Choosing godparents for a child is not the easiest task as it might seem. After all, the godfather must necessarily meet a number of requirements that are presented to him by the church. Therefore, you need to think very carefully about who you are going to appoint as the spiritual parents of your child.
In most cases, people are baptized in childhood. And often childhood is quite early. Therefore, all responsibility for the choice of godparents lies entirely with the parents of the child. And it is very important that they choose the right godparents.
What are the requirements for godparents?
First of all, it is desirable that the godfather was an Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church will not accept a Muslim, Catholic or atheist as a spiritual parent. After all, the main purpose of a godparent is to help a child in matters of educating the Orthodox faith. In this regard, it is desirable that the godfather would be a person in the church. This means that he will be able to take on the responsibility of regularly driving the godson to church and observing all the necessary rituals and services.
You, of course, can choose that person as godparent who has nothing to do with the church, but in this case it is worth remembering that no matter how good a person he is, in fact, the godfather cannot correspond to the definition.
When choosing a godfather for your child, remember that you make this choice once and for all: you cannot change the godfather. If after some time he does not change for the better, the family with the godson will only have to pray that enlightenment will overtake him.
Questions often arise as to whether it is possible to appoint godparents to the next of kin, pregnant women, etc. And often ordinary people do not have an answer to these questions. The Church, on the other hand, gives a fairly clear explanation on the topic of who can be the godparents of a child. So, contrary to popular myth, you can freely choose a pregnant woman as godparent. And for both boys and girls.
The restriction applies only to the father or mother of the child, who cannot be godparents to their own baby. Also, spouses are not allowed to become the spiritual parent of one child (if the couple is just planning to get married, it also falls under the ban). The rest of the relatives, including the siblings of the child's parents, as well as their parents, may well take on the duties of godparents. Also, you should not choose as godpriests or monks, young children. In addition, adoptive parents also cannot become godparents to their stepdaughters and stepsons.
By the way, in relation to godmothers, there is a ban on the participation of ladies in the sacrament of Baptism during the period of monthly uncleanness.
What the godparents should give to the child when performing the sacrament of Baptism
It is usually argued that godparents must purchase a pectoral cross for the Baptism ceremony. Naturally, if the person who has been chosen for such an honorary position does not want to be mistaken, it is better to consult with the parents in advance.
Also, godparents often purchase silver spoons for their godchildren as a gift. Such a gift is especially relevant if the baby is baptized at the age when his first tooth crawls out.
The godfather should maximize contact with his godson. After all, he becomes not only the spiritual mentor of the baptized person, but also a kind of understudy of biological parents. After all, one of the duties of a godfather is the upbringing of a child in the event that the natural parents die or cannot, due to certain circumstances, fulfill their parental duties.
