Akathistos

In only a matter of weeks, my family and I will be chrismated. It is imperative that at that time we have made a decision regarding godparents for our son. We have in mind who we would like, but I decided to do some research first:

• A Godparent must be someone who is a member in good standing of the Orthodox church, in full sacramental communion, and knows at least the main tenets of the Christian faith and its ethics
• The sponsor at baptism cannot be:
• a minor, i.e. a boy younger than 15, or a girl less than 13;
• someone ignorant of the faith;
• someone guilty of overt sins, or in general a person who in the opinion of the community has fallen in his or her moral life;
• a non-orthodox Christian.
• Parents may not be sponsors of their own children; on the contrary, should this occur, the very matrimonial bond of the parents should be dissolved in accordance with Canon 53 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, since sponsorship creates a spiritual relationship considered by the Church in this canon to be more important than “the union according to the flesh.

• A Godparent will be given the responsibility of assisting in the spiritual development of the child; therefore, one must take careful consideration in making this decision. The Godparents of your child will basically become an extended part of your family.
• In some traditions the maid of honor and best man at the parents’ wedding will become Godparents to the couple’s children
• Godparents are encouraged to keep in close contact with their Godchildren and to nuture them in the Orthodox faith. This can be done in the following ways:
• Celebrate the anniversary of the baptism or chrismation.
• Learning about the child’s patron saint and celebrating the feast day with this child
• Encourage the child’s faith through the giving of appropriate gifts such as a bible, prayer book, books on the lives of saints, prayer rope, etc.
• If you live near your Godchild, spend time with him or her.
• If you live far away, call, write, or e-mail your Godchild. If possible, plan to visit your Godchild.
• Discuss your faith with the child and encourage him to share what he is learning in Church school. Encourage him to study the gospel.
• Make your godchild part of the family. Include your godchild, and his or her parents and siblings, in your own family’s events and celebrations
• Another thing that I read in certain places but not in others, was that the person to be baptized or chrismated may not be permitted to marry his godparents’ children.
  

This is the basic information that I found. Please contribute anything that should be included in the comments section and I will add that information to this post. Thanks!