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Please refer to the full text of the highlighted points related to the following summary points.
1 Profile of the Orthodox Churches in Ireland:
Orthodox Churches in Ireland correspond to two main traditions who share core Christian beliefs, ceremonies and rituals. The membership of each church is highly culturally diverse. In summary, members come from Ireland, European and Eastern European countries, parts of the Middle East, parts of Asia, parts of Africa and North America. (Fulltext of Essential Point 1 in Profile of the Orthodox Churches in Ireland)
2 Religious contacts and religious practices:
Orthodox Churches practise a number of religious ceremonies, called sacraments, each of which has a specific purpose including aiding healing during illness, preparation for death and initiation of infants into the religion. It is preferable for service users to meet a priest from their own church who can discern the ceremonies that are necessary for the person. The contact details for each of the churches present in Ireland are listed at the end of the section. (Fulltext of Essential Point 2 in Religious contacts and religious practices)
3 Death-related religious rituals:
In the event of imminent death an Orthodox priest should be called who will perform the required ceremonies. (Fulltext of Essential Point 3 in Death-related religious rituals)
4 Cleaning and touching the body:
The normal washing and preparation procedure can be carried out. (Fulltext of Essential Point 4 in Cleaning and touching the body)
5 Initiation ritual/infant baptism:
The Sacrament of Baptism, the initiation ritual common among many Christian churches, is usually conducted at 40 days old. In the case of a threat to the life of an infant the Orthodox Churches prefer that the child is baptised. This should ideally be done by an Orthodox priest. If none is immediately available then the Orthodox Churches would wish that the parents baptise the child themselves using the guidance given under Initiation ritual/infant baptism below. (Fulltext of Essential Point 5 in Initiation ritual/infant baptism)
