Question about baptization

flexmd

Greetings,

I came across someone in our church and he was telling me that he is not sure if he was baptized when he was young, he is over 50 now and his parents passed away so there is no way to confirm. I told him to contact Abouna but I was curious what the Orthodox church should do in this situation?

I hope Abouna Peter answer my question and others are welcome to responde too.

Thanks in advance

ilovesaintmark

Has he received from the other Sacraments?  This would be a loose assumption of the person having been baptized.

I would tell him to try to check with their family parish from a youth and ask them to look him up in the ledger of the church.  Also, he can ask relatives.  He may also try perusing through old family pictures.

If all of these suggestions do not yield anything, he needs to consult with a Bishop not just a parish priest.

mabsoota

tell us more.
were his parents lax in other ways?
did he and his siblings take Holy Communion from a young age?
did they grow up instructed in our Christian faith?
if so, i think it is very likely he was baptised.

but if no-one in the family got a tatoo, people went to church only once a month or less, if siblings married outside the church with it being no big deal, if the family didn't fast during lent, then maybe they were cultural Christians and didn't take care to do all the sacrements.
if this is the case, he should first ask advice form his priest, who can contact a bishop if necessary.

but is they were not lax, it's really unlikely to not baptise your kid.
my friend has some friends from the eritrean church who were not baptised as kids (they are now) so i know it can happen, but they also never took Holy Communion in their childhood.