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→Churching of the mother: pastoral considerations
In contemporary practice, it is rarely medically necessary and sometimes not even possible for the mother to remain confined in the home for forty days. Pastors must determine whether it is more important pastorally that the churching be the first thing the woman does upon leaving the home or that the churching happen on the symbolic fortieth day. Not all pastors make the same determination.
On the fortieth day after childbirthof her churching, the mother comes to the temple to be churched, that is, to receive a blessing as she begins attending church and receiving the [[Holy Mysteries]] once again. The child, that has already been cleansed and washed, is brought by the mother accompanied by the intended godparents who will stand at the child's baptism. They all stand together in the [[narthex]] of the [[church]] before the doors of the [[nave]] of the temple, facing east toward the [[altar]]. The [[priest]] blesses them and says prayers for the woman and the child, gives thanks for their wellbeing and asks God's grace and blessings upon them.
===Churching of the Child===
