Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    I'm a godmother in the Episcopal church; don't know if it's the
    same as a Greek godmother or not.
    
    My only "official" duties, committed at the time of the christening,
    are:
    
    o  To participate in the child's religious upbringing, and help
    teach the child in the ways of the church, and
    
    o  to be willing, if necessary, to take the child as my own in case
    of the parents' death or inability to care for her.
    
    In addition, I voluntarily assumed other duties, such as
    
    o  showering more presents on her at Christmas and birthdays than
    any child should have,
    
    o  writing a long letter at least once a year on the anniversary of her
    christening.  Contents of the letters are about her roots, her family
    background, the people in this world who love her very much, why she is
    important and a worthwhile person, values that are important, etc.
    
    o  loving her as if she were my own child.
    
    The second list is totally voluntary, but certainly fun!
    
    							Pat

    I don't know much about the Greek service or traditions but
    from what I understand, the Godparent's main responsiblity
    is to see that the child has a religious up-bringing.
    
    I my family, Godparents give money, bonds, or sets up a 
    bank book (savings) for the child on all holidays i.e.
    brithdays, gift giving holidays, graduations, etc....
    
    Anna
    

    Marge makes a good point in .3.  When I baptized my niece in 1977 the
    requirement was that I had to prove I was a "member in good standing"
    in some franchise of the Eastern Orthodox Church (not a big deal in my
    case as my family has been affiliated with that parish since it was founded
    about 80 years ago). Depending on how by the book the priest is, they
    will check that your dues are up to date, if you are married outside the
    Orthodox Church that your wedding was "blessed" in the church, and if
    you have kids, that they are being raised as Orthodox Christians, and
    ask if you went to communion during the last Great Lent. 

    I have heard of cases where people will ask a non-Orthodox friend to
    be one of several Godparents. These people are usually "honorary" in that
    they don't participate in the service or sign any documents, but they
    do get to help pay for the party afterwards :-).  

    The priest should provide you with a list of things that as a Godparent
    you need to bring to the church on the day of the baptism. Here is a
    partial list:

    	1. a small bottle of olive oil
    	2. a new bar of Ivory soap
    	3. a clean, white towel
    	4. a silver or gold tray
    	5. a gold chain and cross (for the baby)
    	6. a couple of safety pins
    	7. 2(?) candles (you can buy these in the church narthex)
    	8. small pair of scissors
    	9. a new suit of clothes for the baby (white)

    Start looking for the clothes NOW. The Orthodox tend to baptize their
    children when they are a bit older than most, and since most
    christening outfits are for infants, finding one to fit a 4-9 month old
    can be difficult. Therefore, find a source NOW and avoid the last
    minute panic.
      
    Baptism is a sacrament which requires sponsorship; you as a Godparent
    are sponsoring a person's entry into the community. At the start of the
    service, the Godparent(s) and the baby are in the narthex of the
    church. The priest will ask several questions that you, the Godparent,
    will answer for the infant (the old Do you renounce..., Do you accept,
    .., Will you ..., etc.) After the questions are asked, you follow the
    priest through the nave to the alter area where you will see a large
    round thing that is a baptimizal font. The Godparent undresses the kid,
    hands it over to the priest who immerses it in water 3 times (actually,
    there is usually 2" of warm water in there) The priest then cuts a few
    strands of hair and throws them in the water. The child is given back
    to the Godparent to dress in his new cloths and necklace, a candle is
    light, and the you follow the priest walking around the font a few times.
    The child is then Chrismated (confirmed) and given communion. Then the
    priest usually says a "few" words, mainly to explain what just happened,
    the symbolism, etc. (especially for the audience that might not be
    Orthodox) and to remind and instruct the Godparent/parents in their
    duties and obligations. (Actually, with a captive audience, Father may not
    want to shutup; just DON'T let him decide to repeat everything that he
    just said in Greek). This includes directing the Godparent that it is
    their duty to step in and do something if they don't agree with how the
    child is being raised (not just spiritually; this includes child abuse,
    financial problems, etc). This may sound a bit bit pushy/nosy but in the
    Orthodox church, when you sponsor someone, there is a special
    relationship formed; you are now known as a Kumbara, and have a special
    obligation to look out for who you sponsored. The relationship is so
    special that traditionally the sponsors of one's wedding are the sponsors
    at one's first born's baptism, and the sponsor's at the first born's
    wedding are usually the children of their Godparent. (Kind of "Orthodox
    Bonding")

    Finally, the service is concluded with the parents kissing the hands of
    the Godparent(s) and taking the child back.

    There will be some papers that you have to sign, and in some
    communities it is customary for the Godparent to pay for the priest's
    services, or if the priest doesn't charge/accept tips, make a donation to
    the parish's building fund in the name of a deceased relative. (I'm not
    sure about this as my father took care of this as I was just out of school
    without a lot of money at the time). 

    Then you, the Godparent, usually throw a good sized party. 

    Then, for the next three weeks, you, the Godparent are expected to
    bring the child to Divine Liturgy to receive communion. You yourself
    "don't *HAVE* to receive, but it would be *NICE* if you did". (This
    is a direct quote from my mother). You should bring the candle used at
    the baptism with you.

    Anyhow, that is what I remember. Your local priest could fill in the
    details.

    Deb

    One other thing that the Godparent is expected to supply is a
    "party favor" type thing. Basicly, it is a small rosette type ribbon
    in pink or blue with a gold cross and a pin in it, which is given to
    everyone in attendance at the end of the service when they come up to
    wich you and the baby well. They were pretty cheep, about $.50 each,
    and $1 for the large ones worn by the Godparents.
    
    I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this as I spent about 20 hours
    getting lost in Boston trying to find them. (Out of 9 Greek Gift and
    Favor shops, only one had them on hand. Normally you have to order them
    a week in advance).
    
    Deb

    
    
    
    Marge, I'm not really sure as it was about 12 years ago. As I remember, I
    gave the priest the oil (which is an offering or gift to the church) and
    the sissors on the tray when we got to the front of the nave I think
    that the tray is used as a place for the priest to keep all of the stuff
    he needs to perform the baptism. I *think* that the priest brought
    it into the sanctuary and placed the chrism used in the confirmation on
    the tray and brought it back out (obvoiusly, I couldn't go back there
    to see what he was doing). The necklace might have been there, too, and the
    priest might be the one that normally puts it on the child, but I seem to
    recall that I did it because Jenifer bit the priest at some point (and I
    think drew blood, but that is another story). Uh, after that happened, my
    mind sort of got fuzzy about other details.
    
    Deb

    Deb, what a beautiful and meaningful service you described!  I'd
    love to attend one sometime!
    
    							Pat

    
    
    Just to provide you with a little more info, I was raised Catholic.
    From what my friend says, atleast one of the godparents have to
    be Greek Orthodox, which the godfather is.   She made sure before
    she had asked me that it was okay with the church.  
    I also believe that the Greek service of weddings as well as
    Christenings is very beautiful and holds a great deal of symbolism.
    
    Thanks for all your help so far.....I'm really looking forward to
    this!!
    
    marcia

    The large candle with the flounce that Marge refers to can usually be
    purchased at a Greek gift shop like Kamelakis on Tremont/Charles St. in
    Boston, but again, you'll probably need to order it about a week ahead of
    time. (Most of these places list themselves in the yellow pages under
    "Gift shops". Alternately, you can go through the white pages of the
    phone book looking for shop names that start with Greek, Hellenic,
    Athens, etc. I'm not sure where you are located, but if you are in the
    Boston area inside 128, or in Lowell, you should have no trouble). If you
    just use the regular candles, make sure that there is some kind of a drip
    guard on them as the wax is not only hot it is very difficult to get off
    your cloths. (The "drip guard" is usually a small Dixie cup on the candle.
    They put these on the candles at Easter time so they will know what you
    are talking about if you ask.)

    Also, you had asked about gifts. Traditionally, the godparent buys the
    child's first pair of walking shoes. Also, a silver dollar is the
    traditional gift to the baby. I had mentioned the party afterwards that
    you get to throw, so I feel that I should probably warn you that if the
    family is very traditional, it could be about the size of a small
    wedding (i.e., 100+ people). If you opt to have more of a pot-luck type
    party, you should try to bring something sweet, like baklava or diples.

    Enjoy, and let me be the first to wish you and your baby (that's right, it
    will be considered partly your's) a good and healthy life.

    Deb