Non catholic marrying a catholic.please read has a good question

[xakanrn]

Hi all.
I am a non catholic but greek orthodox which are similar in many ways .
I am not very practising to be fair but hold onto it mainly as it is part of my heritage .
She is catholic and wants a church wedding and i am fine in doing that.I even agreed that our kids will be raised catholic(let them decide if they want to change when adults i say).
Our marriage is sort of planned for october and here is the problem.
I read about all the things that i need to do ie pre marital classes and i am happy to go there .
However,she works far off and lives there and will not be able to come to where i live till a month to the wedding as she is tied up with work there till then.
She is not registered in any parish in this country and has asked me to go register myself and set the dates and plans.
Now here is my dilemma ,considering i will do the whole arrangement for the church wedding does this mean i have to convert?
Surely,if i have to register with a catholic church ,it means you are a practising catholic(would expect that of any faith).
I obviously love her and am willing as a last resort to do this but really would like to keep my faith .

 

[kevinsgirl]

Call the parish that you are living geographically in (your diocese can help you with this) and explain that your fiancee who is Catholic will be moving a month before the wedding but she would like to join now. They’ll probably request a letter from her priest and probably her baptismal certificate. In other words–do the leg work for your sweetheart, but don’t become Catholic just out of convenience. At my parish, I got a reduced rate because it was my parish, but I could still get married there even as a nonparishioner (the fee was just a little higher) so that is another option. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!

 

[Sina]

Interesting situation! Congratulations on your engagement!

I know Orthodoxy is in Unity with Catholicism so you shouldn’t have too many issues but it is really too bad that you are having to do the leg work with the church arrangements since you are not the Catholic party. I know it would be nice if you could go together and register, and attend mass together at your new church.

However, my best advice to you is to find a parish close to you and set up an appointment with the priest or deacon and discuss everything with him. He will give you the best advice and I am quite certain you will feel much more comfortable once you have met with a priest and received advice.

I don’t think you would have to convert…? You have the same sacraments as Catholics do. I know you are allowed to receive the Eucharist in a Catholic church if you have received first communion and are not in a state of mortal sin. Catholics however are not supposed to be receiving communion in Orthodox churches as Orthodoxy does not allow it as far as I know.