The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church allowed to baptize the children of surrogate mothers after the repentance of the parents

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church allowed to baptize children born with the help of a surrogate mother, at a conscious age or after the repentance of the parents. This was reported on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“A child born with the help of surrogate motherhood can be baptized at the request of his persons raising him, if his biological parents or a surrogate mother are such, only after they realize that from a Christian point of view, such reproductive technology is morally reprehensible and bring church repentance,” the synod said.

It is noted that the decision on baptism is postponed to the conscious personal choice of the child if "such awareness does not occur."

On November 16, the head of the Synodal Department of External Church Relations,Metropolitan Hilarion, expressed a similar proposal . “On the one hand, any born baby can be baptized - by the faith of those who intend to baptize him. In Soviet times, many were baptized by the zeal of relatives, secretly, without the knowledge of parents. The baby itself does not bear guilt for the way of birth,” the metropolitan said at a meeting of the Synodal Biblical Commission in Moscow.

On the other hand, he continued, parents and recipients bear responsibility for the Christian education of the baby. "If the parents do not bring obvious repentance in the deed, and the recipients express the fact of their participation in the sacrament with the committed sinful act, then what kind of Christian education can we talk about? In this case, should the child’s baptism before reaching their conscious age?" - Metropolitan asked a question.

The baptism of babies in this case would be primarily pastoral, Illarion believes, since there would be a clear signal from the Church that the practice of surrogate motherhood is unacceptable from a Christian point of view. ”