Chrzestni, świadkowie bierzmowania i świadkowie zawarcia małżeństwa. Pespektywa ekumeniczna
Godparents, Sponsors for Con rmation and Witnesses for Marriage. Ecumenical Perspective

Summary/Abstract: The article contains an analysis of the previous and current statutes canon law on the possibility for the non-Catholics to be the godparents, sponsors for con rmation, and witnesses for marriage. The laws which are today in force are far from the strict provisions of the old law, which assumed as a rule that the above functions in the Catholic Church should be performed by only by the Catholics who were not allowed to undertake similar tasks in other Churches or Christian Communities. Exceptions to this rule were relatively infrequent – especially for the godparents – and had to be well justi ed. The current regu- lations retain the general rule, but the possibility of applying exceptions is quite broad and included in the law, so that it is not necessary to refer to the church superior in individual cases. Such a relaxation of discipline is due both to ecumenical reasons and to the desire to overcome practical problems, especially in mixed marriages.

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