Baptizing in the Greek Orthodox Church
If you are going to have a Greek Baptism in an Orthodox Church, you have to follow some of these typical rules:
Before the Baptizing
- The baby can be baptized the earliest 40 days after birth.
- With the spreading of the newly baptized with Holly myrrh, we thank God for all the gifts of Holy Spirit that give him.
- With the candle, the newly baptized “sees” the good works and praises God.
- The water – the triple diving symbolizes the three-day burial and resurrection of Jesus while the baptismal font the deliverance from the original Sin.
- Usually the person who has witnessed the marriage of the couple is chosen as a godparent, although this has been somewhat loosened in recent years. A lot of parents choose people from family or friends.
- The godparent is not allowed to christen children of different sex. If her/his first godchild is a girl, she/he can only baptize girls thereafter. Or if the first godchild was a boy, she/he can only baptize boys.
The Baptizing
- Martirika Christening Witness Pins are usually shared with guests before the name is heard.
- The baby’s inner christening clothes must be white. They symbolize the Holy Spirit that he received as well as purity.
- During the ceremony the priest is the first to cut the child’s hair after the birth.
- After the baptizing ceremony, it is customary to offer a sweet present – bomboniera – as well as a dessert.
- The godparent offers to the newly baptized the cross or the icon of the Virgin Mary.
After the Baptizing
- The holy water after the baptizing must be thrown either in the sea or in the soil.
- The christening clothes should only be rinsed with seawater.
- The mother must not clean the baby from the oil that the godmother or godfather has poured over the baby for three days after the baptizing, to protect the child from bad energy.
- The next three Sundays, the newly baptized must be accompanied to the church by the godparent to receive the communion. The baptizing candle should be lit all three times. After that the candle will be delivered to the Church.
Hi there,
If I have christened my brothers child is he allowed to christen my child?
Also can a godparent christen more than one child from the same family? Like two siblings?
Hi, my husband and I baptized my nephew. He is married and now has a beautiful girl. They asked my son to baptize her. Is that ok?
My 11 year old niece wants to baptize my daughter in Greece this summer. Is there an age limit on how old you have to be to baptize someone?
Hi Eleni, sorry for my delayed answer!
The godparent cannot be less of thirteen years old because our church believes the are not mature enough. But she can beptize your daughter together with an adult.
Best Regards
Fanny
Hi my son wants to Baptise his little girl the Godfather is Armenian orthodox can he be the Godfather? Please need help thanks
Hi Chris ,as far as I know,it is not a problem if someone comes from a different church .The religion is the same.We are all orthodox.
Best regards
Fanny
Hi, I basically wanted to find out if I need to baptize my child a second time since I wanted to give a second name? Reason being originally my wife and thought we would have an additional member to our family later on but, unfortunate circumstances have hindered my wife and I from having another! So to add another name to a child will I need to baptize again for a second name? Thank you in advance!
Hi Dean,
The ceremony of baptism is only one time!If you want to give another one name to your child ask your lower.
Greetings
Fanny
Hello, My wife is pregnant with our first child.
When is comes to baptising a child Greek Orthodox. Which names are allowed?
I looked for a list of greek saint names and have noticed I have many Greek relatives who’s children’s names are not on that list.
My wife is orthodox but not of Greek decent and I really want the name we choose to be accepted by the Greek Orthodox Church so that the child may be baptised Greek Orthodox.
She likes some names like celeste & selene but I can’t find a definitive list anywhere.
Struggling. Thanks so much for your time and help!!
Hello Thanasi,
the Greek Orthodox name list has thousands of names of saints. In the last years they have steadily added more names to the list. If there isn‘t a saint named that you like, you can talk to your priest. He can tell you if the name you have chosen belongs to agioi pantes. This is the ‘all saints day’ and is for anybody who does not have a specific saint for their name.
With regards
Fanny
Hi, Can the child wear a christening gown which is passed down from the child’s sibling? Or does it have to be new gown?
Kind regards,
Geoorgia
Hi Georgia,
it is no problem for the child to wear a passed down christening gown. It was even a big tradition in the royal families of Greece.
Kind regards,
Fanny
Hello,
I baptized my brothers daughter 8 years ago. Can my brother baptize my son?
Many thanks,
Elly
Hello Elly,
sorry for my delayed answer. It is not a problem for your brother to baptize your son. You just have to be careful that he has not baptized a girl yet. In the orthodox church you can just be a godparent to either girls or boys, not mixed.
Chiao Fanny
If there is no Greek Orthodox equivalent of my child’s name, can I chose a different name for them to be baptised?
Good morning Hannah, sorry for my late reply. In the past you could not choose a name that does not belong to the Orthodox Church. Now things are easier. I suggest you talk first with the priest who will perform the sacrament. But the easiest solution is to choose a second name which will be Orthodox.
Best Regards
Fanny
Hi,
My husband is Greek Orthodox and we are planing on going to Athens to baptize our child, I have been told the godparents have to be baptized Greek Orthodox as a requirement? We have already chosen or godparents, but they are not Greek Orthodox.
Also, any recommendations for churches in Athens, I live in the USA and I am trying to figure it from here.
Thanks 🙂
Good morning Marlene, first of all sorry for my late reply.
Unfortunately it is true, the godfather needs to be Christian Orthodox baptized in order to be able to put the holy oil on the baby. What you could do, is add a second godparent, who is orthodox. This person will then be able to put on the oil.
The following site lists the most beautiful chapels of Athens with address and phone numbers.
https://www.yes-i-do.gr/organosi-gamou/ola-osa-prepei-na-gnorizete/vrikame-ta-pio-omorfa-ksoklisia-entos-ton-teixon
I like the first one in the list very much.
Best regards and thank you for your comment,
Fanny
HI Fanny,
Does this mean that we can have one non-orthodox godparent and one orthdodox godparent. The orthodox does the oil and the non-orthodox does what in particular? Does the non-orthodox have to be christian?
Helen
Dear Helen,
If you‘re lucky the priest will allow the non orthodox godparent to be part of the ceremony. But in my experience she/he will not be allowed to perform any of the religious parts.
With regards
Fanny
Just curious, as I heard rumors that as the child’s mother I cannot hold her at all during the Greek orthodox baptism nor getting her undressed, is this true?
Hi Katia,
in the old days, the mother (and father) actually had to wait outside of the church for the baptism, until a messenger came out to tell them the name of the child. You can imagine that some parents were very surprised, when the godparents gave the child another name than what was arranged beforehand.
Then later on, when the parents were allowed into the church, still only a family member (that the child knew) was allowed to hold and undress the child.
Today, most of the mothers actually undress their child (or at least help). Then the child is given to the priest to preform the ceremony. After the child is given its name, she/he is given to the godparents for the rest of the proceedings. During the baptism, the parents are not going to hold the child. At the end of the ceremony the mother goes to the godparents. She shows her appreciation of them now belonging to the family by a curtsy. Then she receives her child from the godparents.
Not being able to hold my children was also hard for me. For my son we actually went to a small village and baptized him in the old way, including waiting in front of the church. Puh.
Thank you for bringing those memories back to me tonight,
Fanny
Hi, we have been asked to baptise the son of our son’s godfather. Is this allowed?
Hi Lisa,
thank you for your question.
Yes, it Is allowed to baptize the son of your sons godfather. In situations like this, my grandmother always said, that they then are double brothers.
Greetings Fanny
Hi it says that the godmother cannot baptize children of different sex, does that apply to the godfather as well?
Hello Gia, sorry for my delayed answer. Yes, that applies to the godfather as well.As rule,you can only christen children with the same sex like your first godchild.
Thank you for making us aware of this, we correct it the article now.
Best Regards
Fanny
Hi, can I baptise a child without the godparent present? They live overseas and cannot travel at the moment.
Hi if a child is christened on a Sunday on what day should he be bathed
Hi Sue,
after three days, that means on Wednesday.
Regards,
Fanny
Hi, I have just recently been asked to baptise a baby. However, the mother of the baby is the sister of my brothers godfather. Apparently I am not allowed to baptise the baby because I would be ‘returning the oil’. Is this true?
Hi Tina,
yes, that is true. Principally you can not baptize the baby.
However, in recent years this rule has been loosened a bit. You have to ask the priest who will preform the baptism if he will allow it.
Regards,
Fanny
hi ! I have a question , due to the covid19 my daughter’s baptism got cancelled. her name day just passed (new orthodox calendar)
my mother in law told we can’ t celebrate and wish happy name day to my daughter because she’s not baptize yet! is that true?
thank you
Flavia
Hi Flavia, sadly your mother in law is correct. Officially you can’t celebrate a name day for your daughter before having been baptized.
Thank you for reaching out to us and I hope, that you will be able to baptized your child soon.
Love Fanny
If the child’s mother isn’t Greek nor christened at all but the father and he’s whole family are Greek orthodox does the mother have to be christened first before the child can be ?
Hi Shell,
no, is is not necessary. The only thing that has to be done before the ceremony, is that the mother signs an official document. This document will state that she wants the baptism of her child according to the Orthodox creed.
Greetings,
Fanny
Hello,
If my husband is not orthodox can I still baptize my child Greek Orthodox?
Christina
Hi, my husband and I are married on the civil only. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic we could get our religious wedding. Now I am pregnant. To baptize our baby do we need to be married in the church as well?