Godmother confusion

[xjuliax]

I am very confused. I am of the reform Jewish faith and I was asked by a Greek Orthodox friend to be her child's godmother. I was told by my Greek Orthodox roommate that there is no possibility of a Jewish person to be a godmother to a Greek Orthodox child. Is this true? Please let me know.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

This is true. You must be Orthodox to be a Godparent. One reason for this is because a Godparent is to have a role in raising the child, and to have a role in helping the Child on his/her journey as an Orthodox Christian.


I hope this helps answer your question.

 

[brewmama]

The priest would not agree to such a sponsor. You must be Orthodox. You are promising to keep the new Christian in the faith.

 

[Matrona]

Godparents at baptism must be members of, and in good standing with, the Orthodox Church. So a person of the Jewish faith would not be able to take this position. A child's godparents are supposed to help with the child's religious instruction, etc. If this is what your friend meant, she needs to talk to her priest because she sounds very confused.

However, if your friend meant "godmother" in the more secular sense (someone who would take custody of the child if the parents both die), that's probably not going to be a problem. That's a secular distinction and has nothing to do with Orthodox baptism.