Baptism: Baby dies after a baptism ritual

Petition calls for a rethink
Six week old baby dies after baptism ritual

A baptism should actually be the entry into a life within the community of the church. In Romania, the Romanian Orthodox Church is the most common denomination. In the orthodox faith, the believer is traditionally immersed in holy water three times in a row. But especially in the last few days there has been criticism of this baptism ritual, which according to media reports should have cost the life of a six-week-old baby.

Baby dies after being submerged

In the traditional ritual, the baby was completely submerged three times – and died a short time later in the hospital in Suceava, a city in northern Romania. According to the "Spiegel", water was found in the child's lungs during the autopsy. The public prosecutor is now supposed to investigate the priest who performed the ritual – for manslaughter.

Death after baptism should not be an isolated incident

Apparently, this tragic incident is not an isolated incident: In the past few years such terrible events have happened again and again, writes the "Spiegel" and refers to media reports. But that should now be over: An online petition calls for the orthodox baptism ritual to be changed – for the sake of the safety of small children who cannot yet hold their breath in a controlled manner and in the worst case may die.

Petition calls for less risk with baptism

According to the initiators of the petition, a life-threatening risk during the baptism must be excluded in order to be able to celebrate the ritual accordingly. A spokesman for the Orthodox Church is said to have made it clear that just a few drops of holy water on a child's forehead would be enough to perform baptism. Conservative Archbishop Teodosie, however, is sticking to the babies' complete immersion. According to him, the ritual shouldn't change.

Media used: Spiegel.de, deutsch-orthodox.de