Baptism

Baptism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Faith

There are many different ceremonies and traditions that are practiced within the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians have a continuous history of two thousand years. The Orthodox Church represents the fullest and most correct expression of the original Faith taught by our Lord Jesus Christ and inaugurated by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This faith goes father back than any of my ancestors can recollect and as far back as I can remember my family has been very serious about their faith and religion. That is why the baptism ceremony was not only a must, but an obligation.

Baptism is a religious act of purification by water, which is usually associated with admission to membership of Christianity. In the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, a person is baptised as an infant. A female is baptised eighty days after she is born and a male is baptised forty

days after he is brought into the world. In all cases, this ceremony is held at an Ethiopian Orthodox church of your choice before the usual Sunday service.

During the baptism, the pastor speeks in Geez, which is said to be the language that is used to communicate with God. The pastor recities many rituals which everyday people like myself cannot understand. These rituals are a sign of the infant being induced into the Orthodox faith. After the rituals are complete, the pastor along with one of the parents proceeds to dunk the infant in the cold holy water that has also been blessed by the pastor. At this time, the infant begins to cry hysterically, but it is a process that has to be done in order to be inducted into the Orthodox faith.

After the ceremonial aspects of the baptism are complete, the real party and celebration begins. For my baptism, I was told that two hundred people were invited to the party and it was held in a ballroom. My mother, aunt, and grandmother cooked