What Do You Need for an Armenian Baptism? A Practical List
An Armenian Apostolic baptism has a short, specific list of things to bring, and most of it is not obvious until someone tells you. The family provides the white robe and new white towels. The godfather provides the cross. The church provides the narod and the Holy Muron.
Below is what each person is responsible for, what happens during the service, and the one instruction afterwards that surprises nearly every family. Practice varies a little between parishes and dioceses, so confirm the details with your own priest.
What the family brings
- A white outfit for the child. Parish guidelines call it the Robe of Gladness. It is put on after the baptism and chrismation, not before.
- One or two large new white towels. They must be new, and reserved for the service. They are not meant to be used for anything else afterwards.
The towels catch most people out. The child is fully immersed, so ordinary bath towels from the cupboard will not do.
What the godparent brings
One item, and it is the important one: a cross on a chain for the newly baptized child. Parish guidance is specific that it should be Armenian in style rather than a crucifix. The godfather traditionally provides it, and the child wears it after the service.
If you have been asked to be a godparent and you are wondering whether the cross is enough, it is. Anything else is in addition, not instead.
What the church provides
- The Holy Muron, the consecrated chrism used for the anointing.
- The narod, a red and white braided cord with a cross, placed around the child's neck. The red stands for Christ's sacrificial blood and the white for purity. Most parishes supply it, so families do not need to bring one.
What happens during the service
The child is immersed three times in sanctified water, in the name of the Holy Trinity. The three immersions recall the three days Christ spent in the tomb.
The anointing with Holy Muron follows, and then the child receives Holy Communion. In the Armenian Church these are not separate occasions. Baptism, chrismation and first communion happen together, in one service, on the same day.
Who can be a godparent
At least one godparent must be a baptized and chrismated member of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Where only one meets that condition, the other is generally expected to have been baptized in some Christian faith.
The role is not ceremonial. The godparent professes the Creed on the child's behalf and takes on responsibility for raising the child in the faith. In many families it is a relationship that lasts a lifetime and passes down through generations.
After the baptism
The child's first full washing is done on the third day after the service, and many parishes suggest doing it with the godparents present.
Then the part nobody expects: the bathwater is not emptied down the drain. It is collected and poured onto the soil of a garden or a lawn, because traces of the Holy Muron remain on the child. If you live in an apartment, a large potted plant is the usual solution.
What to give, if you are not the godparent
Because the cross belongs to the godparent by custom, grandparents, relatives and friends are free to choose something else. That usually means something for the home or the child's room rather than something worn.
A piece carrying the child's name in Armenian and the date of the baptism marks the same day without duplicating anyone else's role. Our Armenian Christening & Baptism Gifts collection is built around exactly that, and the Prayer & Faith collection holds the cross and sacred-scene designs. If you are the godparent and want to give something alongside the cross, what an Armenian godparent gives covers that in more detail.
A short checklist
- Family: white outfit, one or two large new white towels
- Godfather: cross and chain, Armenian in style
- Church: narod, Holy Muron
- Confirm godparent eligibility with the parish in advance
- Third day: full washing, bathwater onto soil
Parish requirements are short but they are firm, and they are easier to meet with a week's notice than a day's. Sources for the details above: St. James Armenian Church and St. Sahag Armenian Church.