Godparent

Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development, and to offer mentorship. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother. The child is a godchild (i.e., godson for boys and goddaughter for girls). As early as the 2nd century AD, infant baptism had begun to gain acceptance among Christians for the spiritual purification and social initiation of infants. Normally, these sponsors were the birth parents of a child, as emphasized in 408 by St. Augustine who suggested that the sponsors could be other individuals in exceptional circumstances. Within a century, the Corpus Juris Civilis indicates that parents had been replaced in this role almost completely by those who were not the child's birth parents. This was clarified in 813 when the Synod of Mainz prohibited natural parents from acting as godparents to their own children. By the 5th century, male sponsors were referred to as "spiritual fathers", and by the end of the 6th century, they were being referred to as "compaters" and "commaters", suggesting that these were being seen as spiritual co-parents. Around the same time, laws intended to prevent marriage between family members were extended to include marriage between godparents and godchildren.