to the declaration of income, expenses and property for 2017, Alexander Zhuravel did not earn a penny last year. He owns land plot for individual housing construction with an area of 600 sq. m and an apartment of 130.9 sq. m.

Dmitry Mikheenko

Reading time: 7 minutes

The rite of baptism of a child is a great sacrament, an important step for parents and their baby. This is the procedure after which a person is accepted into the Christian faith. The sacrament is considered one of the most ancient; its implementation has remained almost unchanged for several centuries. There are rules of baptism that relatives and godparents should know.

When to baptize a child

Christians schedule the ceremony for the first months of a child’s birth, although one can be baptized at any age. If the baby is sick or is in intensive care, then he can be baptized earlier.

The choice of the moment always remains with the parents, depending on the circumstances and condition of the child. As a rule, the date of the sacrament is set on the 8th or 40th day of the baby’s life. This choice has several explanations:

babies behave calmer and are not afraid when strangers take them;
a child under 3 months can easily tolerate head-first immersion;
The mother of the baby is allowed to enter the church only after 40 days from the date of birth.

You can perform the sacrament on any day, be it a holiday or an ordinary one. Church calendars do not contain prohibitions on certain dates. The exceptions are Easter, Christmas, Trinity. Some churches have their own schedule related to their internal routine, so when choosing the day of the sacrament, it is better to consult with a priest.

Preparation for the sacrament

Parents decide on their own which temple to choose. For a small child, it is better when the church is small and located close to home. If the church has a large parish, then you should find out in advance about the number of children at baptism. It may turn out that the ceremony is being performed with several babies at the same time, each of whom is accompanied by relatives. If parents don’t like such a mass gathering, you can agree on an individual celebration of the sacrament.

Rules for baptizing a child in the Orthodox Church:

It is important that before the sacrament the baby sleeps well and eats - he will not be capricious and will calmly endure the entire procedure.
If the child gets hungry, it is necessary to discuss in advance with the priest how best to do this during the ceremony.
When the baby is sick, the parents independently decide whether to perform the sacrament or not.
Parents should not worry that the child will freeze in the font, because... the water there is always warm; the rest of the time the baby can be wrapped in a towel or warm diaper.

Rules for preparing godparents for the sacrament of baptism:

An interview conducted by a priest is mandatory for all “second” parents of a child. The number of classes, as a rule, is determined by the level of church participation of the students. After the first conversation, the priest decides how long the parents need to come. If recipients regularly attend services, receive communion, and confess, then one meeting can be sufficient.
At the preparation stage, godparents need to visit the temple a few days before the sacrament, take communion and confess.
Before the ceremony itself, it is necessary to observe a three-day fast, which excludes animal products from the diet. In addition, you should refrain from intimacy, entertainment, and foul language.
On the day of the sacrament, godparents are prohibited from eating food until the end of the ceremony, because often after the procedure, the priest administers communion to the newly baptized person and his recipients.
Definitely a must learn main prayer"Symbol of faith". It is pronounced after the words of renunciation of the devil and union with Christ. Meaningful Prayers which the recipients should know are “Heavenly King”, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice”.

Choosing a name at baptism

Parents name their child as their heart tells them; they can take it from the name of the saint on whose day the baby was born. You can name the baby whatever your relatives like or seek advice from a priest. As a rule, in the Russian Orthodox Church they baptize under the names that are contained in the Saints, i.e. in honor of the Orthodox saint.

If the name with which the baby is registered on the birth certificate is not in the Saints, then you must choose another one. As a rule, for baptism one selects something that is in tune with the worldly, for example, Sergei - Sergius, Zhanna - Anna. If the name is Orthodox, then you don’t have to change it, but many parents still try to do this, because... They want to protect the baby from everything bad.

Choosing godparents

The main task of parents is to choose the right adopters for their newborn.

These are not just people who will give gifts to the baby, but those who are engaged in his spiritual education and teaching him the rules of Christian life. There can be only one recipient: for a boy - a man, for a girl - a woman. Although it is better when there are two godparents. Receivers can be:

only baptized people;
uncles, grandparents, older sisters and any relatives other than the parents themselves;
people who have close, friendly, and benevolent relationships with the child’s family.

The rules for baptizing a child provide that the following cannot be recipients:

couples planning to get married;
unbaptized people until they accept faith;
having promiscuous sexual intercourse;
minor children (girls under 13, boys under 15);
married couples;
mentally unstable people;
monks;
alcohol abusers;
atheists.

What is needed for a boy's baptism

When a christening is held for a boy, a godfather must be involved. As a rule, he takes on the financial costs - he purchases a gift, a cross, an icon and a silver personalized spoon if desired. The custom of paying for the ceremony is not always entrusted to the recipient; a donation to the church can be made by the child’s parents. To baptize a boy you should take with you:

kryzhma (a special piece of white fabric on which the child will be held during the sacrament);
two towels;
a vest, baptismal shirt or white shirt;
a bottle of water, a pacifier;
spare clothes;
bag for cut hair;
church candles;
bread;
child's birth certificate, parents' passports.

What does a girl need?

When a girl is baptized, the main recipient is the godmother, who must read the “Creed” prayer during the ceremony. To take part in the sacrament, the recipient may be pregnant. Traditionally, a woman gives a cross, an icon of a saint whose name her goddaughter bears. In addition, she can help her parents financially by paying for the girl’s baptism ceremony. For the sacrament you will need:

elegant white shirt, long shirt or dress;
kryzhma;
a bottle of water;
two towels (one remains in the church);
spare clothes;
small hair bag;
child's birth certificate, parents' passports;
White bread;
headscarf;
church candles.

Rules for godparents

Basic rules for recipients during the sacrament:

before the ceremony it is necessary to go to confession, take communion and have a conversation;
before the ceremony, the recipients must learn the prayers “Our Father” and “Creed”, which are read three times during the ceremony;
clothes for godparents should be modest, not provocative (for women, a long dress and scarf are required);
if the child is under one year old, he is held in his arms all the time;
the first half of the ritual is held by godmothers for boys, and fathers for girls;
after immersion in the font, everything changes, the named father accepts the boy and wraps him in kryzhma, and the mother takes the girl;
the child must be held in your arms while reading a prayer, walking around the font, or anointing with oil;
In the event of the death or illness of parents, it is necessary to take responsibility for raising the child.

How is baptism done in church?

The duration of the ceremony is approximately an hour and a half. Before it begins, candles are lit in the temple and the priest reads prayers. To carry out the sacrament, the baby is undressed and handed over to his godparents. In winter, the child can be left dressed, only his legs and arms will be exposed.

As a rule, natural parents should not be present at the baptism. However, close relatives are allowed to be in the church.

The sacrament can be divided into stages:

The rite of announcement. The priest reads prayers against evil three times and the child’s renunciation of it. At the same time, the baby is wrapped in a diaper, the chest and face are left free.
Prohibition on unclean spirits. The priest, turning to the west, reads prayers three times that are directed against Satan.
The renunciation of the recipients. The priest asks questions, and the godparents are responsible for the child.
Confession of fidelity. The recipients with the baby turn to the east and answer the priest’s questions, read the “Creed”.
Blessing of water. Father wears white clothes. The recipients light a candle. After reading the prayers and asking for illumination, the priest crosses the water three times and blows on it.
Blessing of the oil. The priest blows into a vessel with oil 3 times, reads a prayer, and makes the sign of the cross. He anoints the water of the font and the child with oil.
Immersion of a child in the font. The priest baptizes the baby by threefold immersion. The procedure is accompanied by prayers. Next, the priest hands the child over to his adoptive parents.
Dressing in baptismal garments. At the same time, the child is put on a baptismal shirt and a cross.
Sacrament of Confirmation. The priest smears the baby’s cheeks, forehead, eyes, chest, legs and arms with special consecrated oil (chrism) while saying a prayer. The priest, together with his father, carries the boy 3 times around the altar; he only places the girls next to the icon of the Mother of God.
The rite of tonsure. The father cuts off some of the baby's hair. Then he rolls them with wax and places them in the font.
At the end of the ceremony, the priest reads a prayer for the godparents and the baby, blessing everyone to leave the temple.

In addition to baptism in the temple, the sacrament can also be performed at home, although it is better to do it in the appropriate place. After all, boys are necessarily brought into the altar, and girls are placed next to the icons. It is appropriate to carry out home christenings if the baby is unable to withstand the ceremony in the temple. In addition, the sacrament is performed at home if the child is terminally ill. The cost of the ceremony depends on the region where the temple is located. average price is approximately 3000 rubles.

Video

Baptism is the most significant event in everyone’s life. Orthodox man. And of course, you need to take a responsible approach to choosing godparents. After all, they are second parents and play an important role in a person’s life. There are many superstitions about godparents. And many people wonder: who can be a godfather and who cannot. Let's try to answer the most frequently asked questions on this topic.

Can children be godparents?

According to church rules, children from the age of seven already bear full responsibility for their actions. They are no longer allowed to take communion without confession. Therefore, if a child is sufficiently churched, he can become a godfather. But when choosing a child as godparent, think carefully. Godmother or the father must raise his godson in Orthodox faith, and the child himself is still just learning the basics of Orthodoxy. Still, it is better to choose an adult, accomplished person as godparents. After all, if something happens to the child’s blood parents, the minor will not be able to take responsibility for the godson. If you nevertheless decide to take a minor as godparents, it is better that this is a child who has reached the age of 15.

Can there be one godfather?

There are situations when a christening has already been scheduled, an agreement has been made with the priest and guests have been invited, but one of the godparents cannot attend the baptism. Or you couldn’t find a second receiver at all. What to do in such a situation? The Church allows baptism with one godparent. The second one can be recorded in absentia on the baptismal certificate. But there is one here important point. When a girl is baptized, a godmother must be present, and for a male infant, a godfather must be present. During the sacrament, the godfather (of the same sex as the child) will pronounce on behalf of the baby a vow of renunciation of Satan and union with Christ, as well as the Creed.

Can a sister be a godmother?

If the sister is a believer, an Orthodox person, she can become a godmother. But it is desirable that the godmother is already quite an adult, because she will have to bear responsibility not only for herself, but also for her godson. Many who have adult sisters take them as godparents. After all, no one will take care of a godson like a loved one.

Can an ex-husband be a godfather?

It's more of a moral issue. If you have excellent friendly relations with your ex-husband, and he is not the natural father of your child, he can become a godfather. But if your ex-husband the natural father of the child, then he cannot be the adopter, since natural parents cannot be the adopter of their child. Well, again, the godfather becomes practically a relative, so discuss with your current husband whether he will be against your such a close relationship with your ex-husband.

Can the godfather's wife be a godmother?

The godfather's wife cannot be a successor if we're talking about about the same baby, since the church prohibits spouses from being the adoptive parents of one child. During the sacrament, they acquire a spiritual connection, which means that there cannot be an intimate relationship between them.

Can a brother be a godfather?

Native or cousin may become a godfather. The Church does not prohibit close relatives from being godparents. The only exceptions are the child's parents. Grandmothers, brothers, aunts and uncles can be godparents. The main thing is that these people are Orthodox, baptized, and take a responsible approach to fulfilling the duties of godparents. That is, to teach a child the basics of Orthodoxy and raise him to be a believer, an honest and decent person.

Can husband and wife be godparents?

During the baptismal ceremony, a woman and a man become spiritual relatives, which means they cannot be married. Because marriage implies physical intimacy, which cannot exist between spiritual parents.

If the godmother and godfather are spouses, they are prohibited from participating in the sacrament of baptism of one child. Moreover, a man and woman cannot baptize the same child if they are just planning to get married. If they do become godparents of one baby, they will have to give up close relationships in favor of raising a godson.

A husband and wife can baptize children from the same family. A man can become the godfather of one child, and the wife can become the godmother of another baby.

If a husband and wife unknowingly become the adoptive parents of the same child, the spouses need to contact the ruling bishop. As a rule, there are two ways out of this situation: recognition of the marriage as invalid, or the spouses will be given penance for a sin committed out of ignorance.

Who definitely cannot be a receiver?

Before choosing godparents for your baby, you need to know whom the church clearly prohibits from taking as godparents:

- the child’s blood parents;

- spouses;

- not baptized and atheists;

- people of other religions;

- monks;

- mentally retarded people;

- sectarians.

Choosing godparents is a very important point. And here you need to be guided primarily by the interests of the child, and not by your own. Often, best friends or “necessary” people are chosen as godparents, without really delving into how much the person belongs to the church.

If you want your child to be raised in the Orthodox faith, choose only believers who know prayers and regularly attend church services. If people do not visit the temple and believe, as they say from time to time, then great doubt arises in serious attitude to the sacrament and their duties.

It often happens that people's paths diverge, and the godfather cannot take part in raising the godson. But he is still responsible for this child, so the recipient must pray for his godson or goddaughter all his life.

More from ancient Rus' In our country, a tradition has emerged of baptizing children, without giving them the opportunity to choose another faith.

Thus, in Russia, the majority of citizens adhere to the Orthodox faith.

In order to baptize a child, it is necessary to choose godparents. A Orthodox Church strictly sets the requirements for who can be godparents, so these rules are important to know and follow.

The sacrament itself is performed directly in the church. There are no age restrictions for joining Orthodoxy, so this ritual can be performed by a person at any age.

But according to Russian customs, parents of newborns try to baptize their children in the first year of life. Thus, they place their baby under the protection of the Almighty.

Godparents must be present during the baptism ceremony. They are considered people who are in spiritual closeness with their godson. They should be the child's mentors in the future.

At the same time, it is believed that it is not at all necessary that there be two parents. One is enough, but for boys there must be a godfather, and for girls a godmother.

The presence of the parents in the church is not necessary, but if the child is small, then it will be much calmer for him to be close to his family in an unfamiliar place.

During the baptism process, the godparent must hold the child and be constantly with him. If the baby is small, then he is completely immersed in holy water.

If a person is already an adult, then he simply must plunge his head three times into holy water. After bathing the child, the godparent must pick him up, dry him and put on new clothes.

Before choosing godparents for your child, as well as agreeing to become a godfather for someone, it is important to understand the very essence of this rite and your further responsibilities towards the godson.

You cannot simply attend the ceremony and then forget about the responsibility to the child that is assigned by faith.

Baptism itself is called the second birth of a person. At this moment his spiritual world is born. Since faith implies that the life of the soul does not end after death, being in a human body, it should not accumulate sins within itself.

That is why the church imposes the following responsibilities on godparents:

The problem for many families is modern world is that their children undergo the rite of baptism, but in fact they do not see the embodiment of Christian ideas in the family.

If the family is not involved in the faith, and even more so if the basic commandments are violated, it will be much more difficult for the child to perceive life in accordance with these commandments.

Most churches now do not perform the baptism ceremony until the godparents have completed special courses.

This measure was created so that people are aware of the full responsibility of this step and are able to refuse before they assume their responsibilities to the Almighty.

After completing the courses, people become truly ready for the sacrament, and they understand what they should do after baptism throughout their lives.

Knowing all the responsibilities assigned to godparents, you need to choose those people who are most suitable for fulfilling them.

But it is also important to consider certain points:

The religion of the godparents themselves.
Family connection with the future godson.
The family connection between the godparents themselves.
Special periods for women.
Age of godparents.

To take these features into account, you need to know who cannot be godparents according to church laws:

The question also often arises about whether it is possible to be pregnant at the sacrament of baptism? The Church does not prohibit the entry of women carrying a child under their hearts, and also does not prohibit becoming a godmother.

Knowing all these features, as well as your close circle of friends and family, it can be quite difficult to choose someone.

Very often it turns out that among possible options godparents turn out to be the same people for many relatives and friends.

Therefore, it turns out that the same person is often offered to become godfather several times for different children.

And two main questions arise:

This is why courses for godparents, now organized by many churches, are important. Because, despite the fact that in 2019 it is becoming increasingly fashionable to baptize a child, as well as assign him influential godparents, the most important thing is forgotten, this is the essence of baptism itself.

The financial status of the appointed godparent is not so important as his lifestyle, which must comply with biblical covenants.

The godparent must be a spiritual mentor and show his godson by example how to live and what spiritual principles must be observed in any situation.

It is also important to know that you cannot change godparents after baptism.. Chosen parents become parents for life. Sometimes it happens that after baptism the godparent greatly changed his lifestyle for the worse.

But in this case, the godson himself and his parents must pray for the godparent’s deliverance from sins and try to put him on the right path.

No one has the right to refuse such a godparent. It is impossible to re-baptize. Therefore, it is very important to choose reliable godparents for your children.

However, in cases where the godparent renounced Orthodoxy, accepted another faith, or became an atheist, then such a sacred union will be considered dissolved.

Similarly, we can evaluate those cases when the godparent has sunk to the most forbidden sins, which are prohibited by the Testaments.

In this case, it is implied that this person does not want to live according to the precepts of the Bible, and also does not want to be an example for his godson.

In this case, the natural parents can ask other godly people to take charge of their child's spiritual lifestyle. It is imperative to inform the holy father about this situation before the ceremony itself.

Many godparents like to pamper their godchildren with expensive gifts in order to win their favor and bring them closer spiritually.

But you need to understand that this is not the purpose of godparents. Parents should not choose godparents based on the size of their wallet.

The most the best gifts that the church mentions are:

This is exactly what gifts from godparents to their godchildren should look like. But besides this, the church does not prohibit giving other gifts that will delight the child. But still, the main emphasis should be placed on the spiritual education of the godson.

It is also believed that the most important date for the gift are the name day of the godson's guardian angel. During the sacrament of baptism, a person who converts to Orthodoxy receives a second name.

It may coincide with his real name, if this name is in the Orthodox book of names. And if the name is missing, then the child will be assigned a different name from this book.

Each such name has a name day date. If the selected name has several dates during the year when name days are celebrated, the date closest to the Orthodox person’s birthday is selected. It is on this date that godparents must give gifts to their godson.

Knowing all the nuances of the sacrament, as well as the requirements of the church for godparents, it is important to approach the choice of a godparent very responsibly.

It is better to make them a responsible relative than an influential family friend. Because financial values in this case are not as important as spiritual ones.