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A friend of mine who like me was received into Orthodoxy through rebaptism years ago is considering a return to the Catholic Church. She was formerly Roman Catholic, and the only parishes nearby are Roman. She would join a Latin rite parish on the condition that she be received as a Byzantine Catholic. Is that possible?

Also, would the Church recognize her infant baptism as a Protestant or the later Orthodox baptism as the "real thing?" If the latter case is so, I'd think the Catholic Church would encourage her retaining her Eastern Rite.

She was formerly Catholic, you say, so that could only mean that her Protestant baptism as an infant was recognized.

Yikes! Rebaptising! Was her Orthodox Church a canonical Church?

I have known some catechumens who upon describing their protestant baptisms to the Orthodox Priest were baptized as Orthodox Christians with the approval of the Orthodox Bishop.

Some protestant churches do not teach that Christ is the eternally begotten Son of God as they have mistaken beliefs about the Incarnation. This is why they reject our teaching that Mary is the Theotokos. They believe that Christ became God at his baptism. Furthermore, they have confused ideas about the Holy Spirit, so that they do not fully believe in the Holy Trinity.
How can they baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity if they do not believe in the Holy Trinity.

In case you think that I am imagining this, then please read that protestant book about Miracles. I forgot the title now as I burned it. The protestant church which my son attended for his kindergarten did not believe in the Trinity and they offered a course based upon this book. I started taking this course before I became Orthodox, and then immediately pulled him from this school as soon as I realized their heretical teachings.

Of course I believe you. I know for example in my church, converts are only re-bapatised if they have not been baptised in the Trinity, because there is an obscure Fundamentalist group that baptises in "The Name of Jesus."
For all other churches, baptism in the name of the Trinity is accepted as a valid baptism by the Orthodox Church.
I was just wondering if it is non-canonical Orthodox churches that re-baptise all converts. And specifically which non-canonical Orthodox churches.

In our OCA parish, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, and sects from those groups are automatically baptized as they do not believe in the Holy Trinity. The Bishop is always consulted and given information before a baptism or chrismation takes place.

Other Protestant churches are investigated to insure that the baptism was a Trinitarian baptism with a correct belief and correct words used.

Note that some Catholics who were baptized using the words "Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier" are also baptized at their reception into Orthodoxy.

OK. Here we go again. There is no such thing as "rebaptism". One is only baptized once. If a person is baptized upon entering the Church from another belief, it is because ,in the eyes of the Church, there was no valid baptism previously performed.

Alexandr

Why doesn't your friend simply join an Eastern Catholic parish? She can also attend a Roman parish regularly if there is no Eastern one near her.. Where is she located - we can help with the Churches in her area!

From what I gather in certain Orthodox online fora, the practice of baptizing all converts -- even Catholic ones -- is spreading once more in Orthodox churches. It certainly seems to be common in the State Church of Greece (not just the Greek Old Calendarists) and is not unknown in the Patriarchate of Alexandria. I have also read references to Catholic and Trinitarian Protestant converts to Orthodoxy being baptized in the Antiochene Orthodox Church, in Russia, in Serbia as well as in OCA.

The Jerusalem Patriarchate, Mount Athos, and some ROCOR dioceses certainly baptize converts from Catholicism.

Thank you Alexandr for providing the correct information. I find I am getting weary of all these claims based on hearsay of Orthodox re-baptising converts.
Hearsay and "someone told me" or "I read it on an internet forum or chatroom" doesn't prove anything to me.

I was in ROCOR for years and all adults, in my parish and the surrounding parishes, were baptized regardless of any previous baptism in their previous church. I'd argue that it is a matter of the eye of your jurisdiction rather than the eyes of the Church since there is no consistency throughout the Orthodox Church.

Maybe this is off topic but do they bless marriages of Catholics?

Normally, those entering the Catholic Church from Eastern Orthodoxy are supposed to enter via a "sister" Eastern Catholic Church, assuming there is one, unless there is a dispensation (for a good reason). This rule is not always observed (at least, in my experience, there are numerous violations by the Latins). However, the case you mention is a bit of a mess. I would encourage your friend to request entrance via an Eastern Catholic Church (assuming there is one she can at least occasionally attend at a driveable distance). I don't know if your formula (entering via an Eastern Church, but joining a Latin parish) is do-able. As to the Baptism, if the Church is satisfied that the Protestant Baptism was Trinitarian, followed the proper form, and "did what the Church intends to do", then that Baptism will be accepted. If not, she certainly was validly Baptized in Eastern Orthodoxy.

In Christ,
Dn. Robert

No one was required to do that to enter. But pretty much everyone, at some point, had their marriage blessed if they had been married outside of the Orthodox Church. I knew some people who came to ROCOR after leaving the OCA or the Antiochians and were rebaptized. I know quite a few people actually. It was supposed to be rather hush hush for the most part. It was usually done early before the services started and not announced to the parish as a whole.

"And we were all rebaptized--whether we needed it or not."



hawk, noting that the involvement of a Mississippi ground squirrel might constitute special circumstances