Kumovi: What do I have to do?

What do I have to do in order to be kumovi for a wedding or baptism?

 

This is a great question—and one with a simple answer:  be in full Communion with Christ and His Church.

 

To participate fully in the Life of Christ—and in Holy Communion—one must be exhibiting a life struggling to live in Christ. 

Thus, one cannot:                     

Engage in fornication, debauchery, etc.

Live with someone with whom one is intimate outside of the context of Orthodox Marriage

Receive sacraments from any other church but the Orthodox Church

Be a non-Orthodox Christian

 

Rather, one must:

Live in Holy Communion, participating in the Mysteries of Holy Confession and Holy Communion regularly

Regularly attend Church

Be knowledgeable about the Faith so as to instruct the one to be baptized in a Life in Christ

Maintain Chastity, whether marital chastity or celibate chastity

 

Ideally, those who would be kumovi should not be related by blood.  This is to ensure that the spiritual family continues to grow in Christ; and to create a bond in our Lord between us, stronger than that of blood.