www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Questions about passing on 'Eastern' status to children

Glory to Jesus Christ!

So after having long been considered the 'friendly Romans' in our local Byzantine Catholic communities, we were delighted to discover that my husband's mother's paternal grandfather was actually a Ruthenian Catholic.

Great grandpa, upon coming to the US, essentially practiced as Roman (there were no nearby Ruthenian churches). He married Roman, baptized the children in Roman churches, etc. Though his son (grandpa) did periodically attend DL, and there's a vague memory in some of his children of the Byzantine heritage, though those who kept the faith attend Roman parishes.

My questions:
-This heritage is only passed through the men, right? Is there any situation that my husband would have inherited Eastern Catholic status by default with an Eastern mom and a Roman dad?
-Great Grandpa (the Ruthenian) had children in the 30s, and was an illiterate laborer. Are there any chances he would have officially renounced that his children were by default Byzantine? How would we find this out? I'm assuming the baptismal records would presume Roman, as we're assuming the family simply forgot without ever officially renouncing Eastern status, but either way I'm thinking the records would look the same. In the case of ambiguity, which would we assume?
-Does my mother in law, raised Roman her whole life, have any obligation to start observing Eastern fasts and holy days?

Many thanks for bearing with me here. We've been mulling these questions over ever since our discovery and wish to defer to those more knowledgable than we are. A huge thank you for taking the time to help.

Christ is in our midst!!

lookslikemary:

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not Byzantine. My best advice would be to contact a priest of the Passaic Eparchy and put these questions to him. That way, you'll get an official--or semi-official--answer. Opinions here may run the gamut.

Bob
Moderator

Thanks Bob! That's a really good plan. I think I'll do that.

I realize now that my second question was assuming current canon law, before 1983 I believe there was no other option in a normal Catholic marriage, children took the rite of the father.

Lookslikemary,

Regarding your grandfather and "renouncing" his Greek Catholicity.....It's possible but unlikely that he would have officially changed rites; most likely the Roman parish could have just "absorbed" him, like so many others. Regarding his children, the RC parish priests should have asked him whether he wanted them to be Roman or Greek. Regardless, if it was properly done, the baptismal record SHOULD indicate that the father (your grandfather) is Greek Catholic. A visit to the parish and specifically asking this question should give you the answer. Be prepared with the birth dates of your father, aunts and uncles, with special attention to the oldest.