Question by suzie164q: How does a Russian Orthodox become part of a Catholic Church?
My boyfriend is Russian Orthodox, and I am Catholic. We want to get married in the Catholic Church. What do we have to do for that to happen?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Czar_Choi
Ask a priest.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
truthsayer says
If you choose to marry your boyfriend you might want to consider a couple of things first.
Both the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches are man made religions. They are distortions of Biblical churches. If this is still not a problem to you, make sure that you agree on what kind of spiritual upbringing your children will have.
My best advice is that you both repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and allow Him to be the Lord of your marriage. Also, find a Bible believing, Bible teaching church and attend services on a regular basis. Read the Bible and pray daily, this will also be the most beneficial for your children.
God bless you.
Mediator says
Relations between Russian Orthodox and other Catholics is just fine, and y’all are on the right track it seems to me, just by asking the question that you have. The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch and ministers are in constant contact. So focus on the catholicness, and don’t get carried away with the areas of dogma that are slightly different. The Patriarch respects The Pope, The Pope respects the Patriarch. All will work out if you adopt the right attitude. Togetherness. Catholicness. Unity. That’s how you approach your question. And both expressions focus on unity even though they took separate paths 1,000 years ago; it isn’t like the 500-year-old divide between Protestants and Catholics, which is marked in the US by a certain grain of anti-Christlike competitiveness. With the right attitude, y’all are going to be just fine.
Some links below show the relationship between The Vatican and Russian Orthodox. Recall that some of the great visions of the Blessed Virgin are directly connected to the Russian peoples. Fatima for example, where God sent Our Lady to warn the world of the impending peril of Communism as it was being politically manipulated in Russia and China. Or more specifically, to the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan, a sacred image that inspires untold numbers of Russian Orthodox to pray to God and Jesus. Pope John Paul II compares the icon to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico or Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland. Once again, Christ has sent the Woman to bring us all together through faith and obedience to God the Father. Just as he inspired the writers of The Bible, another thing you two share. This is always the purpose of Mary or The Bible in Catholic faith or any other part of the Catholic vine, which Russian Orthodox is. Unlike so many nonbelievers, Russian Orthodox recognize the continued divine intervention the Kingdom of Heaven provides as part of The Way to bring us all to unity in Christ in preparation for His return. That is the purpose of Chistianity.
So with this knowledge revealed to you, and the seed of this “unity” attitude in your hearts, you need to ignore anyone who suggests that you ignore your respective churches, that it’s all up to you and you alone. That’s the path toward separation from others. Be wary of people who take that hedonistic path. It’s never about the individual. That’s a New Age corruption that’s prospering exceeding in Protestant divisions and so-called Evangalistics who now reject any label that conjoins them with any group of people. Instead, take your “unity” attitude to your respective churches/priests, and declare your intention to get married. Matrimony is an ancient sacrament of both of your expressions of Christianity, rooted of course in the Judaism. Respect one another’s traditions, focus on the similarities. And involve yourself in the community of the faithful. Never hide your faith under a bushel. You two are going to be a great inspiration to others — especially your children, if and when you have children.
Do you realize that y’all are LIVING the Word of God by seeking to reflect on the divisions between the two faith expressions and seeking to overcome them? That is exactly what the Patriarch and the Vatican would suggest you do. Y’all are exactly in step with Christ on that, so feel really good about that.
Hayley says
He doesn't have to convert. You just need permission from your bishop. This permission is usually given routinely. Talk to your priest.
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MIXED MARRIAGES
Can. 1124 Without express permission of the competent authority, a marriage is prohibited between two baptized persons of whom one is baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act and the other of whom is enrolled in a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
Can. 1125 The local ordinary can grant a permission of this kind if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions have been fulfilled:
1/ the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church;
2/ the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises which the Catholic party is to make, in such a way that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and obligation of the Catholic party;
3/ both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage which neither of the contracting parties is to exclude. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P41.HTM
CatholicSchizophrenic says
As long as one of you is catholic and both of you have been baptized in a trinitarian church that believes Jesus is God then you can get married. So right now you seem to be well on your way. You have to make sure your priest sees you attending regularily and you have to do some classes. If your fiance wants to convert he will have to go through RCIA