Godparent Gifts: Orthodox Gifts For and From Godparents

The best Orthodox godparent gifts are the ones the Church itself asks for: the cross, a patron saint icon, and your prayer. If you are the godparent, you bring the baptismal cross and the white clothes and stand by your godchild for life. If you are the parents, thank the godparents with something for their own prayer: an icon of their patron saint, a prayer rope, or a card with your child’s name.

What does an Orthodox godparent bring to the baptism?

Parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese ask the sponsor to provide the things used in the service. One parish list reads: a complete change of white clothes, a bottle of pure olive oil, a cross, three white candles, soap, a hand towel, a bath towel and a white sheet. It adds martyrika, the small witness pins handed to guests, as optional. Another parish asks that the cross “must be an Orthodox cross.”

The same customs run through other traditions. Greek families call the godparent nouno and nouna. In the Serbian Church they are the kum and kuma, and the godchild is the kumce. Russians speak of the krestny and krestnaya, the godfather and godmother, and Azbuka notes that the godparent of the same sex as the child holds a clean towel ready to dry the child after the font.

Every parish keeps its own list, so ask the priest before you shop. The cross is the gift people remember. It is the one the newly baptized receives at the font and keeps for life.

Asked to be a godparent? What it means

Being asked is an honor and a real promise. At the service, the sponsor holds the child and answers for them when the priest asks them to renounce Satan and unite with Christ. The sponsor then recites the Nicene Creed, so learn it by heart beforehand.

That is why the godparent must be Orthodox. A priest’s guide quoted on the OCA site calls sponsors “guarantors pledging to the Church,” who “therefore must be members of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church.” Parishes ask for a sponsor in good standing, with a letter from your own priest if you belong to another parish.

The promise lasts a lifetime:

• Pray for your godchild. The Serbian tradition says the kumovi “should always remember the newly baptized child in prayer.”
• Teach the faith. Azbuka says the godparent must explain the basics of the Orthodox faith once the child is old enough to understand.
• Bring them to Communion. GOARCH parishes ask the godparent to bring the child to Holy Communion on the three Sundays after the baptism, with the lit baptismal candle, and to keep receiving with them often.

The OCA reflection is honest: parents carry most of the daily work, and a godparent mostly encourages and advises. Your part is steady, prayerful friendship.

Godparent gifts for the baptism day

Godparent Set, $149. Made for this day. It holds a patron saint’s diptych for the godchild’s home, chosen by the baptismal name, a gold-tone crucifix on a 60 cm chain that the godparent keeps for the godchild’s later years, a 50-knot prayer rope for your own prayer, a holy-water vial and a card for the baptism date. The diptych pairs the saint with the Guardian Angel. The Church teaches the angel is given “from holy baptism,” so the two companions of the font stand side by side. See our baptism gift guide for the full day.

Patron Saint & Cross, $99. The patron saint and the Guardian Angel in a red-velvet folding diptych, with a stainless three-bar crucifix and the saint’s card, in a gift box. A good gift for a godson or goddaughter old enough to wear a cross, or for an adult convert you sponsor at chrismation.

A single patron saint diptych, $69. For example the St Nicholas & Guardian Angel diptych. Each is a printed (lithographed) icon under glass, a pine frame and red velvet covers, 8 × 9.5 cm closed. Use the patron saint finder to match the baptismal name, or read how to find a patron saint.

A word on the cross itself. Our neck crosses are adult pieces, many on 60 cm chains. For a little one, the family keeps the cross with the icons until the child is old enough, and how to wear an Orthodox cross explains when.

Gifts from godparents through the years

GOARCH parishes encourage godparents to remember the godchild on the baptism date, birthdays and Christmas. They suggest icons, medallions, a Bible and religious books, gifts that build up the child’s spiritual life.

• Name day: the feast of the godchild’s saint is a natural date to remember. The Name-Day Gift Set, $149, holds the saint’s diptych, a stainless crucifix, a prayer rope and a card with the saint’s life and feast day. More ideas in name day gifts.
• The Guardian Angel: honored with all the heavenly powers on 8 November (21 November on the Old Calendar). See the Guardian Angel.
• A cross for an older godchild: the Plain Three-Bar crucifix on a 60 cm chain, $49, or the Budded silver crucifix, $39.
• Several godchildren: the Family Cross Set, $69, holds three stainless crucifixes in the finishes you choose, one for each godchild old enough to wear it.

You can also ask for your godchild’s name to be read at the Divine Liturgy. Our priest reads the names you send through our prayer services.

Presents for godparents: how parents say thank you

The godparents have promised to pray for your child. Give them something for that prayer.

• An icon of their own patron saint, $69. The most personal choice. Find their saint with the finder, and see giving an icon for how to present it. This works as a gift for the godmother or a godfather gift alike.
• A 50-knot wool prayer rope, $24. For the Jesus Prayer, and for the daily prayer they now owe your child.
• Printed Prayer Card with Your Names, $24. Your child’s baptismal name and theirs on one card for their icon corner. It is personalised, so it is final sale.
• Icon Corner Set, $199. For godparents setting up a prayer corner: the Zvenigorod Saviour and Vladimir Mother of God diptych, a patron saint’s diptych by name, an 8 in wooden wall crucifix, a prayer rope and a short guide.

Can I have the icon or cross consecrated?

Yes. Add Consecration ($49). On the Godparent Set it is the Consecration of the set’s diptych: our priest consecrated it before it left the workshop, one by one, with holy water and the prayers of the Church, and filmed it with its number on a card. The number is on its box and its signed certificate, a vial of holy water comes with it, and the name you give is prayed for separately and isn’t in the film. The set ships in the normal time, and the option shows only while consecrated diptychs of that design are in stock. A cross or icon ordered alone is consecrated before it ships, commemorating the person you name; orders with Consecration ship in 3–8 business days. Consecrated items are final sale.

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