Orthodox Child, Catholic Sacraments?

[Christ_is_Risen]

When a Roman marries an Orthodox they are supposed to be married in the Orthodox Church, because by Roman beliefs it is still a “valid” Sacrament and from the Orthodox perspective the only way for it to be “valid” for the Orthodox member is to be married in the Orthodox Church. (Warning, link is to a PDF document from your USCCB)

To the OP: The official process is to contact the Orthodox priest closest to you - and it doesn’t have to be a Greek priest. Your wife is Orthodox, not just Greek Orthodox. You have to get permission from the local priest, who probably has to get permission from the local Bishop. Whatever they say is as law, they may allow it, they may not. They may require some talks with you both before their decision, they may not. Ultimately you have to talk to the local priest.

Thank you for the reply. It is the information I was looking for. Thank you also for the understanding. When we meet with the GO priest, he was initially skeptical of the inter-faith marriage. When he found out I was Catholic, he smiled a bit and explained that our two churches were the strong trunks on the tree of Christianity and that our faiths have very much in common, something I have found in attending both Churches.

I am very happy being a Catholic. My wife is happy being Orthodox. Our children will get both faith experiences (I am sending them to Catholic school) but it is important for both of us that they remain connected to their ethnic/cultural heritage through the GO church. The question is really about the sacraments. I believe the Catholic Church will allow Orthodox Church members to receive, so long as they have permission from their own Church. It is important for me that my children can stay connected to both Churches, and don’t want them to be denied the Eucharist because of our rural location, especially when they will have opportunities through Catholic school.

I appreciate all the responses and welcome any further ones.

 

[andrewstx]

Of course the sacraments of the Orthodox are valid. (I don’t see how that’s not a useful concept - either the sacrament is received or it isn’t. Valid means it is, invalid means it isn’t.)

The fact of the matter is that the OP has failed in his responsibility as a Catholic (for some nebulous reason involving family and culture), and his children are now members of the Orthodox Church. His daughter should not be preparing for First Communion because she is not Catholic and is not permitted to receive Communion at Mass at all according to the discipline of the Orthodox Church. It is simply not possible to be both Catholic and Orthodox as the OP seems to wish his children to be.

His daughter should not be preparing for first Holy Communion because she has already had it in the Orthodox church.

In the Orthodox church the sacraments/mysteries of initiation are received at the same time, shortly after birth. Baptism, Chrismation (confirmation) and first Communion are given at the same service and are not separated by years as in the Latin Catholic church.

It seems like you think there is a huge gulf between Latin Catholic and Orthodox while there is not a big difference.

 

[aemcpa]

His daughter should not be preparing for first Holy Communion because she has already had it in the Orthodox church.

In the Orthodox church the sacraments/mysteries of initiation are received at the same time, shortly after birth. Baptism, Chrismation (confirmation) and first Communion are given at the same service and are not separated by years as in the Latin Catholic church.

It seems like you think there is a huge gulf between Latin Catholic and Orthodox while there is not a big difference.

I am aware of the sacramental discipline of the Orthodox Churches with regard to initiation. But that is not why she should not be preparing to receive Communion in the Catholic Church. It doesn’t really matter very much that it would not actually be her first time receiving Communion, but it does matter that the Orthodox generally do not permit their members to receive the Sacraments in the Catholic Church.

 

[dzheremi]

It is because that is the case that this thread exists, no? So I would think that if the OP gets permission from the priest (who presumably gets it from the bishop), then all this other stuff doesn’t matter very much.

 

[Rawb]

To the OP: Many Orthodox would thank you if, in the situation that their priest does allow them to receive RC Communion, you clearly explain to your children throughout their life that they are Orthodox Christians who received special permission to receive Roman Communion. It will save the frustrations in the future of a priest or fellow Orthodox explaining that no, one cannot be both Roman Catholic and Orthodox, and their leaving The Church complaining about a bigoted or rude priest or Orthodox. I’ve seen it and heard of it happening before.

Also, if you move, especially if there is an Orthodox temple closer to your new location, you’ll need to speak to that priest about your situation again.

Also, an avenue you may not be aware of: If you want your kids to fully experience your church’s traditions in the context of their Orthodox faith you can look into the practices of Western Orthodoxy. You could lead your family in Morning and Evening Prayer, but using the ancient Western prayers. You could teach them the Western Orthodox Mass, which would help them understand the modern Novus Ordo better anyway. There are the ancient hymns, ancient prayers, all of your traditions but given the stamp of approval for their church. I even have an akathist for St. Patrick (who we celebrate as well) and prayers for an Advent Wreath that uses six candles to fit Orthodox Advent, but both of those use/are Eastern prayers.

If you’d like some resources PM me, I can let you know where to look. My family does Western style devotions sometimes because I used to be Roman Catholic and my wife was Chrismated Western Orthodox.

 

[Christ_is_Risen]

To the OP: Many Orthodox would thank you if, in the situation that their priest does allow them to receive RC Communion, you clearly explain to your children throughout their life that they are Orthodox Christians who received special permission to receive Roman Communion. It will save the frustrations in the future of a priest or fellow Orthodox explaining that no, one cannot be both Roman Catholic and Orthodox, and their leaving The Church complaining about a bigoted or rude priest or Orthodox. I’ve seen it and heard of it happening before.

Also, if you move, especially if there is an Orthodox temple closer to your new location, you’ll need to speak to that priest about your situation again.

Also, an avenue you may not be aware of: If you want your kids to fully experience your church’s traditions in the context of their Orthodox faith you can look into the practices of Western Orthodoxy. You could lead your family in Morning and Evening Prayer, but using the ancient Western prayers. You could teach them the Western Orthodox Mass, which would help them understand the modern Novus Ordo better anyway. There are the ancient hymns, ancient prayers, all of your traditions but given the stamp of approval for their church. I even have an akathist for St. Patrick (who we celebrate as well) and prayers for an Advent Wreath that uses six candles to fit Orthodox Advent, but both of those use/are Eastern prayers.

If you’d like some resources PM me, I can let you know where to look. My family does Western style devotions sometimes because I used to be Roman Catholic and my wife was Chrismated Western Orthodox.

Thank you again. We make it clear to our eldest that she is a member of the Orthodox Church (like Mommy’s family) while Daddy’s family is Catholic. We do tend to focus on the unity our Chruches share, which are many, and have both Orthodox style devotial objects, like Icons, and Western style ones like statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sacred Heart of Mary. It can be confusing for children, so all of the advice on that topic is well given.

After discussing this further with my wife, it is more likely we won’t go the dispensation route and instead make the committment to attend the Orthodox Church more often. The end game for me is to make sure my children have access to the Sacraments our Churches share. If this is accomplished by them attending the Orthodox Church more often, it is the best option for them. Still thank you everyone again for the comments. And I will send you a PM as Western Orthodoxy sounds very interesting.

 

[dzheremi]

I know that for me, it was a great comfort also to learn of the great Orthodox saints of Rome and those connected to the West who are venerated in my church. Maybe it’s because madeI the less common choice to convert to Oriental/Coptic Orthodoxy, and not Byzantine/Eastern Orthodoxy, but just to learn about our Fathers among the Romans such as St. Arsenius, Sts. Maximus and St. Domatius, etc., as well as events like St. Athanasius the Apostolic’s exiles into Western Europe, and the deep-rooted veneration of the martyrs of the Theban Legion that existed for centuries in the Swiss Alps (where they were martyred for not bowing to pagan gods)…it’s very good to know that the strict division between East and West is not something that limits Orthodoxy to the Egyptian or Syrian desert. Spain actually suffered many martyrs under Diocletian, though probably not as many as in Egypt (where the Coptic calendar begins in the year 284, the year of his enthronement, in recognition of the beginning of the “Age of the Martyrs” that saw the worst persecution of Christians in Egyptian history). It’s important not to forget these things, looking into the past with our post-schism eyes. All the West was Orthodox, at one point, even if they wouldn’t have used the WRO way of worshiping (hence I brought up the Spanish here because they have/had their own native Mozarabic liturgy, which is used by EO and RC alike in Spain today).

A little bit of Western Orthodoxy for you, as reconstructed in the 15th century by Pr. Cisneros

 

[ComeHome2Rome]

After discussing this further with my wife, it is more likely we won’t go the dispensation route and instead make the commitment to attend the Orthodox Church more often. The end game for me is to make sure my children have access to the Sacraments our Churches share. If this is accomplished by them attending the Orthodox Church more often, it is the best option for them.

Wonderful! As an Orthodox mom, I’m very happy with your family’s decision to follow through with your children’s Orthodox Baptism. Congratulations!