Almost One And The Same

We were invited to a baptism last Saturday in the country, quite a long drive from the city and enough to make us tired when we came home. I’m pleased to learn that baptism here is celebrated on a Saturday and not on a Sunday as I used to know in the Catholic churches in the Philippines. We attended a baptism in a Catholic church last month and in a Swedish Lutheran church recently, both were held on a Saturday. I find it pleasing to have baptism on that day than on a Sunday, as it gives no stress to think about work the next day.

Inside a Catholic church

As far as I know, there’s only one Catholic church in Gothenburg, unlike where I come from, there are countless. The baptism ceremony is quite longer than in the Swedish church, though the process is roughly the same.

Inside a Swedish Lutheran church

The altars of these two churches have different designs and characteristics but the symbols and paintings are almost the same. The baptism ceremony in a Swedish church is brief and for the first time, I saw a lady priest in the altar. I was surprised when they include and say “Our Father” in Swedish. I didn’t expect to hear this prayer in a non-Catholic church. The Swedish church above is relatively old as it was built in the 17th-century while the renovated and modern ones (like the Domkyrkan) no longer look like that.