Inviting a Priest

ebigelow

Hi girls!  Ok, so I'm having a really hard time making this decision...

I am Greek Orthodox and grew up going to church most Sundays with my mom and brother (my dad is Catholic).  I kind of stopped going during college and since then...but eventually when we have kids I would like to go with them on a regular basis (I know that sounds bad and I should be going now too!).  So, the priest that is at my church is the same one that has been there since I was about 15 and my mother and brother still go every weekend and my brother has been an altar boy forever and they are both very active with the church. 

My fiance is Jewish and therefore we could not get married in my church unless he converted, which he did not want to do.  So, we are getting married at our venue and having a neutral non-religious ceremony performed by a JP.  

So, my question is do I still invite my priest and his wife as guests even though we are not getting married in the church??  I have known him for a long time and really like them both and my family is close with them too.  I would love to have him there, but I don't know if it is completely inappropriate to invite him and if it would just be an awkward situation!

Sorry for the very long-winded explanation!

Any advice would be a huge help!  Thanks!!

Shazzie116

If you and your family consider him a friend, why not invite him? I can almost guarantee it won't be awkward. If they're friends of yours, they'll be happy for you and be honored to celebrate with you!

gostissa

I also don't think it will be weird, unless you know he is somehow upset by your decision not to get married in the church. If he's OK and understend your fiancee choice, I don't see any problem. I would even ask him to give a short prayer/blessing at the reception.

TeebagyAndNorth

hey!

I am in somewhat of a similar situation. I am Syrian Orthodox and also stopped attending church often in college. My parents still go often. I am also in law school and have a VERY tight schedule working in the summers. As a result, between Orthodox holidays and my priests schedule, we decided to have our ceremony at our venue with a JP. My fiance is not Orthodox so that added more to my concern. We are not inviting my priest or his family.

I love my priest as well but I feel that it would be really awkward. What we've decided to do is go to him for a blessing or shorter Orthodox ceremony after the honeymoon so that our marriage is blessed by the church. Just me, my FI and our parents will be there. My priest was really enthusiastic about it so that helped...

Good luck!

megandjay

I would invite him, as a close family friend.

smccart7

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_inviting-priest?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:89Discussion:44342624-39cd-4037-9618-0e4c3dc6ee8fPost:ed8787f0-ac44-449d-81e7-2b5d0b3b16f0">Inviting a Priest</a>:
[QUOTE] My fiance is Jewish and therefore we could not get married in my church unless he converted, which he did not want to do.  [/QUOTE]

This doesn't answer your question, but are you talking about a Catholic Church? I'm Catholic and FI is Hindu and our priest says it isn't a problem for us to get married in the church as long as FI is open to our children being raised Catholic..and we have to fill out some paperwork. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you would really like to get married in the church...might be worth looking in to.

ebigelow

Thanks for the advice everyone!

smccart - No, it's a greek orthodox church.  If he were Christian we could get married there without him converting, but since he's Jewish he would have to convert...