According to Orthodox tradition, when infants and young children are baptized, they must have a single godparent of the same sex as the person being baptized. By extension, if the godfather is married, his wife (or the godmother’s husband) is also considered part of this spiritual bond, and the canonical consequences of kinship extend to them as well. [In the Russian Church, for example, two godparents are chosen at baptism: a man and a woman from different families, who, of course, cannot marry each other; however, if one is already married, the status of godparent does not extend to their spouse.]

As the Church teaches us, godparents must be chosen exclusively on the basis of ecclesiastical and spiritual criteria, and, contrary to some local practices, it is not mandatory for the “wedding godparents” of the child’s parents to automatically become the godparents of their children. For each child, the parents may choose a different godparent from among those who could contribute to the child’s education and spiritual formation.

All other guests or participants in the Baptism service or the festive meal are witnesses and members of the community who rejoice in the welcoming of a new member into the Church; they cannot be called “godparents” nor are they involved in the liturgical rites. Spiritual kinship applies strictly to those who profess the faith and receive the infant from the waters of Baptism. In popular usage, these are also called the “godparents” of the child’s parents, and the post-baptismal celebration is called “godparenthood”—but this popular custom has no canonical basis and no implications regarding spiritual kinship, as regulated by Canon 53 of the Trullan Council (Constantinople, 691–692).

This canon, issued in the 7th century, is the only one in the entire body of ecclesiastical canon law that regulates the matter of spiritual kinship. There is no other canon—neither earlier nor later—that elaborates upon, supplements, or extends its provisions. Any restriction that exceeds the limits established by this canon is, therefore, without canonical basis. Here is how this canon grounds the sanctity of the relationship between the godparent and the godchild’s family:

“Since spiritual kinship is greater than the bond of the flesh, and we have learned that, in some places, some receive children through holy and saving Baptism and thereafter marry their widowed mothers, we decree that, from now on, nothing of this sort shall be done. And if anyone is caught doing this, let them be separated from this unlawful marriage and be subject to the punishments prescribed for fornication.”

The commentaries of the great canonists Theodore Balsamon and John Zonaras emphasize that the spiritual bond is even deeper than that of blood, but not in the sense that this kinship extends to the seventh generation, as in the case of biological kinship, or that it is unlimited. The message is one of accountability: spiritual kinship must be taken seriously as an eternal bond, not as mere social courtesy or a temporary friendship.

Therefore, church canons and regulations prohibit marriage in the following cases:

Between the godfather (or godmother) and the father (or mother) of the baptized child.
Between the godfather (or his spouse) and the godson (or goddaughter).
By extension: between the godfather’s children and the children he baptized (his godchildren)—an impediment established by the later Nomocanons (9th–15th centuries).

Beyond these three points, spiritual kinship no longer applies and does not constitute an impediment to marriage. Therefore, there is no canonical prohibition against the marriage of two young people on the grounds that they were baptized in “the same water” or that they had the same godparents. If their situation does not fall under the three limiting points mentioned above, the young people may marry without any impediment.

A more specific issue concerns “wedding godparents,” who are a local folk custom (non-existent among most Orthodox peoples) and are not mentioned in the church canons, having never been a concern of canon law. However, if we were to apply the same principles as above, a single restriction would apply: even if the godfather and goddaughter (or godmother and godson) were to become widowed, they could not marry each other; all the more so, this would not be possible in the event of the divorce of one or the other. Applying the extension of point 3 here as well, the children of the godparents cannot marry the children of the godchildren—although, precisely due to the lack of canonical regulations, such a marriage may be permitted with the blessing of the local bishop.

As can be seen, Canon 53 of Trullan deals exclusively with impediments to marriage between certain categories of persons, so that spiritual kinship does not interfere with biological kinship. There are, however, no impediments to continuing or extending spiritual kinship in any way, whether it is related to Baptism or Marriage. For example, there is no impediment to:

a) any of the godparents’ children to become, in turn, godparents for any of the godchildren’s children (or even the other way around);
b) the descendants of the godparents and godchildren become godparents for each other’s children;
c) any of the children of the godparents, when they marry, choose their parents’ godchildren as their own godparents.

In conclusion, the Church’s norms are not designed to impose arbitrary restrictions, but to protect the dignity of spiritual relationships, ensuring that the role of spiritual parent remains pure and focused exclusively on the new baptized person’s growth in Christ.

source:teologie.net