Godparents in the Orthodox Church
To become a godparent in the Orthodox Church is to accept much more than an honored place at a Baptism. It is to accept a spiritual responsibility for another human being before God and His Church.
The godparent stands beside the person being baptized and becomes a spiritual parent, a witness to the Faith, and a companion in the Christian life. For an infant, the godparent speaks and confesses the Faith on the child’s behalf. After the Baptism, that responsibility continues through prayer, example, guidance, and faithful presence.
Godparenthood should therefore never be understood only as a family custom, social honor, or ceremonial role. It belongs to the spiritual life of the Church.
The Godparent During the Baptism
Before the actual Baptism, the Church offers the prayers for the catechumen.
These prayers remind us that Baptism is a decisive movement from the old life into the life of Christ. The Church prays that the person preparing for Baptism may be delivered from the power of evil, enlightened by God, joined to Christ, and received into His holy flock.
The catechumen, or the godparent speaking for an infant, is called to renounce Satan and then to declare union with Christ.
The priest asks: “Hast thou renounced Satan?” And later: “Hast thou united thyself unto Christ?” The answer is: “I have united myself unto Christ.”
These are not empty ceremonial words. They express the entire direction of the Christian life: turning away from darkness and turning toward Christ.
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” — Galatians 3:27
The godparent then confesses the Nicene Creed.
For an infant, this is especially significant. The child cannot yet make a personal confession of faith, and so the godparent stands before God and the Church and confesses the Faith that the child is to grow into and one day confess personally.
This is one reason why the Church takes the choice of a godparent seriously.
Knowing and Confessing the Creed
A godparent should come to the Baptism prepared.
The godparent should know the Nicene Creed and, more importantly, understand what he or she is confessing.
When we say “I believe,” we are confessing the faith of the Church: faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; in Jesus Christ and His saving work; in His Crucifixion and Resurrection; in the Holy Spirit; in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church; in one Baptism for the remission of sins; in the resurrection of the dead; and in the life of the age to come.
The Creed should not simply be a page handed to someone a few minutes before the service.
A godparent should read it beforehand, become familiar with it, and seek to understand what it means.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” — 1 Peter 3:15
The Church does not expect every godparent to be a theologian. But she does expect the godparent to take the Faith seriously and to be willing to learn.
For this reason, the parish can offer guidance before the Baptism. The priest may meet with the godparent to explain the service, review the Creed, speak about prayer and the sacramental life, and answer questions about the responsibilities being accepted.
This is not an examination or an obstacle. It is pastoral preparation.
It can be especially important for someone who was raised Orthodox but has become distant from regular participation in the life of the Church. The purpose is not to embarrass anyone, but to help the godparent understand the responsibility and, when necessary, rediscover the life into which he or she was baptized.
A Spiritual Parent
The godparent becomes a spiritual parent.
That does not mean replacing the child’s mother and father. Parents remain primarily responsible for raising their child in the Faith.
The godparent stands beside them.
Parents and godparents together should help the child understand that Christianity is not merely a family identity, ethnic inheritance, or collection of customs. The Orthodox Faith is a way of life in communion with God.
“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” — Deuteronomy 6:7
A godparent should pray for the godchild by name.
That prayer should continue not only on birthdays, name days, or special occasions, but throughout life. The godparent should ask God to protect the godchild, enlighten him or her, strengthen faith, grant repentance, and lead that person toward salvation.
As the child grows, the godparent should encourage participation in the Divine Liturgy, prayer, Holy Communion, Confession at the appropriate age, the reading of Holy Scripture, the keeping of the feasts and fasts of the Church, acts of mercy, forgiveness, and an active relationship with Christ.
Faith Is Learned Through Life
Children certainly need teaching, but the Faith is not passed on by instruction alone.
Children watch us.
They see whether prayer actually has a place in our homes. They notice whether Sunday worship is central to our lives or something easily replaced by other plans. They notice whether we approach Holy Communion seriously, whether we seek Confession, whether we forgive, whether we speak with mercy, and whether Christ has any real place in our daily decisions.
For this reason, the example of the parents and godparents is among the strongest forms of Christian education.
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 11:1
A child who sees adults struggling sincerely to live the Faith learns that Christianity is not simply something discussed in church.
It is something lived.
Church school, catechism, and youth programs can help greatly, but they cannot replace the Christian life of the home and the example of parents and godparents.
The Church is not simply a course that a child attends.
She calls all of us to a life of holiness.
Before We Give Something, We Must Struggle to Acquire It
There is an important pastoral principle for every godparent:
Before we desire to pass something on to another person, we must first struggle to acquire it and make it part of our own life.
This is especially true of the Orthodox Faith.
A godparent is asked to confess the Creed, renounce evil, unite himself or herself to Christ, pray for the godchild, and help guide that child toward the Kingdom of God.
“And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” — Luke 6:39
These cannot remain only words spoken during the Baptismal service.
As Orthodox Christians, these confessions and prayers must gradually become part of our own life.
And that requires real effort.
Prayer does not become part of us without praying. Fasting does not become meaningful without learning to deny ourselves. Repentance does not become real without examining ourselves, recognizing our sins, and returning repeatedly to God. Participation in the Divine Liturgy requires us to order our time around worship rather than always expecting worship to fit conveniently around everything else. Holy Communion requires preparation. Confession requires humility. Forgiveness requires struggle. Reading Scripture requires attention. Learning the Faith requires effort.
None of this happens automatically simply because we were baptized Orthodox, grew up in an Orthodox family, or identify ourselves as Orthodox Christians.
There is a real spiritual struggle involved.
The Christian Life Requires Effort
There will be mornings when we do not feel like praying. There will be Sundays when remaining at home seems easier. There will be fasts that challenge our habits. There will be Confessions that require us to admit things we would rather avoid. There will be people whom we find difficult to forgive. There will be periods of distraction, spiritual dryness, temptation, disappointment, and doubt.
The Christian life does not consist of pretending that these struggles do not exist.
It consists of continuing through them with Christ.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” — Hebrews 12:1
A faithful Christian learns how to begin again.
We return to prayer after neglecting it. We return to church after becoming distant. We confess after falling. We ask forgiveness after hurting someone. We rise after failure. And we turn toward Christ again.
This is an important lesson for a godchild to see.
A godparent does not need to present himself or herself as a perfect Christian. There are no perfect Christians.
But the godparent should be able to say truthfully: I am also struggling to live this Faith. I fall. I repent. I begin again. I am trying to follow Christ.
That struggle, when it is sincere, can itself become a powerful Christian example.
We Cannot Give What We Do Not Have
We cannot meaningfully teach a child to pray if prayer has no place in our own life. We cannot encourage someone to participate in the Holy Mysteries if we ourselves continually remain distant from them. We cannot teach repentance if we never repent. We cannot teach forgiveness while refusing to forgive. We cannot teach faithfulness to the Church if the Church has only an occasional place in our own life.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” — 1 Timothy 4:16
And we cannot tell a godchild that Christ should become the center of life while continually giving Him only what remains after everything else.
This is not said to discourage people from becoming godparents.
It is an invitation to take godparenthood seriously.
Sometimes being asked to become a godparent can itself become an opportunity for spiritual renewal. It can cause us to look again at our own prayer, our participation in the Church, our understanding of the Faith, and our relationship with Christ.
The question then becomes not only: “What am I supposed to do for my godchild?” but also: “What kind of Christian am I becoming?”
Choosing a Godparent
For these reasons, parents should choose a godparent primarily according to faithfulness rather than social expectation.
A godparent may certainly be a beloved relative or close friend, but friendship alone is not the qualification.
The deeper question is: Can this person help my child walk toward Christ?
A godparent should be an Orthodox Christian in good standing who sincerely seeks to participate in the life of the Church.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6
The godparent does not need to possess perfect knowledge or perfect spiritual discipline. But there should be faith, willingness, humility, and a genuine desire to grow.
Choosing someone simply because the person would be offended if not chosen, because of family tradition, because of social status, or because the person can provide materially for the child misses the deeper purpose of godparenthood.
The greatest gift a godparent can give is not material.
It is to help another person remain close to Christ.
The Relationship After Baptism
The relationship does not end when the candles are extinguished and the celebration is finished.
Baptism begins a new life.
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” — Romans 6:4
Godparenthood therefore also begins at the baptismal font.
The godparent should remain present as the child grows.
A simple conversation can matter. Remembering a feast or name day can matter. Giving an appropriate spiritual book can matter. Bringing the child to church can matter. Asking how the child is doing spiritually can matter.
Above all, prayer matters.
As the godchild enters adolescence and adulthood, the relationship may become even more important.
There may be times when a young person struggles with faith, relationships, temptation, disappointment, important decisions, or questions about the Church. Sometimes a young person may hesitate to speak with a parent but may speak openly with a trusted godparent.
A faithful godparent can listen, encourage, speak truth with love, and help direct the godchild toward Christ, the priest, and the sacramental life of the Church.
Spiritual guidance, however, should never become control.
The task of the godparent is not to manage another person’s life. It is to help that person mature freely and responsibly in Christ.
Baptism Is the Beginning
During the Baptism, the godparent says: “I have united myself unto Christ.”
Those words should not belong only to one day.
In a sense, the entire Christian life is the continued fulfillment of that confession.
Every time we repent, we turn toward Christ again. Every time we pray, we turn toward Him again. Every time we forgive, struggle against temptation, return to Confession, receive Holy Communion, or choose faithfulness instead of convenience, we are learning again what it means to belong to Christ.
A godparent is called to live this struggle personally and then help the godchild learn it as well.
Before we say to another person, “Follow Christ,” we must ourselves be learning to follow Him.
When we fall, we rise.
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” — Proverbs 24:16
When we become distracted, we return. When we grow cold, we ask God to rekindle our faith. When we do not know, we learn. When we are weak, we seek His strength.
This is the Christian life.
And this is the heart of godparenthood: not simply standing beside someone at the font, but accompanying another human being toward Christ through prayer, example, struggle, repentance, love, and faithful presence.
A godparent should be able to say throughout the life of the godchild: I will pray for you. I will struggle to live the Faith that I am encouraging you to live. I will remind you that you belong to Christ. And when either of us falls, we will remember that the Christian path is always a path of repentance, return, and hope in God.
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