Christening

The day April 30th, 2006 was a great and important one for our family. Our daughter Elena was christened. On the same day and at the same time my niece, Milana, was christened too. That day I was playing two roles simultaneously: as a father for Elena and as a godfather of Milana. I believe the day changed both my daughter and me – we grew a bit spiritually.

It is considered that a new born baby is clear from sins, and it is true for his or her first forty days. Orthodox Church proposes to christen when a baby is between 8 and 40 days old (you can read more at Wikipedia about christening (infant baptism)). Both Elena and Milana were older, so they first of all were doing away with their sins during christening ceremony. What kind of sins can a two-month baby commit? Telling lies? Wasting her nature talents? Being fussy? I believe such ceremonies have more influence on involved adults. Nevertheless, it was an interesting and marvelous action. 7 children with their parents and godparents were invited into a specific room of the Temple (by the way, there were 6 brides and only one groom ). There were a lot of prayers and devotions and the climax of the ceremony – dipping into holy water, christening by itself.

This day Elena made her first step on the road of spiritual growth. Has she felt any changes in your vision of reality? I don’t know. However I can confidently say – every day she changed a little, and that day was the day of significant change. Just because it greatly influenced the people of her environment: me, her mother, her godparents and the other involved relatives.

October, 2005 I signed a contract with myself that I would be committed to personal development. During the christening day and some days before I was thinking, how I will teach my daughter and my niece to grow spiritually. In spite of the fact that parents are people who are responsible for their children the most, starting from April 30th my responsibility was doubled. And I am happy with that, because it is what I can manage to do. The spiritual growth of my daughter and my niece is in a circle of my influence.

Can people do without christening? Yes, certainly they can. It is much more important to be developed spiritually. Our lives can be considered in four different aspects: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Keeping all of them in balance is the main requirement for true happiness. It is common nowadays to forget about spirituality and set focus on other sides of life, first of all physical or material one. Ritual of christening recalls parts of soul, increasing a commitment to such human values as kindness, faith, bliss, care, harmony, charity, frankness, humility, justice, piety and sacredness. Which of these values are the most important for you?