Baptism in a kitchen pot

Award-winning writer Dionisia Mousoura revealed to SBS Greek that she was christened in a pot!

Dionisia Mousoura, first from the right, with her siblings and parents in Zakynthos in the late '40s. Source: courtesy Dionisia Mousoura

There was a time when babies had to be christened in pots, buckets, washing tubs and even cauldrons, according to writer and poet Dionisia Mousoura who hails from the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante).

"It was 1940 and Greece was at war with Italy. The bishop of Zakynthos, Chrysostomos, instructed the priests to christen all babies as soon as possible" says Ms Mousoura and adds that it was a sin for a baby to die without being admitted into the Church.

Source: Supplied

Families rushed to christen the newborns but one important apparatus for Orthodoxy's most holy of sacraments, the font where the baby is dunked three times, was missing. 

"Back then there was one font between a few churches" explains Ms Mousoura "not like today that every church has a baptismal font. Whatever people could find to plunge the baby, even slightly, was brought in and dozens of ceremonies took place". 

"I was baptised in a kitchen pot. My father, who was a priest, performed the ceremony and my godfather was one of his colleagues, the famous papa-Koumboura" says laughing. Her godfather's name translated to 'fr Gun'. 

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