An Orthodox Church in Romania is under pressure to change its rituals after a baby died following a baptismal service. The six-week-old baby has died of a cardiac arrest following a ritual of immersing infants in holy water three times.
The incident took place last Monday. The baby was admitted to the hospital the same day, but died a few hours later. Liquid was found in his lungs during the postmortem.
Following the incident, prosecutors launched a manslaughter investigation against the priest in the northeastern Romanian city of Suceava.
Several people protested against the incident through social media. An Internet user condemned the “brutality” of the church ritual. Another user blamed the “stubbornness of those who think it is the will of God” to maintain it.
Local media revealed that a number of related incidents have recently been reported.
An online petition calling for changes to the ritual was also initiated. It had received more than 56,000 signatures by yesterday evening.
Meanwhile, Church spokesman Vasile Banescu said priests could pour some water on the baby’s forehead instead of full immersion. But Archbishop Teodosie, leader of the Church’s traditionalist wing, stated the ritual would not change.
More than 80% of Romanians are Orthodox. Interestingly, the church is one of the most trusted institutions in recent opinion polls.
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