According to canon law, it is permissible for a divorced man, divorced from a non-Christian marriage, to be baptized in the Roman Catholic Church? What about the Eastern Orthodox Church?
WRS
It’s perfectly possible in the Roman Catholic Church. The previous marriage would require a decree of nullity before another marriage could be attempted in the church, but there is no bar to the reception of baptism or confirmation.
I’m hard-pressed to think of any situation in which the RCC would deny someone Baptism.
I believe a responsible priest would refuse to baptize a child without his or her parents’ consent unless the child was in imminent danger of death.
The EOC holds that baptism is a complete regeneration, and any previous spiritual modifications (such as marriage) do not survive it; hence, when a married couple is baptized, they can either have a new Orthodox marriage service performed, or the priest may read a short prayer which essentially fills the form of the previous marriage with grace. If a convert is chrismated, to my knowledge any currently existing marriage is regarded as still being in effect. However, Orthodoxy permits divorce and remarriage, so being divorced shouldn’t be an impediment to conversion in any case.