Why do we Baptize Infants in the Orthodox Church?

Fr. Panayiotis answers some of the basic questions that Protestants have when encountering Orthodox Christianity for the first time. In this episode, he discusses why the Orthodox Church baptizes infants. We hope that this series creates discussion. Please comment, rate, and subscribe for more videos. Subscribe and share!

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[riverjao]

His very last point about some of the tragic results of not baptizing our children and making them recipients of grace early on is very powerful.

[ΟριζόντιοςΚατακόρυφος]

Baptizing our children is the best act of pure love: We want our children been citizens of God's Kingdom, in communion with the body and blood of Lord Jesus Christ.

[Kosmic_Jocelyn]

As a born and raised protestant in a denomination that is obsessed with doing baptism "right, " this is really hard for me to learn and wrap my mind around. But I am trying my best and learning a lot. Some kids in my denomination who ask to be baptized are even denied because they're "too young" to understand what they're doing.

[lindaphillips]

This former prstnt's heart rejoices every time she sees, or hears of, an infant being baptized.. This godmother has seen the blessings of it. The convert loves beyond words to see the children receive HOLY COMMUNION from the beginning of their lives in the Church. And she GRIEVES at times to have spent her life without that early beginning. But the Lord had other ideas for me. Glory to God! I was thinking about baptism only last night: that there is power there. And cleansing.. It is by no means only a fulfilling of requirements. Bless you, Father. And, FATHER, BLESS.

[iptj]

thank you for this i had this question for a long time and know i am happy thank you and im a proud orthodox

[angelapoulos]

These videos have blessed me🙏✝️ Please give us more we need to learn more. We must die still learning Amen

[JudithMatta]

Thank you so much, Father Panayiotis, for your excellent teaching here as in your other Orthodox videos available to us! As one who is an Orthodox convert, I have discovered everything from openly Barthian Gnosticism, Protestantized lessons, or even dismissing our differences between ourselves and the Papacy. Overall, there is an absence of proper catechesis for those interested in becoming Orthodox later in life. Also, in many parishes, children who have been baptized are not being taught about what the Orthodox Faith is and how to live it. It is vital to keep our children in the Faith as they become teenagers; we see that many are ignorant of foundational teachings of Orthodox Christianity. Therefore, through friendships, other Christian denominations are attractive to them. They may fall prey to the RC Church which is always ready to say "we're the same as Orthodox except for the Pope" which is far from the truth. We pray that influential priests - as yourself - who are excellent teachers can take up the challenge of writing catechetical works for our young people. The nice "glossy" publications from the well-meaning Greek Orthodox Archdiocese are sadly lacking in any real basic information on our Church... they are picturing the Pope alongside the Patriarch of Constantinople as if they are equal and without differences in doctrine. Surely the Faithful can be better served, in the light of the loss of so many Orthodox young people to the RC and Protestant churches - leaving the Treasure and Ground of all Christianity from Pentecost through the ages. Thank you and please forgive me for pointing out this lack in our parish resources, but this is ignored by many of our clergy in my experience entering into the Orthodox Church.

[JIMMYUNKNOWN]

In my mind, as someone who was not and still has not yet been baptized, I imagine that while the child initially does not know what it is doing, it is still taking on a sort of future-change, in so much as the difference it makes to grow up knowing one was baptized, rather than not. Granted, this would require a setting and family/friends to match, but seeing that the child was baptized, one can assume that at least a degree of that will be there for the child, and thus the knowledge of having bee baptized can begin to take effect, and the understanding is given a far greater starting point than would be if the child was not baptized.

[HairyMunci]

In the words of the Lord himself - “Mark 10:13-16 English Standard Version (ESV)

Let the Children Come to Me
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Jesus was INDIGNANT because the disciples thought it correct to keep the children from him. That should say EVERYTHING to these Protestant groups. Personally I think that the 1054 schism was the first phase of this rebellion and the reformation set it in stone. But there is still time for all to come back to the knowledge of the true bride of Christ - the Holy Apostolic and Orthodox Church. May God bless her and preserve her FOREVER!

[thattimestampguy]

0:14 Why do Orthodox Christians baptize babies?
0:31 The Book of Acts tells of Apostles baptizing infants.

*What Is The Meaning of Baptism?*
1:05 Become One With Christ.
Recreated In Christ.
Become a Member of The Body of Christ.

_The Protestant Rejection of Baptizing Children_
1:43
2:15 Protestant Anibaptists: Only those who can verbally confess their belief in Christ can be baptized.
3:10 Anibaptists were drowned in a river for this by Most Other Protestant Denominations.

4:41 Baptism + Christmation + Communion.
Sanctification.

5:45 Cultivating

[christianorthodoxy]

Good video. Much love to all Orthodox Christian Brothers and sisters throughout the world. ❤️

[ola]

I’m orthodox and I baptized when I was baby😍

[paulhudson]

Fr. Your exactly right, start early with children, early baptism and sacraments also appears to help if they do “fall away” they return, if they were raised in the faith and received the sacraments early and often! 🙏🌺☦️🌺🙏

[ronald]

Great Videos !! Keep up the great work. May all glory be to Christ.

[tessalogan]

It's called a Christening and i should think it's pretty straight forward. My 3 were, i was, my siblings were, I'm orthodox Christian 🙏

[Az-ohht]

Only the evil one doesn’t want infants baptized so he can have a chance at them.

[Rydonittelo]

I was raised Presbyterian in Scotland and we baptise all our babies.
Its Its commonly referred to as the childs
" Christining ".
All Protestants here are baptised.

[IsaacsCOOLwhenitsHOT]

I am an evangelical who is thoroughly interested in Orthodoxy and I would just like some clarification on this:

He described infants as “putting away the old man”. What old man is there to put away? Unless the doctrine is original sin, which I don’t agree with, then how can a baby be cleansed from past sins?

Acts 2:38 says “And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭
Baptism is for the remission of sins, which a baby is incapable of committing.

Can someone help me with understanding this? Do I just have to believe in original sin?

[ishitrealbad]

i've always found it strange protestants didn't baptise their children.
Because as a parent you would want your children to follow in your footseps, especially as a Christian. so when you denie them that, than you shouldn't be surprised that later on they also reject it.

[charlesiragui]

This topic has some similarity to liturgy. Some Protestant movements decry complex ritual and liturgical practices, saying that they make faith about rituals, not belief (and not living a Christian life??). But of course every Christian community finds that it needs structures for their gatherings, their group worship. Soon they have a particular set of behaviors and even esthetic. So, while baptism can be made into a choice only to be made by adults, those Protestant communities raise their own children in belief (often these very same communities are the most vigorous in propagating faith); they fully expect and socially pressure their children to be baptized. These are things that in appearance are different but in actuality are more similar than people claim. So the Protestant protestations are misguided and self deluding: you do what you criticize us for doing. Thank God!
And, taking up my above question about living a Christian life, which these very same Protestants certainly take seriously, how can they reconcile their grounding in Luther's Sola Fide? In all honesty, you absolutely do believe in "being a good person" and, usually better than the Orthodox, in doing acts of charity. These are the humorous paradoxes of our Protestant brothers and sisters. They care a lot about how people conduct themselves and yet their theology rejects works in favor of only faith.