Choosing new godparents?

[catherineajt]

My youngest son was baptized an Orthodox Christian. Since we have reverted to our Catholic faith, and have no contact with his Orthodox godparents, I was wondering if it would be appropriate to ask a family member (specifically, my in laws) to act as my son’s de facto godparents. They are devout Catholics and I know my mother in law in particular would be honored. Would this be licit, or would we need to wait until such time as our son can be chrismated in the Eastern Catholic church (where we worship)?

 

[puzzleannie]

if he was baptized Orthodox he was likely Chrismated at the same time, and I am under the impression both sacraments are valid, but I have not dealt directly with a convert from Orthodoxy so don’t want to say for sure. Please ask your priest about this. No, he cannot have new godparents. That is a once for all thing. You can certainly ask someone you trust to take a special part in your child’s life and to serve as a mentor in the Christian life for him.

 

[Seatuck]

Do check with your previous Orthodox church or your current catholic priest to see if your son did indeed recieve Chrismation. Do the Orthodox keep records and give you a copy?

Yes, of course you may ask someone to be fill in Godparents. They cannot be officially declared in any church documents but they can love and teach your child the faith. You can have as many of these as you want to.

 

[catherineajt]

Do check with your previous Orthodox church or your current catholic priest to see if your son did indeed recieve Chrismation. Do the Orthodox keep records and give you a copy?

Yes, of course you may ask someone to be fill in Godparents. They cannot be officially declared in any church documents but they can love and teach your child the faith. You can have as many of these as you want to.

Yes, they keep records but the priest at our old parish is not on good terms with us, so I am leery of asking him for a certificate. I know he was chrismated in the Orthodox church; i just don’t know what is involved with “converting” him to the Catholic Church. If that makes sense.

I was pretty sure i could ask his grandparents to act as his godparents; my mother in law would be happy to. I wasn’t sure if i had to do anything official, though.

 

[Seatuck]

Yes, they keep records but the priest at our old parish is not on good terms with us, so I am leery of asking him for a certificate. I know he was chrismated in the Orthodox church; i just don’t know what is involved with “converting” him to the Catholic Church. If that makes sense.

I was pretty sure i could ask his grandparents to act as his godparents; my mother in law would be happy to. I wasn’t sure if i had to do anything official, though.

I’m not an expert. Your questions are reasonable ones.You will have to ask at the Parish. As far as I know Sacraments leave indelible marks on the soul and cannot be repeated. So if your son recieved Baptism, Communion and Confirmation at the same time then that is that.We can’t do a “do over” and we even don’t reassign Godparents for any reason on an official level. The Church will want proof of Sacraments recieved in the Orthodox Chruch for any of your family for future Sacraments such as marriage. It might be uncomfortable for you but you will need to get it. Depending upon the age of your youngest he may then be enrolled in religious ed classes just to recieve prep for reconcilliation and to learn the faith but he will not have to recieive the Sacraments again. It is unusual but I have seen it happen.If he is above the age of reason 7 or 8 then he will have to learn about reconcilliation or confession as we usually call it immediately if he wishes to recieve communion in a Catholic Church. I’ve seen that as well.

So as usual, half of the questions around here end with go talk to the Parish Priest.

Hope everything goes will for you and your family.

 

[catherineajt]

I’m not an expert. Your questions are reasonable ones.You will have to ask at the Parish. As far as I know Sacraments leave indelible marks on the soul and cannot be repeated. So if your son recieved Baptism, Communion and Confirmation at the same time then that is that.We can’t do a “do over” and we even don’t reassign Godparents for any reason on an official level. The Church will want proof of Sacraments recieved in the Orthodox Chruch for any of your family for future Sacraments such as marriage. It might be uncomfortable for you but you will need to get it. Depending upon the age of your youngest he may then be enrolled in religious ed classes just to recieve prep for reconcilliation and to learn the faith but he will not have to recieive the Sacraments again. It is unusual but I have seen it happen.If he is above the age of reason 7 or 8 then he will have to learn about reconcilliation or confession as we usually call it immediately if he wishes to recieve communion in a Catholic Church. I’ve seen that as well.

So as usual, half of the questions around here end with go talk to the Parish Priest.

Hope everything goes will for you and your family.

Thank you. The child in question is under two years old, so I think we have a while before we have to worry about marriage. We attend an Eastern Catholic church, where children may receive communion if they have received baptism and chrismation. The priest there is very understanding and allows all of us to receive.

I think in a few years, well before we need it, we’ll be able to get the neccessary documentation, just to have it on hand.