Baptism Service in Orthodox Church Essay

Baptism service is one of the key elements and rites in the Christian world but different churches of the Christian nature interpret and conduct the rite in quite a different way, although some key principles of the rite remain the same. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the case of the baptism service in an orthodox church, which I have recently attended and witnessed and which has turned out to be quite different from the baptism service, which I have accustomed to since I am the seventh-day Adventist.

The rite was conducted in the orthodox church and involved the child, his parents and guests, who were probably consisting of family members and friends of the family of the child. The priest conducted the rite of baptism. However, the rite was not closed for other people, who could attend the church freely and be present during the rite. In such a way, the baptism service is apparently the open service in the orthodox church. At the same time, I have noticed that parents of the child, i.e. biological parents of the child, played the secondary part in the rite. Instead, there were the godfather and godmother, who played the key part in the rite along with the child. They took the child, which was just about one years old and carried him throughout the ceremony and did all the tasks they were asked by the priest in the course of the rite.

At the beginning of the rite, the godfather and godmother were invited by the priest and they talked for a while discussing some details of the baptism services, which I could not hear and frankly which I did not try to hear out of sheer politeness since I believe it would be a violation of orthodox Christian norms, if someone were too close to them at the moment of their conversation. After that the ceremony has started. Parents have passed the baby to the godparents. There was a cup in the middle of the church around which godparents with the baby on their hands walked and committed other ceremonial actions. The priests managed the ceremony and prayed all the time guiding actions of godparents. After preaches and ritual actions the godfather with the child on his hands approached the cup filled with the water and the priest sprinkled the water on the child and draw some symbols on the head of the child with the water. This part of the ritual was quite different from the one I accustomed too in terms of details, like actions of the priest drawing some symbols and praying in a different way compared to the seventh-day Adventist tradition. The traditional immersion, which is also accepted as the key element of the baptism service in other Christian churches, involved sprinkling the child with the water. The priest also gave a symbol of crucifix to the child as a symbol of his baptizing.  At the end of the ceremony, family members and friends congratulated godparents and parents of the child as well as the child. I would also point out that the priest preached and insisted on the great role of the godparents in the life of the child. The priest insisted that godparents have to take the moral responsibility and to become spiritual guides for the child. For example, the priest stated that godparents could replace the child’s parents, when necessary or when the child needs extra support from their part. In such a way, the priest uncovered the role of godparents and imposed moral obligations on them as godparents of the child.

On analyzing the baptism service in the orthodox church, I reveal some common features as well as unique features that are typical for the orthodox church only. Nevertheless, it is possible to single out several key elements, which reveal the essence and the actual purpose of the rite of baptism service. First of all, I believe that the rite of immersion plays one of the key parts in the course of baptizing. As far as I understand, the water immersion plays the same part in orthodox baptizing as it does in other Christians churches. To put it more precisely, the immersion is a sort of rebirth since the water has a symbolic meaning of the birth of a child. This is why, when the priest sprinkled the wholly water on the baby during baptizing, he purified the child and marked his rebirth for the orthodox church. The child became as pure as he was at the moment of the birth free of any sins or other issues that could make the child unworthy of the God’s goodness. The immersion also has a role of the divide in the life of the child before the baptizing and after it.

The child did not belong to any religion before baptizing but after baptizing the child became orthodox. In this regard, the symbolic crucifixion the priest has passed to the child plays a symbolic role of the belongingness of the child to the orthodox community.  This is a symbol of his faith as well as a symbol of his belongingness to the orthodox church and community (Hussey, 2010). At the same time, the crucifix is also a symbol of the proximity of the God to the child because he wears it on his neck that means that he keeps the God close to his heart. This is very symbolic in terms of the god-child relations. Even though the child is too young to be aware of his belongingness to the orthodox church or his religion but still the church incorporates him into the orthodox community by the act of baptizing. In such a way, the child becomes one of the community members and, as he grows up, links between him and his community are likely to grow stronger.

Another important issue of the baptizing service was the imposing of moral obligations on godparents. At first glance, it may seem to be unusual or even unnecessary to provide the child with godparents, if he has biological parents, who gave him life, raise him up, provide him with education, and perform other functions parents normally do for their children. In fact, the priest has revealed the point of providing the child with godparents. Their primary responsibility was the moral and spiritual guidance of the child. At the same time, I also believe that the presence of godparents is very important for the child. For example, when the child grows up, he may have some issues, which he cannot share with his parents out of sheer fear of his parents or because he does not believe his parents him or whatsoever. In such a situation, godparents have the authority granted by the church to help the child and he can refer to them and ask for help or a piece of advice, when he needs any kind of assistance or advice, which he cannot or does not want to ask for from his parents.

Thus, the observed baptizing service in the orthodox church has revealed certain differences in the rite compared to the seventh-adventist church but still there are some commonalities which are traditional for Christian churches.

 

References:

Hussey, J. M. (2010). The orthodox church in the Byzantine empire. Oxford University Press

 

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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