So right away, ordinary ordinary unchurched parents don’t make out who their godfather or godmother might be. Let’s try immediately to find out the answer to a frequently asked question: “Can a grandmother be a godmother at her granddaughter?” To do this, try to understand the very essence of the sacrament of baptism and why it is done.
The Sacrament of Baptism
So, the baptism (baptisma - immersion in water) of a person is one of the seven Sacraments performed in the Orthodox Church (along with Penance, Communion, Blessing, Unction, Ordination, and Wedding). In turn, according to the teachings of the Christian church, the Sacrament is a sacred action in which the invisible grace of God is communicated to a believer under a visible image.
Opening deeper, it would seem, a simple topic “Can a grandmother be a godmother at the granddaughter”, it is worth noting the main thing - in such a sacred action as Baptism, a person’s body is immersed three times in water with the words of invoking the name of the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . This is the washing of man from original sin and from all other sins committed before baptism. Symbolically, this means that by the grace of the Holy Spirit a person is spiritually reborn, made a member of the Church and the Blessed Kingdom of Christ.
And yet, before answering the question of whether a grandmother can be a godmother at her granddaughter, it is also worth noting that Baptism is the first Sacrament with which the Church meets a person who comes to God. It is important to understand here that Baptism is not received so that there are no diseases, troubles and worldly difficulties, but in order to have Eternal Life in God.
Who are the godparents
Now, having only general ideas about the Sacrament of Baptism, we can begin to discuss the topic “Can a grandmother become her granddaughter’s godmother?”
And anyway, I wonder who can be taken as godmothers? I must say that godparents are needed for a person under the age of 14, after these years the need for them disappears by itself, and he himself can come to church and be baptized without sureties.
Orthodox godfathers who are capable of teaching their godson to this, people of a different faith or unbelievers should not participate in the Sacrament of Baptism, as well as young children - girls under 13 years old and boys under 15 years old - since they are not can vouch for the faith of one who is baptized; mentally ill and morally fallen are also not allowed to this important Sacrament; parents of the child; a married couple cannot baptize the same child; monks and nuns are also not allowed to baptize children.
When baptizing a child, it is important to take into account the fact that the godfather in the future cannot marry the godmother of the child they baptized and in general have intimate relations with her (by the way, this also applies to relations between godparents (godmothers) and the parents of the child), as well godparents cannot marry their spiritual children.
It is also worth knowing that a pregnant or unmarried woman can safely be a godmother for both a boy and a girl.
Is it possible for a grandmother to be a godmother at her granddaughter
And now we come to the most important thing: brothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, sisters and grandmothers can be the recipients of their little relatives. If grandmother wants to be a godmother, let her be, but then it’s worth considering that close relatives will take care of the child.And then a dilemma arises: are we not depriving him in this way? After all, he will have two more independent friends - Orthodox godparents, whom he could turn to at any moment for advice and support. They, too, could surround him with care, understanding and love. This is especially important during the transition period when a teenager, in order not to turn a conversation with his family into familiar parental moralizing and instruction outside the family, is looking for an authoritative person to whom he can entrust the most secret, which he cannot tell his relatives.
Conclusion
Many parents before baptizing their child begin to think about how many pairs of godparents can be taken. It can be one or several pairs. But it’s absolutely clear that you need to understand for yourself that for the boy you need a receiver - the godfather, and for the girl - the godmother. However, the fewer godparents, the more seriously they will take the responsibility that rests with them.
At the baptismal rite, the godparents must be with body crosses, know the prayer “Believe” by heart, or at least be able to read it. The godmother must have a white cloth kryzhma.
In conclusion of the topic “Can a grandmother be a godmother at the granddaughter”, we can say that, be that as it may, there are very few real godparents, mostly people become witnesses of this rite, as priests sometimes call them. Only a few fulfill their true function, therefore we need to be more serious about the choice of these people, and parents themselves need to be more often in the church with their children and to make them more familiar with church traditions and rites.
The sacrament of Baptism should not turn into just a ritual familiar to everyone and an extra reason to sit with the godmothers at the festive table.
