I will baptize Klara in the Russian Orthodox Church. And yes, I know, it sounds bizarre after everything I always have to say about ROC. But what else can I do? It’s not like I can show up at an Anglican church or whatever and demand that a baptism be conducted. There is got to be some connection to the church in the family. There has got to be somebody who at least is kind of trying to practice. And for us, that is only the Russian Orthodox Church.
People keep asking about Judaism but we lost our connection to it so long ago that it means nothing to us. Orthodox Christianity feels right in its meaning, even if the practice is elusive. But Judaism feels entirely alien.
The good news is that there is this really good Orthodox priest whom my parents have known for years, and whatever ROC is or isn’t, this particular priest is everything that a priest should be.
It’s not our fault that we have been robbed of a possibility to exist within an unbroken religious tradition that would feel organic and meaningful to us. What I want to do is create for Klara a possibility of inscribing herself into a symbolic order if she so wishes. And if not, then, obviously, that’s a choice that will have to be respected as well.
This is a long and roundabout way of informing everybody that since the situation in Ukraine stabilized, the last three months of blog earnings have gone to buy Klara’s baptismal robe, bonnet, blanket and cross cord. The blog’s readers will be rewarded by a photo of Klara in the outfit.
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