Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
Death by baptism: Archbishop rejects calls to change ritual

Death by baptism: Archbishop rejects calls to change ritual

Last updated on: February 5, 2021 at 3:40 pm by Barry Duke

Death by baptism: Archbishop rejects calls to change ritual 2021-02-05T15:40:46+02:00 Barry Duke

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

AFTER a six-week old baby died this week following a baptism in Romania, pressure began mounting to change the ritual.

Image via YouTube

But the the leader of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s traditionalist wing – Archbishop Teodosie, above – has dug in his heels and insists that practice of immersing a baby three times in “holy” water will continue.

The Guardian reports that the baby died after his face was submerged several times during the baptism, and suffered a cardiac arrest. He and was rushed to hospital on Monday but he died a few hours later. The autopsy reveaed liquid in his lungs, and prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation against a priest in the north-eastern city of Suceava.

An online petition calling for changes to the ritual had gathered more than 56,000 signatures by Thursday evening. The petition said:

The death of a newborn baby because of this practice is a huge tragedy. This risk must be ruled out for the joy of baptism to triumph.

One internet user denounced the “brutality” of the ritual and another criticised the “stubbornness of those who think that it is the will of God” to maintain it.

The incident prompted this tweet from Professor Richard Dawkins:

This report adds that the priest who performed that ritual said the baby had cried during and after immersion, indicating that his vital signs were good.

However, several minutes later the baby, who was born prematurely, went floppy and he called the ambulance.

The family took issue with that account and told news outlet Antena 3 that the baby stopped breathing when he was being taking out of the font, and they called the emergency services.

The unnamed father said:

We wanted to christen him, and I can tell you he was crying, but the priest plunged him into water three times, and he inhaled water. The priest took him out and wiped him down. I found out from doctors that he’d inhaled 110 milliliters of water. He was bleeding from his nose and we put his head down to get out the water but he didn’t recover; his heart was beating but it was very weak.

Emergency officials resuscitated the infant and he was taken to the St John the New Suceava County Hospital where he was put on a ventilator, hospital spokesman Dan Teodorovici said.

He suffered a cardiac arrest, and died early Monday morning.

Obiectiv de Suceava reported that current church rules say that newborns should just have water sprinkled on their foreheads and not be immersed in the font. However, it appears that “old school” church traditionalists such as Teodosie insist on full immersions.

In 2010, another Orthodox priest was accused of accidentally drowning a six-week-old boy during a baptism in northeast Romania.

Witnesses claimed the baby died after the priest failed to cover his mouth and nose as he immersed him in water three times.

More than 80 percent of Romanians are Orthodox and the Church is one of the most trusted institutions, according to recent opinion polls.

Hat tip: Stephen Harvie

• Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Romanian Orthodox Church

Previous Post

February 5, 2021

Christian psychopath Greene booted from key committee posts

Next Post

February 5, 2021 Pillow fight: can gun control activist put MyPillow out of business?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the mother of Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Sarah Ruth Elizabeth Mary

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »