A six-week-old baby died in Romania of cardiac arrest after being immersed three times and completely, including the head, in holy water for baptism.
The BBC reports.
The baby was immediately taken to the hospital but the doctors could not do anything and the autopsy showed the presence of fluid in the lungs.
An investigation into manslaughter was opened by prosecutors on the priest who performed the baptism in the northeastern city of Suceava.
A story that has re-proposed the theme of the reform of the baptismal ritual and which the most conservative part of the Romanian Orthodox Church has always opposed. About 60,000 people signed a petition calling for the change, also backed by the Archbishop of Arges Calinic, the oldest member of the clergy to support the reform.
The prelate told the Romanian website Adevarul that he believes that in the future the practice of immersing a child in water will be revised and the "most appropriate decision will be made to comply with (Church) ordinances and carefully avoid unwanted accidents".
The position of the archbishop of Tomis is different, according to which "we will never change the ritual. The canons of this religion have been in force for over 1,000 years". (HANDLE).