Madam, – I would like to quote an entry from Encyclopaedia Britannicaon the churching of women, to correct a very common misunderstanding of the practice of churching of women as portrayed in your feature on stillborn babies (Life&Culture, February 2nd).
The entry reads as follows: “In the Roman Catholic, Eastern and Anglican churches, a ceremony of thanksgiving for a woman held shortly after the birth of a child. The ceremony is called ‘Blessing of a woman after childbirth’ in the Roman Catholic Church. Customs differ, but the usual date of churching is the 40th day after confinement, in accordance with the biblical date of Mary’s presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple. Unlike the Mosaic ceremony (Leviticus 12), it is not a rite of purification from uncleanness and is not an obligatory ceremony”. Coincidentally the Feast of the Presentation was on February 2nd. – Yours, etc,