There is no shortage of claims and accusations against the Orthodox Church. One of the main claims is the fee that is charged in churches for the performance of certain sacraments and rituals, in particular, for the sacrament of baptism.
The prosecutors are not only convinced that everything in the church should be done free of charge, they even refer to such episodes of Holy Scripture as the expulsion of the merchants from the Jerusalem temple by the Savior, or the case when the Apostle Peter refused to baptize a person who offered money for baptism. Particular indignation is caused by the amount: it seems that they charge too much for baptism.
Why don't baptize for free
People who demand that everything be done in churches for free do not understand or do not want to understand that a temple is a material object that needs to be maintained, repaired, that from time to time it is necessary to acquire new vestments for priests, church utensils and books, oil must be bought and incense. All this costs money.
The priests understand that visiting the temple should not turn into a paid service, because then it will not be available to everyone. Not a single church takes money for confession, communion, and even more for the very presence at the service (for comparison: you have to pay for a conversation with a psychotherapist or attendance at a concert). But there are events that occur in a person's life only once: baptism, wedding, funeral service. It is quite possible to pay once.
In essence, the payment for ordinances and rituals is a donation to the temple. It would be logical not to set a price, but to invite people to give money as they wish. Some temples do this, but sometimes this situation creates an awkwardness: people find it difficult to decide how much to give, and they ask to be told a specific amount. Setting a certain price helps to avoid this awkwardness.
Why is it expensive
Parishioners' payment for some rituals and sacraments, including for the baptism of children, is required for the maintenance of the temple. The costs may vary. Maintaining a cathedral is more expensive than a small church on the outskirts of town, and if parents want to baptize their child in the cathedral, they must be willing to pay more.
In some churches, the baptized person is provided with a pectoral cross, a shirt and everything else that is needed for baptism, and the cost of all these items is included in the price. Then the fee for baptism may indeed exceed 1000 rubles, but the parents would still have to buy everything they need. The cash costs would be the same, and the hassle would be more.
It should be noted that “expensive” and “cheap” are subjective concepts, and they do not always depend on the level of income. Pay 1900 p. for a smartphone - "cheap", and 500 rubles. for the baptism of a child - "expensive". This approach indicates that a tablet is more important for a person than saving the soul of his own son or daughter.
Of course, for a poor family and the amount of 500 rubles. may turn out to be a tangible blow to the family budget, but in this case, you can explain the situation to the priest - and he will certainly meet halfway. If people who do not experience financial difficulties consider the payment for baptism to be an excessive waste, then baptism in general and the Christian faith in particular is not a value for them. The possibility of a Christian upbringing of a child in such a family raises serious doubts, which casts doubts on the advisability of baptism.
