Holy Apostles Orthodox Church
345 Ridge Rd, Lansing, NY
Orthodox Church in America
Matthew's Baptism

On Saturday, September 13, the faithful of the community, and the family and friends of Michael and Arlene gathered together for an historic event in the life of the parish. Their son, Matthew, was the first person to be baptized and chrismated into Christ's Holy Church at Holy Apostles Mission Church. Joined by the godparents Sr Warden Bob West and Lisa, the family approached the baptismal font and gave their child to the service of the Church and so that he may be a full member of the Body of Christ.

            This is a great day for the community, and it would be good to be reminded of what is required of a community that has children in it and the godparents in particular. In an article by Fr Lawrence Farley, we read: "In the classic “Priest’s Guide” as quoted by Archpriest David Abramtsov, we read the following: “The sponsors in Baptism are guarantors pledging to the Church that the baby to be baptized will be brought up in the faith of that Church; therefore they must be members of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church.”  Father David also writes, “Among the other duties of sponsors is the duty of seeing that their godchildren receive Holy Communion frequently, that they attend Sunday School and church regularly, that they learn their prayers and fulfill all the other requirements of the Orthodox Faith.” The entire enlightening article can be found at Baptismal Sponsorship Past and Present.


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Bishop's Visit
09/14/2014