Q. 1. What is a guarantor in relationship to the Godparent?

A. 1. The word "Guarantor" is another word for "Godparent."

In the early days of the Church, in the baptism of a child, adults, usually the parents, were required to act as sponsors for the child. They vocalized the confession of faith and acted as guarantors of the child’s spiritual upbringing.

Based on the "Corpus Juris Civilis" (Body of Civil Laws) issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor, the sponsors of the child was no longer the natural parents of the child. They had been completely replaced by a guarantor. In 813, the Council of Munich forbid natural parents from acting as godparents to their own children. That rule still applies today.