There has been much talk lately concerning the topic of discussion on Monday April 14th, namely that of inter-faith marriage.

I feel I must defend myself and also speak a little more rationally on this subject than is customary for me.

First off, I said Orthodox don't as a rule marry outside the faith; there is a large difference between the words don'd and can't.  Secondly as was stated by Katie over at So Joyful this matter is also, in most instances, left up to the Priest and Bishop of the Orthodox Believer.  And that being said, just because you have done it, doesn't make it right or accepted on a pan-orthodox level.

I think that we are really missing the point here though.  My good friend James linked to a response given by Fr. John Matusiak from the OCA question and answer section.  I would put forth that his response only supports my claim more than disproves it.

It is indeed possible for a Catholic to marry in the Orthodox Church without converting but agreeing to raise the children in the Orthodox Faith.  I would kindly recommend that you speak with the priest at the Orthodox parish in which you plan to be married, who will be happy to assist you further.

Here you can plainly see that Father is saying sure its possible, but only if they meet these requirements, which upon examination are such that if the husband or wife that is Roman is not Roman enough to want there children to inherit thier faith then they really aren't very Roman... are they?

Furthermore, Father goes on to say that even then it should be brought before the Priest, which of course implies that it will be brought before his Bishop.  And it is also worthy of note that this small exchange concerns a Roman Catholic, our schizmatic cousins.  As with a lot of rubrics and dogma in Orthodoxy the Roman is always treated differently than merely a pagan (ie non-christian) or Protestant (ie SuperCaliFragiSchizmaticExpealiDocious- Christian).  Take the sacrament of Crismation.  A Roman convert to Orthodoxy is given an abreviated crismation, whereas the protestant is fully crismated.  This is done as a way of honoring the common origins and shared history of the two oldest Christian Churches, as well as a way of looking forward to a time when East and West will once again enjoy full communion.

And lastly my point still stands that most Orthodox Faithful could not even fathom being joined to another who did not share thier beliefs and values; the wedding ceremony in an Orthodox Church is a crowning ceremony, the man and the woman are given the Crown of Martyrdom, in essence they accept martyrdom for the sake of the other.  There are no vows, and no legal jargon thrown around as in so many of todays Evangelical Churches.  They are to be a living icon of the relationship between Christ the Bridegroom and the Church his Bride.

Well that is all for now.  As always the lines are open and operators are standing by, so tell me what you agree and disagree with.