Orthodox-baptized children converting to Catholicism

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Hello. I am new to this forum and have a question regarding how my children may convert from Armenian Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism.

Background:
I’m a baptized Lutheran currently in the RCIA program at a local Roman Catholic parish. My husband was baptized Armenian Orthodox. We had our two young children baptized as infants in the Armenian Apostolic Church since we were married there and wanted to follow my husband’s family tradition. However, now that I’m converting to Catholicism (after much thought, research, and a long spiritual journey), we have mutually agreed to raise the children as Catholic. My father’s side of the family is devout Catholic; my mother’s side is Lutheran.

Question:
Can my children do their First Communion and get confirmed in the Catholic Church even though initially baptized as Armenian Orthodox? Or, would they have to wait until age 11 to attend RCIA classes and convert at that time? From what I understand (correct me if I’m wrong), the Armenian catechism is very close to that of the RC Church and is even considered the “eastern lung” of the Church.

I’d like my kids to attend religious classes in their formative years and not be forced to wait until middle school to convert.

Please advise. Thank you!
 
Your children should not attend RCIA. They should simply be brought into full communion with the Catholic Church. You do not mention how old they are. I thought most all Orthodox communed and chrismated/confirmed infants. Double check on this, and see your Catholic priest for next steps.
 
I don’t know how old the children are and that may make a difference.

If they’re over 7-ish the normal path for non-Catholics would be to go through RCIA. However, this doesn’t apply to Orthodox Christians.

According to a class I took, Orthodox Christians cannot become Roman Catholics. If they want to become Catholic, they must join the equivalent Eastern Catholic Church. They must prepare to become Catholic in the Eastern Catholic Church rather than a Roman Catholic parish.

Once they become Catholic they can either remain an Eastern Catholic even if they attend a Roman Catholic parish, or they can change churches.

If the “LA” part of your name means Los Angeles, I can tell you who to contact in this archdiocese for all the details.
 
Welcome LAMommy! 👋

You have asked a rather complex question and I encourage you to speak with someone in your diocese who is familiar with Eastern Catholic churches. I will try to explain the situation.

Most Eastern churches that I am aware of comfirm and communicate at time of baptism, thus they probably already received both sacraments. By default, if they come into communion with Rome, they will be Armenian Catholics and be free to worship in any Catholic church (including Roman Catholic parishes). The Armenian Catholic bishop (not his Orthodox counterpart since Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholics are not in communion with each other) will be their bishop. Any future children will also be baptized, confirmed and given first communion into the Armenian Catholic Rite (by the Roman Catholic priest if no Armenian Catholic priest is available) because paternity determines the rite of the children (the rule was set centuries ago, I know). Your husband and children may request a transfer to the Roman rite once they are in communion with the Catholic Church. Both the Roman and Armenian Catholic bishops must approve.

I encourage you to also check out the Eastern Catholicism forum on this board. There are many knowledgeable people there who can answer your questions in more detail.

EDIT: If “LA” means Los Angeles, there is an Armenian Catholic parish near you.
 
The father and the children will be canonically Armenian Catholics. Its best to contact the Armenian Catholic Church in America about this process. Most Latin Rite priests are unaware of the process and would just accept them as Roman Catholics, but this will be against Canon Law. But of course as practicing Catholics, they can attend any Rite of their choice. I am unsure at this point if you will also be Armenian Catholic by virtue of your marriage when you enter the Catholic Church. That is why its best to ask those who know.
 
This thread belongs in the Eastern Catholicism section, and Constantine is right. The children would not ordinarily be latin rite Catholics, they will be canonically Armenian Catholics.

Of course, you can raise them as if they were Latin Rite Catholics, they are entitled to all the sacraments, no Roman Catholic priest may refuse them.

I am not sure but I think Armenian Catholics commune children from infancy. If so the local Roman Catholic priest at the parish you regularly attend has to be willing to commune your children no matter how young they are, he can not refuse them and he has to instruct any EMHC’s (if they have them) to do likewise.
 
Hesychios said:
Of course, you can raise them as if they were Latin Rite Catholics, they are entitled to all the sacraments, no Roman Catholic priest may refuse them.
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Its a bit more complicated, because Eastern Catholics are bound to follow Eastern rules of fasting, etc. It might be easier for either the Armenians or Latins in the family to switch to whichever Church they wished the children to be raised in. That being said, if the family IS in LA, there is a large Armenian culture there, so there would be plenty of great parishes whichever way they choose to go.
 
PrayForMeStJude said:
Its a bit more complicated, because Eastern Catholics are bound to follow Eastern rules of fasting, etc. It might be easier for either the Armenians or Latins in the family to switch to whichever Church they wished the children to be raised in. That being said, if the family IS in LA, there is a large Armenian culture there, so there would be plenty of great parishes whichever way they choose to go.
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Eastern Christians aren’t as legalistic as Western. No one is bound to rules of fasting. Fasting is always seen as something that will increase one’s spirituality. If one is following Western spirituality, then one can and should abide by Western practices and disciplines. They won’t go to hell for not following Eastern disciplines if they are not practicing Eastern spirituality anyway.
 
Thank you, everyone, for your (name removed by moderator)ut. It has been incredibly helpful.

For clarification, my children are ages 3 and 5. Also, I’ve learned there are two Armenian Catholic churches in all of Los Angeles. (Most are Orthodox and conduct mass solely in Armenian, which we don’t speak.) Unfortunately, the Catholic parishes are each 30 miles away from home. In L.A. driving terms, that’s an hour plus in traffic.

So, we will pursue getting the children (and husband) in full communion somehow with the Armenian Catholic Church and then get bishop’s approval to worship in our local Roman Catholic parish.

This forum is really amazing and beneficial. I had been trying to find answers to my question for over 9 months elsewhere.

God Bless You All!
 
LAMommy said:
Thank you, everyone, for your (name removed by moderator)ut. It has been incredibly helpful.

For clarification, my children are ages 3 and 5. Also, I’ve learned there are two Armenian Catholic churches in all of Los Angeles. (Most are Orthodox and conduct mass solely in Armenian, which we don’t speak.) Unfortunately, the Catholic parishes are each 30 miles away from home. In L.A. driving terms, that’s an hour plus in traffic.

So, we will pursue getting the children (and husband) in full communion somehow with the Armenian Catholic Church and then get bishop’s approval to worship in our local Roman Catholic parish.

This forum is really amazing and beneficial. I had been trying to find answers to my question for over 9 months elsewhere.

God Bless You All!
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Just as a clarification, you do NOT need the bishop’s approval to worship in a Roman Catholic parish. You only need that if your husband and children are transferring canonically to the Roman Catholic Church. They don’t have to, they can go to the Roman Mass for the rest of their lives without having to transfer. But if they want to, its entirely up to them.
 
LAMommy,

Sorry if I misled. Permission is only necessary if they want to become canonically Roman, as ConstantineTG said. This affects how they are identified on church records and when they receive Confirmation and First Communion. Your family are free to worship in any Catholic church with no special permission needed.

My parish recently welcomed a member from an Orthodox church, BTW. He was simply greeted at the door by the pastor immediately prior to Mass (on Mic) and received Communion with us. That was it.
 
LAMommy said:
Hello. I am new to this forum and have a question regarding how my children may convert from Armenian Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism.

Background:
I’m a baptized Lutheran currently in the RCIA program at a local Roman Catholic parish. My husband was baptized Armenian Orthodox. We had our two young children baptized as infants in the Armenian Apostolic Church since we were married there and wanted to follow my husband’s family tradition. However, now that I’m converting to Catholicism (after much thought, research, and a long spiritual journey), we have mutually agreed to raise the children as Catholic. My father’s side of the family is devout Catholic; my mother’s side is Lutheran.

Question:
Can my children do their First Communion and get confirmed in the Catholic Church even though initially baptized as Armenian Orthodox? Or, would they have to wait until age 11 to attend RCIA classes and convert at that time? From what I understand (correct me if I’m wrong), the Armenian catechism is very close to that of the RC Church and is even considered the “eastern lung” of the Church.

I’d like my kids to attend religious classes in their formative years and not be forced to wait until middle school to convert.

Please advise. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Is your husband becoming Catholic? If both he and the children are becoming Catholics they should become Armenian Catholics. If your husband is remaining Armenian Orthodox and the children are under 14 I think they should be able to become Latin Catholics like you.
 
Also, canonical enrollment would only come into question if one is seeking ordination. I haven’t heard of an RC parish refuse any of the other 6 Sacraments to Eastern Catholics. There are ways to navigate through the legal hoopla of that. Or some priests just don’t ask and just go with it. Or some people just don’t know what canonical enrollment is.
 
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