"The question is being discussed - why people in the Church baptize for money.

- Why do churches often require you to pay for baptism? Simon, rejected by the Apostle Peter, wanted to pay for baptism, for which he was rejected.

This is not the price for baptism.

This is a donation to the temple.

- But it turns out that this donation is not always voluntary. A man approaches, a price list behind a box...

It is not always voluntary on the part of the priest. You have to force yourself. There’s no desire to baptize, it’s just terrible! You are in the position of a man building a house that will be burned down in front of you. Pointless.

— Were there moments when you were happy for the baptized person?

There are times when you are happy for the person you are baptizing. He then becomes a church member, starts going to church, helps the Church, and lives by it.

But for the majority, it is not clear why they came to be baptized. What's the use of them? And they treat baptism as a paid service. They don’t understand anything, and they don’t want to understand - and they don’t even get away with it. What did you come? There is a craving of the soul, I can detect this, but it is absolutely not meaningful. And they don’t want to comprehend it and don’t want to spend time on it. But I have to baptize them, but I don’t want to, everything in me resists.

- What to do in this situation?

I now force my junior priests to baptize. I baptize only your children, church-going families, here I am calm and baptize everyone. And so - I suffered for 20 years - now that’s it.

Here is a man, I baptize his child, he now has the right to perform the funeral service. If some cannibal drags him into the forest and eats him, we can bury his bones. Well, a person should have some kind of gratitude for this? So he gives five hundred rubles. What, you went broke because of five hundred rubles? Let's haggle, maybe settle for three hundred.

There is no faith, no conscience, no honor. And here everything is free and with a bow! What are we, a Chinese restaurant?

- Maybe then we should refuse baptism?

I had this experience. I refused. And then I felt that I had also done wrong. The person does not understand why he was refused. It seems to him that he came to church and was offended here. I came to church to baptize a child because it is such a “rite”, the grandmother was a believer, and the great-grandmother was definitely a complete believer, this is sufficient reason for the child’s baptism. And I don’t know how to change his consciousness.

I have no time to go to church, I have to work and in general Sunday is my only day off. Then the Holland-Finland football... vegetable gardens... skiing... friends arrived... I go into the Church and light a candle.

I read the Bible back and forth three times...

You start asking something, he didn’t read anything. Dahl can't tell the difference between the Bible and a dictionary.

- Have you read the Gospel?

- I have a prayer book.

And so all the time: you tell him about Thomas, he tells you about Yerema. The conversation can go on and on. What to do?

At least take money from him...

This issue is currently being considered at the church-wide level.

- Yes, there will be a document. But let us decide that we do not baptize anyone until the Creed meaningfully says so. What will the person do? He will go to the village priests, give him money, and the priest will baptize him. He won’t go into detail about what these high minds came up with, I myself won’t really explain - what did they come up with?

Therefore, the fact that priests now take money for baptism is a good thing. A person who pays for baptism will at least support the Church with his three hundred rubles.

For this money, the singer will be paid for half the service.

One singer out of fifteen.

Do you need to pay for Baptism or buy what is offered to you in the church for Baptism, or should it be a gift? And I also wanted to write notes for peace and health, but it turned out that this is also a paid service. And most importantly, I was surprised that women and men should stand on opposite sides during the service - is this correct? I'm ready to donate money as much as I can, that's not the point, I'm confused by the prices for each service.

Kanev Alexander

worker, carpenter

Dear Alexander, I don’t quite understand the essence of your bewilderment. If for you church Sacraments and services are services, then what surprises you about the fact that they are paid? Where and when did anyone provide you with free services? I dare to think that you yourself receive material rewards for your work. Unless the so-called social services provided by the state to certain groups of the population may be free, but these services are financed from budgetary funds, through direct and indirect taxes that you and I pay as citizens of the country. But the Church is not a state institution, and at the same time not a commercial organization providing religious services, such as, for example, a funeral home. The church is separated from the state, does not receive any funds from budget funds for its maintenance and carries out its activities (including charitable ones) on donations from its members. The relationship between the Church and its members is not covered by consumer protection legislation; The Sacraments and services performed in the Church are not services, just as candles are not goods, and the amounts of money that are proposed to be paid for them are not prices, but the amount of a recommended voluntary donation. If this amount is large for you, ask to accept your notes for a small sacrifice, and I am sure that you will not be refused.

It is not clear from your question whether you are talking about your own Baptism, or about the Baptism of another person. In any case, if you went to the temple regularly and regularly, in one form or another, made donations to the temple, then I cannot imagine how such embarrassment could suddenly arise in you. And even if it did arise, it would be natural for a member of the Church to open it not on the Internet, but to the priest with whom you regularly confess, or to the rector of the church and then to the diocesan hierarchy.

I dare to note that it makes sense to baptize an infant, as well as an adult, only if there is reason to assume that this person will become a true member of the Church, regularly resorting to its saving Sacraments, maintaining a constant living connection with it. Now in many parishes, before baptizing infants, priests conduct interviews with parents and godparents in order to make sure whether they fully understand the meaning of this Sacrament and are ready to fulfill their duties, and whether they do not look at the Sacrament of Baptism as some kind of solemn rite or magical action , protecting against illnesses and life’s adversities, in a word, as a “service” of a cult nature.

So, if the amount of the recommended donation for baptism is too large for you, then you should, without any embarrassment, contact the rector of the temple and ask that you or your baby be baptized for free or for the donation that is feasible for you, if on your If the request is refused, then contact the diocesan hierarchy.

As for the second part of your question, the custom of men and women being located in different halves of the church during services is practiced in a few parishes of our Church, mainly in monasteries.

They even refer to such episodes of Holy Scripture as the Savior’s expulsion of merchants from the Jerusalem Temple or the case when the Apostle Peter refused to baptize a man who offered money for baptism. The price is especially indignant: it seems that they charge too much for baptism.

Why don't they baptize for free?

People who demand that everything be done free of charge in churches do not understand or do not want to understand that a temple is a material object that needs to be maintained and repaired, that from time to time it is necessary to purchase new vestments for priests, church utensils and books, and that one needs to buy oil and incense. All this costs money.

The clergy understand that visiting church should not turn into a service, because then it will not be available to everyone. Not a single church charges money for confession or communion, much less for attending the service itself (for comparison: you have to pay for a conversation with a psychotherapist or attending a concert). But there are events that occur only once in a person’s life: baptism, wedding, funeral service. It is quite possible to pay once.

In essence, payment for sacraments and rituals is a donation to the temple. It would be logical not to set a price, but to invite people to give as much money as they want. Some churches do this, but sometimes this situation creates awkwardness: people have difficulty deciding how much to give, and they ask to be told a specific amount. Setting a specific price helps avoid this awkwardness.

Why do they charge so much?

Payment by parishioners for some rites and sacraments, including the baptism of children, is necessary for the maintenance of the temple. Costs may vary. The maintenance of a cathedral is more expensive than some small church on the outskirts of the city, and if parents want to baptize a child in the cathedral, they must be prepared to pay more.

In some churches, the person being baptized is provided with a cross, a shirt and everything else that is needed for baptism, and the cost of all these items is included in the price. Then the fee for baptism may indeed exceed 1000 rubles, but the parents would still have to buy everything they need. The monetary costs would be the same, but there would be more hassle.

It should be noted that “expensive” and “cheap” are subjective concepts, and they do not always depend on income level. Pay 1900 rub. for a smartphone – “cheap”, but 500 rubles. for – “expensive”. This approach indicates that a tablet is more significant for a person than saving the soul of his own son or daughter.

Of course, for a low-income family, the amount is 500 rubles. may turn out to be a significant blow to the family budget, but in this case you can explain the situation to the priest - and he will definitely meet you halfway. If people who are not experiencing financial difficulties consider the fee for baptism to be an excessive expense, then baptism in general and the Christian faith in particular is not a value for them. The possibility of a Christian upbringing of a child in such a family raises serious doubts, which also casts doubt on the advisability of baptism.

Evgeniy, age: 33 / 07/15/2013

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Would you work for free?!..
Any work must be paid.

Vasily, age: 27 / 07/17/2013

The money that is donated during the performance of the sacraments goes to: - the needs of the temple, including the substances necessary for the performance of the sacraments, such as bread, wine, candles, etc.;
- for the maintenance and repair of the Temple;
- as material support for both clergy and their families, roughly speaking, as a salary. Let me remind you that the Church currently does not have government funding, and material expenses are made from donations like these.

The grace of God, which is taught in the Sacrament through a sacred action, comes from God and has no price, for it is immaterial, but Spiritual in nature. Well, how can you evaluate the salvation of the Human Soul, eternal bliss in the Heavenly Kingdom!? But Church people, clergy, clergy, and everyone who works in the Temple from morning to evening - these people need material things, therefore, those interested in accepting the Grace of God, since he is a believer, gives part of his material wealth to support the church people, without which the performance of the Sacrament is either not possible at all, or will occur in very unpleasant conditions. So the payment for the services is completely justified, as is stated in the apostolic epistles: http://azbyka.ru/biblia/?1Cor.9:11

Alexander, age: 40 / 07/18/2013

They do not charge money for the sacraments in the church.

In general, the question is as old as mammoth tusks. Oh well.

Go up to any priest and say: I want to get married (baptized, take communion, confess, bless a car, etc.), but I won’t pay a penny for it. And the priest will perform the Sacrament for you, although perhaps he will put you at the end of the line for the sake of those who are truly poor.
So the owner is the gentleman: donate whether you want or not. Where did the numbers come from? These are practically calculated values, below which if donations fall, the parish will collapse (for example, a church for 200 people during the heating season must pay about 200-250 thousand for heat).

Experience shows that conscientious people always sacrifice. And the easier it is, the more conscience they have. And the more difficult it is, the less conscience there is. But even such people will not be driven away from the lectern.

In European countries, taxpayers, regardless of religion, pay church tax (and atheists too), i.e. The state takes care of the church and the salaries and pensions and health insurance of priests, but in Russia there is no such tax. And no one pays tithes like the Baptists, although the New Testament says that the priest must eat from the parishioners. Please don’t forbid us to bring donations to your dads. Priests and their children also need to eat.

And if for some reason you have nothing to donate, come anyway, we will buy you everything you need for the sacrament at the expense of the parish. Last year we buried a drowned orphan, a young guy who had never even entered the temple.

In short, welcome, and try to come with your feet while it’s still possible.

Andrey, age: 47 / 07/21/2013

This is not a fee, but a DONATION. Because the church, like everyone else, pays utility bills: electricity, heating, water, etc. The singers need to be paid, the priest himself needs to eat and feed his family.

Natalia, age: 45 / 07/31/2013

This money is your donation to the temple, and not payment for services. If you don’t think it’s necessary, don’t give it, this is not a store.
The economy of the temple is formed from such donations + household expenses. activities (where possible). This is an ancient tradition: the priest eats from the Altar. This money is used to maintain the temple (commercial services, repairs, purchases of necessities), carry out charitable activities, have Sunday schools, etc., etc. Including the maintenance of the clergy - no government. etc. there are no subsidies or payments. In some countries (Greece, Germany, for example), believers pay special fees. tax in favor of one's denomination. From this money the state is established. salary to the priesthood, like the state. officials and allocate funds for the life support of parishes. It would probably be more convenient this way (at least for me, as a priest), but it is what it is...

priest Alexander, age: 53 / 08/16/2013

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