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Why do we practice the churching of women? Why do we still practice this? Has not our Lord cleansed us from all defilement? Why must we wait a certain amount of time so we can become pure? Are we not already pure?

"The Prayer of Absolving a Woman after Giving Birth" is a custom practiced in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The tradition stems from the biblical passages in the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke Chapter 2 regarding St. Mary's days of purification, which she fulfilled, although she did not need to do it.

The Absolution of the Woman after giving birth to a boy or a girl is a beautiful prayer inclusive in the rites of the Holy Sacrament of Baptism in the Coptic Orthodox Church (see Coptic Reader—Special). These prayers are not for the purpose of cleansing from defilement, but a blessing for the woman and the child. The days of purification fulfill the Law of Moses and also allow a time for the woman's physical healing after childbirth. The ceremony for the blessing of women after childbirth was also performed in the Roman Catholic Church, but has since subsided. These traditions are still practiced in Episcopalian and Anglican Churches as well as in some Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Churches.