The head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) of Volokolamsk, called the condition under which you can refuse to baptize a child. He spoke about this on the air of the Church and the World program on the Russia 24 TV channel. Recording available at YouTube.
The metropolitan said that if parents oppose the upbringing of a child in the Orthodox faith, then he should not be baptized. “Baptism is not some magical act. You can’t just baptize a child, for example, so that he doesn’t get sick, or for some other reason. The child is baptized in order to be raised in the Orthodox faith, ”explained the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to him, if a grandmother or other relative is ready to take on the upbringing of a child in the Orthodox faith, then this person can arrange baptism with a priest. At the same time, Metropolitan Hilarion warned that this could lead to a conflict with the child’s parents, and in this regard he advised to think carefully about everything.
Earlier, the head of the DECR criticized the American streaming service Netflix for gay propaganda in films and series intended for young people. According to Metropolitan Hilarion, any measures aimed at preserving children from such influence should be welcomed.
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