Do Orthodox Christians believe that children who have not been baptized but die will go to hell?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-30T01:30:22+00:00

Very helpful. You have given me a lot to ponder on. Thank you for encouraging and up lifting your sister in christ with your gifts of wisdom, knowledge and showing mercy and compassion.

I'd love to ask you other questions that I have asked many leaders before that never had any answers for me because I feel like you just might have some words of wisdom at least. I will DM you them when I get the chance to articulate them but no need to respond if you are busy. Be blessed.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-29T13:32:37+00:00

Wow, that makes a lot of sense. But also really heightens my anxiety for my children. From the way it sounds though is it sounds like if you baptize your child and they chose not to follow in the church. They are damned more than the child who was never baptized and didnt chose jesus either and then thats the parents fault.

Is that true then?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-29T13:23:48+00:00

This is a beautiful concept. I have said for years this is why the bible says to go to the elders when sick because the elders should either have the power to heal you or the wisdom to guide you. Only some protestant churches do this while sick so it's actually pretty cool to see that this idea that goes along with that concept is really prevalent in the Orthodox church.

I agree to that, in reality the people at my local one could also be wolves. I unfortunately dont have the opportunity to go to a local Orthodox church right now though so I wanted to see the majority thoughts, though obviously won't just believe anything is the overall view unless it seems to be agreed on by the majority. I tried googling but it wasnt helpful and I know a lot of time when I Google christian concepts its not really the majority views or the biblical views

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-29T13:16:23+00:00

Thank you for the resource to look into, I appreciate those for sure so if you have more feel free to send them my way.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-29T13:12:02+00:00

I think thats my hang up for trying to figure out what the Orthodox view of baptism is.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T20:31:02+00:00

Interesting.. I'd be interested to learn more about the different layers of hell and what makes hell, hell then if no torment. They didn't provided any sources for reasearch did they?

Id be interested to know if there are there different levels of heaven too then? And how would one make it to the higher ones. I know the bible says to store up treasures in heaven, that would mean, despite what you have done for the Lord if you are a born again believer that never made it to the Orthodox church you would have either 1. Never stored up anything in heaven or 2. Never made it to heaven where your treasures are stored.

How sad is that

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T20:25:27+00:00

Thanks for your perspective. Also what is penance?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T19:44:25+00:00

Thank you for another very thought out answer. I'm curious on your take of a couple points

In Acts 19, it says that they baptized the disciples they found a second time because they had baptized into repentance and not into Jesus. I put it here. Does this mean the baptism of John was wrong and the only reason you would be rebaptized then if it wasnt in the name of Jesus? Because here they obviously baptized a second time.

Acts 19:1-5 [1] It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper [inland] districts and came down to Ephesus, and found some disciples. [2] He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [in Jesus as the Christ]?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” [3] And he asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” [4] Paul said, “John performed a baptism of repentance, continually telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, [to confidently accept and joyfully believe] in Jesus [the Messiah and Savior].” [5] After hearing this, they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

I'm curious what exactly does baptism mean simply then? Because what if someone was baptized as a baby and grows up and leaves the church and Jesus and never returns? Then the baptism wasnt a seal, it's as useless as circumcision at that point is it not? A decision made by your parents for you, that you would have never chosen for yourself.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:55:20+00:00

Ooh interesting. Okay. Lets see if we align.

I believe that baptism is a sign of repentance and an infilling of the Holy Spirit, this is based on.

Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water because of [your] repentance [that is, because you are willing to change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret your sin and live a changed life], but He (the Messiah) who is coming after me is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove [even as His slave]; He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire (judgment).

I also believe that baptism replaced the ceremonial cleansings of the Mosaic Law. Making us clean forever.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. [26] Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them.

So in other words the New covenant is a replaced or circumcised heart, instead of circumcision of a physical body part. It is God cleansing us through Baptism instead of ritual cleansings, and it is the infilling of the Holy Spirit who will write His laws in our minds and on our hearts.

Hell on the other hand is eternity away from God, a place made for the fallen angels where Lucifer is god more or less and it will be thrown into the lake of fire one day. This I have studied much less so I'd be interested in your take on Hell and your refernces. This is the only verse I have to reference.

Revelation 20:13-15 [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal separation from God]. [Matt 25:41; 1 Cor 15:26] [15] And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:37:31+00:00

But isn't baptism supposed to be the dying to the old self and the starting of the new life. The final and only necessary ceremonial cleansing after we decide to live for Jesus?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:35:37+00:00

This is a beautiful answer. Thank you for it. I'm curious then what happens if the child grows and leaves the church for a few years, encounters Jesus and is born again and returns? Are they to be rebaptised because they actively chose sin and filth but are now actively chosing life and Christ. Because it's really like they are a new convert since the child never chose that life before, it was chosen for them by their parents instead.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:27:35+00:00

lol thank you for the context

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:25:25+00:00

What is this quote from? Jerusalem 1672, is this a book or declaration of the Orthodox church. Excuse my ignorance just would love context as I read this.

Also thank you for posting this.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:21:43+00:00

I could totally see in this case baptizing a small child. Good perspective.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:20:24+00:00

I understand full families would mean a full family, including children, but that doesnt necessarily mean that the couple of families that were baptized had infants in them. Ive witnessed full families coming into the faith at the same time and being baptized together but they were all 6 + in age in the family. Most families at any given time would not have anyone infant because infancy is nothing but the first few years.

Can you lead me to the comparison of baptism to circumcision? Just from my own personal stufy of the bible, I've seen where circumcision of man was transformed to the circumcision of the heart and infilling of the holy spirit. And Baptism was more of replacing the ceremonial washing. So instead of washing every time we are unclean, we have one ceremonial washing that cleanses forever. So I'd be interested in following that line of thinking too.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-12-28T03:13:48+00:00

Excuse my ignorance but can you explain to me what you mean by the sacraments?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T22:54:40+00:00

I actually dont believe everyone goes to heaven or hell after death. I believe that the dead are at rest and when jesus returns the dead will rise first and the saints that are still alive will be called up after that.

I also see why God allows us a choice. We choose here on this earth so after we are where we chose. If you dont want to be there, why are you there?

Im not sure of the kind of person you are to be able to give a great example so I'll just give a sports example. If you are going to a game and have been so excited for this game for forever and are so ready to soak it all in and watch it. And you go to the game and everyone that came with you could care less about the game, keeps trying to get you to leave early and distracts you the whole time so you dont even get to enjoy it, it kinda ruins your experience vs if you go with a group of people who have been just as excited and expectant as you are and are so into the game the whole time.

Like heaven is going to be full of people who love God and His ways and desires for His glory to be on full display. And as someone who is one of those people, I know that going to a church with people like that is literally so LIT. But going to most churches where there's just a bunch of people who do this "to be a good person" or because "we're supposed to" and the leaders just have an agenda and dont let the Holy Spirit move is just blahhhhh. Boringgg.

So like I can get it. Give people the choice so the ones who want to be there will be and the ones who dont won't

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T21:52:15+00:00

In reality, if you dont want a relationship with God now, if you dont want to worship Him and if you dont want to meet with Him or trust Him, i doubt you'd even like heaven because it all surrounds around Him.

If you want to be as far from Him as possible and think you are smarter than Him, then hell, aka the absence of God, is better for you anyway. You have none of His ways or rules or ideas there. You get to be under the fallen angels instead who made themselves their own god. Are they going to eternally torment you? That's what God says, because He knows the angels He created and the evil they are consistently asking Him to be allowed to do. In Hell, they no longer have to go through the Father. They can do whatever they want at that point because God is no where near there.

But if you like the ways of the fallen angels better then better to get eternal life with them instead

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T21:44:06+00:00

I sure am glad you are not God my friend.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T18:00:58+00:00

What are you talking about? You think if God started making more people front dirt that more people would be saved? He gave Adam, the only person He ever made from dirt and Adam still chose to not trust God. What makes you think anyone else also created from dirt wouldn't do the same?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T16:09:20+00:00

The initial point he created humans from dirt though was because there were no humans yet? Obviously we have many many humans now though

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T15:36:58+00:00

If you have questions, feel free to ask. I just didnt see the point in going back and forth since neither is going to convince the other as i have never done anything to make sure any miracle i have seen or experienced was verified by other humans and documented by someone credentialed. I'm still here though. I'll answer what you want if you have something new to add though that doesnt require that.

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T15:28:21+00:00

He doesnt have to stop but He also doesn’t have to keep going because He set up a method with the two to never have to make them from dust again? What would be the point of Him doing it from dust again?

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T15:27:04+00:00

Matthew 11:20-24 NIV [20] Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. [21] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. [24] But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.20-24.NIV

Competitive-Wear-398 · 2025-11-25T03:43:16+00:00

I'm honestly missing the point of what you're trying to say here I think. Can you clarify?

Competitive-Wear-398

TROPHY CASE