Dear Ben:

Thanks for the promotion, but I work for a living (just a joke, Father Ray, just a joke). I am just a lowly lay brother.

The answer to your question is yes. How? the same way a Catholic and Baptist would keep standing in their respective faith groups. The Catholic partner would have to receive the Sacraments in a Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox partner would receive the Sacraments in an Eastern Orthodox Church. Thus, the family is going to be taking two cars to Mass.

The additional requirement to maintain standing as a good Catholic, however: The Catholic must get permission from the bishop to marry a non-Catholic, and...

1) The Catholic partner must affirm that nothing will get in the way of practicing the Catholic faith,

2) the couple has to attend pre-cana counseling,

3) the ceremony must be Catholic (though the other minister may say a few words) unless the Bishop grants permission to dispense from Canonical Form and allow the Catholic person to wed in an Orthodox Church with an Orthodox priest,

4) the wedding must take place in a Catholic Church unless the bishop grants permission otherwise (such as the dispensation for Orthodox ceremony mentioned in #3), and

5) the Catholic partner must give assurances that the children will be raised Catholic.

These are the standard requirements. The phrases in orange are special provisions mentioned in Canon Law when a Catholic marries an Orthodox. I am not sure if there are any other special provisions for a Catholic/Orthodox wedding, other than what I marked above.

You may want to call your diocese offices to ask for details. The Catholic in this wedding will need to contact the diocese anyway (either directly or through their parish priest). But, frankly, since parish priests are not always up on the technicalities of Canon Law, I would call the diocese and ask for the details on this.

One final note: mixed marriages are not a good idea. Even in the case of Catholic/Orthodox there are still differences and each partner would have to attend different parishes. It is hard enough to raise the kids in the faith without having the confusion of two faith traditions represented in the parents.

But, the Catholic Bishops will generally grant the permissions if need be. I have no idea what is involved in arranging a mixed marriage from the Orthodox side of things. Permissions may have to be granted by their bishop too. You probably ought to check with the Orthodox authorities as well.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary