Godmothers/Godfathers/Sponsors

[All4Christ]

I won't be chrismated until around Pascha of next year, but lately I've been slightly worried - because I have absolutely no clue who will be my Godmother for my chrismation. I don't really know any of the women well enough to ask them to do that for me. My boyfriend recommended that I ask Matushka about doing that - but I don't know of anyone else who has done that, and I also don't really know her very well. I'm guessing that he mentioned them because he and his family are friends with Fr Tim and Matushka.

For those of you who are converts, how did you choose your Godmother/Godfather/sponsor? For those of you who have children, how did you choose theirs?

I've always been taught that this role is an important role - and I honestly don't know who would be willing or would want to be this for me...

[SeraphimSarov]

My chrismation is in February and the subject hasn't even come up yet, so I second this question. :)

[MariaRegina]

Ask the Matushka if she knows anyone who would be willing and able to serve as your godmother.

[All4Christ]

Will do :-) Thanks!

[-Kyriaki-]

I second Aria's advice. My priest suggested Jeremy to me, and it seemed logical, but we've got to find someone for Troy yet and that's going to be fun.

I'm sure it'll all work out in the end :)

[MariaRegina]

Shouldn't Jeremy be the sponsor for Troy.

Usually a woman sponsors a woman and a man serves as a godfather to a guy.

[-Kyriaki-]

*shrugs*

Perhaps, this is just the way it worked out :)

[zebu]

I also was confused for a long time about who to choose for a godfather. As my baptism drew nearer, and I still hadn't chosen one, the parish women began pulling me aside at coffee hour and suggesting different men, and then they even started e-mailing me suggestions. It was both funny and helpful! In the end, I chose my godfather because he had the most "votes" and for a much more shallow reason which I now regret, which was that he was far better looking than the close runner-up in the "voting".

Be careful about who you choose. You don't want to end up with someone that you can't talk to.

[RobNJ]

Being that I hadn't seen many chrismations, before mine came around. I didn't realize that they used godfathers (I knew baptisms did!). I know I've mentioned this before.. Two weeks before the chrismation, someone asked me who my godfather was going to be & I replid "Some guy named Corleone?" ;)

[ThePilgrim]

Shouldn't Jeremy be the sponsor for Troy.

Usually a woman sponsors a woman and a man serves as a godfather to a guy.
Ideally, although for some reason this doesn't seem to be done much here right now, there should be a man and a woman for each person.

[Chocolatesa]

My mom suggested a nice lady in her parish, since I didn't really know anyone.

[All4Christ]

Father Tim just mentioned at catechism that typically there is a Godmother and Godfather for young children - but in recent years, it's been more of just a Godmother for a woman (convert) and a Godfather for a male (convert). Not quite sure why there's the difference....maybe because a child is still being brought up?

[JuvenalyMartinka]

Mine was sorta like the others. I had no idea and it came down to the week before and so when it came down to it I chose the first male that actually spoke to me when I started attending Liturgy and he also served as my sponsor (along with his wife for mu wife) at our Marriage Blessing. It has really worked out because we are both converts and we are both history buffs. Gotta love someone you can sit in Denny's with for three hours and never run out of things to share! (We coulda stayed longer but we both had to go to work the next day, darnit!)

[Komnenos]

Sorry for my Ignorance of Slavonic but whats a Matushka? :D

[JuvenalyMartinka]

Matushka: (Russian) The title given to the wife of a priest.

Meaning "Little Mother".

[seashale76]

Sorry for my Ignorance of Slavonic but whats a Matushka? :D

The priest's wife.

[All4Christ]

What is the priest's wife called in the Greek / Antiochian church?

[MariaRegina]

What is the priest's wife called in the Greek / Antiochian church?

Just ask Presbytera Philothei of the Greek Orthodox Church

The priest is the Presbyter

His wife is the Presbytera.

[All4Christ]

Oh :-) that would make sense :-)

[Protoevangel]

What is the priest's wife called in the Greek / Antiochian church?
In the Antiochian tradition, it is Khouria.

[-Kyriaki-]

Yup :) My Antiochian priest's wife is Khouria Amal. We have a monk for a priest at the Greek church so no Presbytera there ;)

[Komnenos]

Matushka: (Russian) The title given to the wife of a priest.

Meaning "Little Mother".
Thanks

[xenia]

I chose a very nice older lady in the the parish who smiled at me every Sunday morning. She is a great person who I love dearly but unfortunately we were not a good match and when I left that parish for a different jurisdiction we kind of drifted apart as she did not agree with my reasons for switching parishes.

(Several years ago we had a good long thread in TAW about my quandary about switching parishes and jurisdictions, if any of you remember)

[Nichole]

I chose identical twin ladies (I am a fraternal twin) several months before my chrismation. Before they knew me (they knew my hubby from church--I was not going with him yet) they started praying for me! When I met them, I thought they were the cutest (and nicest) ladies ever. I instantly clicked with them and they feel just like my family now!