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Baptisms

Unknown
edited December 1969 in Youth Corner
How come girls have to be like 60-80 days before they get baptized, but guys only need like 40 days? Is there a special reason or is it just something that the church likes to do?

Comments

  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    First, the 40 and 80 days are not for the new baby, they are for the mother. In the old testment, women after giving birth, they would have to kind of recover 40 days if she gave birth to a boy or 80 if she gave birth for a girl. and the mother can't do anything concerned with worshiping like we do today with women and how they can't enter the alter (in general).
    now that thing that makes the boy and the girl wait that amount of time to is that who ever is getting baptized needs an "eshbin". and eshbin is the person the will walk that person in the life of christianty. The eshbin would have to teach the new christan everything about the church and other stuff. so as the COC believe, the mother is the best eshbin ever. but in the same time she have to wait the 40 or 80 days. so they made it for the new born to.

    actuily in emergencies like id the baby is going to die and doesn't have the chance to wait for the days for the mother to recover, the church gets the father to be the eshpin. and than the new born would be baptized. and i think may be now there is a batter chance of that baby healed or to stay alive becuase he is now one of Christ's.
  • SafaaSafaa
    CopticChica21,

    The Coptic Church dose not discriminate against boys and girls, it’s just for a reason I will try to explain to you.
    In most of the cases of baptizing young infants, the mother is the “ ashbeen” that holds the infant and speaks on behave of him/her and rebukes the devil and so on.
    For medical reason, the mother after delivering a baby girl, bleeds more longer than if the situation would be the other way around, delivering a baby boys. This is a fact, and is due to hormonal effect and withdrawal bleeding.
    So the Church, in order to keep the mother as an ashbeen, lengthen the time for the girl infant to be baptized after delivery.
  • spr418spr418
    the baby can get baptized in the following day if the family wants to do so..but they prefer the mom to be there.

    and about the 40 and 80 days its an old tradition of the coptic church, but it takes the mom max 3 weeks after giving birth to RECOVER..i really don't know why its specially 40 and 80 but abouna said that was the reason!

    GBU
    sandra
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