When I got there, I was asked by a nun to write my name on a list of the "cumetri" so that they priest could call my name during the service, but that's when we found the problem. I told her my name was Vincent, and she said that she didn't know how to translate that name to match one of the names in the Eastern Orthodox church. She threw out a few names like Victor and Ion, but we both agreed that I should ask the priest. When I asked the priest, he immediately asked, "Vincent, are you Catholic?" Ummmmmmmmmm, sure? "Well then, you can't be cumetri because you're not Orthodox", he said. I immediately wanted to say, "Of course I'm not Catholic", but I decided it would be better if I kept my mouth shut and just accepted that I couldn't be cumetri. Dangit.
The service was unlike anything I've seen. There are no chairs in an Eastern Orthodox church, so you stand for hours while the priest reads/sings from a book, which I'm guessing was a bible. At the beginning, the priest stood at the front of the church and starting giving everyone directions about how the service would take place, what everyone was supposed to do, and what I was not allowed to do. He told me that I was not allowed to walk a full circle around the bucket of water since I was not Orthodox. I was allowed to walk on three sides, but never should I step foot on the back side of the floor. When someone tells you that you can't do something, like step foot on a certain piece of floor, aren't you so tempted to stick your leg out and place your toe on it when no one is looking?
The cumetri (godparents) walking with the priest holding the baby around the body of water the baby was baptized in.
Several Moldovans asked me afterwards what did I think was the most interesting part of the service. I told them all that I've never seen a baby dunked in water, and that I got scared why I was filming and felt the sudden urge to take the baby away from the priest.
Eastern Orthodox church in our village
Lots of crosses everywhere in the village and all over Moldova
Two nuns who read and sang passages throughout the service
The priest....notice the bottle of champagne in the background.
After the service, the godparents came to the parents' house for another Moldovan tradition where they give money and hold candles over the newly baptized baby while they wish the baby a healthy and prosperous life.
Like all celebrations in Moldova, the day ended with a meal with endless amounts of food, vodka, and wine. I was glad to finally have the chance to wear the three-piece suit that I brought from the States. I was told by some people that I looked like I was going to a wedding, and told by others that I looked like I was going to a funeral, so basically everything except a baptism service.
