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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center

Churching a Baby Liturgical Service from St. Anne Church

Churching Service from the booklet used at St. Anne Melkite Greek Catholic Church, North Hollywood, CA

Priest: Blessed is our God at all times, now and always and forever and ever.
Reader: Amen.

The Priest makes the sign of the Cross + over the Child and touching his head says:

Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: O Lord God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by your word You created all creatures both rational and irrational: bless this child; enable him (her) to reach maturity; sanctify him (her) ; give him (her) understanding, wisdom and intelligence. Since You have brought him (her) into existence and have shown him (her) the natural light of day, grant that, at time appointed by You, he (she) may be accounted worthy of the supernatural light of heaven and included within your holy flock.
Through your Only-begotten Son, with Whom You are blessed together with your All-holy, Good and Life- giving Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.

Reader: Amen.

Then the priest with his hand on the head of the mother, says:

Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: O Lord our God Who came for the salvation of the human race, come also to your handmaid N., and through the prayers of your reverend priests, make her worthy to seek shelter in your holy Catholic Church, to enter the temple of your glory, and to receive the Precious Body and Blood of your Christ.
That with us she may glorify your Holy Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, nowand always and forever and ever.

The priest blesses the child and says: +

Priest: O Lord our God on the fortieth day, You were presented as an infant in the temple according to the Law by Mary, your holy and ever- Virgin Mother, and You were carried in the arms of Simeon the Just: therefore, Lord Almighty, Creator of All, bless this child who is presented to You. Make him (her) grow in every good deed which pleases You, and through the sign of your Cross, + dispel from him (her) every adverse power, for You are the guardian of children, O Lord. Make him (her) worthy of holy baptism and of the grace of the elect of your Kingdom, and guard him (her) with us, through the grace of the Holy, Consubstantial, and Undivided Trinity.
For all glory, thanksgiving and worship belong to You and also to your Eternal Father and your All-holy, Good Iand Life-giving Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.

Reader: Amen.

The Priest takes the child in his arms, makes the sign of the cross with it before the Church central holy Door saying:

Priest: The servant of God N. (the handmaid of God N.) is churched in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Then he enters the Church saying:

Priest: I will enter your house and I will worship at your holy temple.

In the middle of the Church he repeats:

Priest: The servant of God N. (the handmaid of God N.) is churched in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

He advances again toward the Holy Table, and says:

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Having reached the central holy Door; he says for the third time:

Priest: The servant of God N. (the handmaid of God N.) is churched in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And he enters the sanctuary with the child, be it a boy or a girl.
Leaving through the South Door; he recites the Canticle of Simeon:

Priest: Now You dismiss your servant, O Lord, according to your word, in peace; because my eyes have seen your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples: A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and a glory for your people Israel.

The Priest at the central holy Door returns the child to his mother and concludes the service with the short dismissal.

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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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