When to baptize a child in 2022: the most auspicious days

The sacrament of baptism is one of the most important Orthodox rites. It is believed that an unbaptized person does not have a guardian angel, which means that he is more prone to illness, failure and trouble. An unbaptized person cannot ask God for "targeted" help - for example, put a candle for his health or order a prayer service. Moreover, unbaptized people are forbidden to take part in all other church sacraments - for example, to receive communion, confess, get married or baptize children.

That is why parents usually try to christen the child as early as possible - so that the baby has a guardian angel as soon as possible. Interestingly, the church does not prohibit, but at the same time does not particularly welcome early baptism. Indeed, ideally, it should be conscious and voluntary: that is, a person should come to God himself and choose him at a conscious age.

At what age can a child be baptized?

Despite this, there are no strict age requirements for baptism. Today the church baptizes both adults and babies. The only limitation is that it is not advisable to carry out the rite of baptism of a child in the first 40 days after birth. But again, this is not a strict ban, but just a tradition. This is connected not so much with the child as with the mother of the baby: it is believed that for 40 days after giving birth she remains unclean and cannot enter the church and be present at the baptism.

However, if it is very necessary, then the church will also baptize the newborn child. Usually, very young children (up to the 28th day of life) are baptized if they were born prematurely, with poor health, or some kind of congenital disease. By the way, our ancestors performed the rite of baptism on the 8th day after the birth of the baby. But today, few people adhere to this tradition.

When is the best time to baptize a child in 2022?

There are no forbidden days for the rite of baptism in the church. You can baptize a child both in fasting and on great church holidays. However, there is a tradition that the best days for baptism are Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. This is due to the fact that Wednesday and Friday in Orthodoxy throughout the year are considered fast days. That is, you can not arrange a festive feast in honor of the baptism of the baby.

No matter how great the temptation to baptize the baby on Baptism Easter or other major church holidays, remember - these days the church is full of people, and the priest, most likely, simply does not have enough time for the rite of baptism. But on weekends, on the contrary, it is very convenient to do this, because the service these days is usually shorter. So most often children are baptized on Saturday and Sunday.

Do not forget that the lunar calendar, astrological forecasts, natal charts and other options for calculating favorable days do not affect the choice of a day for baptism. The Church is categorically against this. The only sure way to choose a “good” date for baptism is to check the Monthly Book or the Saints (an Orthodox calendar indicating the days of memory of the saints). It is very good if the day of the baptism of the child coincides with the celebration of the saint with the same name. For example, according to the church calendar, Natalya's name day falls on January 11, March 22 and September 8 - these days a girl named Natasha needs to be baptized.

If the name that the child was named is not in the Orthodox calendar, then you can choose a saint with a consonant name. For example, baptize Alina on the day of St. Angelina, Yegor - on the day of St. George, Polina - on the day of St. Apolinaria. However, even this is not an absolute requirement of the church. If in the month that you have chosen for the baptism of the child, there is no name day of the saint you need, the baby will still be christened and given an Orthodox name.

How to prepare for the rite of baptism?

There are no special requirements for preparing for the rite of baptism for parents. All worries in this matter are usually assigned to godparents. We wrote in detail about what should a godmother do, a what are the responsibilities of a godfather. It is they who are the main characters during the rite of baptism. However, make sure that the godparents get everything that the child will need in the church:

• christening gown (shirt, vest)
• kryzhma (towel), in which the child is taken after the font
• pectoral cross on a chain or string

If 40 days have passed since the birth of the baby, the mother can safely attend the sacrament of baptism. Moreover, many churches themselves encourage this practice, because the mother can easily and quickly calm the child if he is frightened or crying. Therefore, you need to learn by heart Prayer "Symbol of Faith" (sometimes the priest reads it before the start of the sacrament over the head of the mother).

You will also be interested in reading:

Baptism of a child: what are the signs and what to believe

What godparents should give a child: gifts for christening