An Agreed Statement
on the Sanctity of Marriage
U.S. Theological Consultation, 1978
Introduction
At a time when the sacred character of married life is radically threatened by
contrary lifestyles, we the members of the Orthodox-Roman Catholic
Consultation feel called by the Lord to speak from the depth of our common
faith and to affirm the profound meaning, the "glory and honor," of
married life in Christ.
I. The Sacramental Character of Marriage
For Christians of both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches marriage is a
sacrament. Through the prayers and actions of our wedding rites we profess the
presence of Christ in the Spirit and believe that it is the Lord who unites a
man and a woman in a life of mutual love. In this sacred union, husband and
wife are called by Christ not only to live and work together, but also to
share their Christian life so that each with the aid of the other may progress
through the Holy Spirit in the life of holiness and so achieve Christian
perfection. This relationship between husband and wife is established and
sanctified by the Lord. As a sacred vocation, marriage mirrors the union of
Christ and the church (Eph. 5:23).
Christ affirmed and blessed the oneness and profound significance of marriage.
Christian tradition, following his teaching, has always proclaimed the
sanctity of marriage. It has defined marriage as the fundamental relationship
in which a man and woman, by total sharing with each other, seek their own
growth in holiness and that of their children, and thus show forth the
presence on earth of God's kingdom.
II. Enduring Vocation
The special character of the human relationship established through marriage
has always been recognized in the Christian tradition. By sanctifying the
marital bond, the church affirms a permanent commitment to personal union,
which is expressed in the free giving and acceptance of each other by a man
and a woman. The sacrament of marriage serves as an admirable example of the
union which exists between God and the believer. The Old Testament uses
marriage to describe the covenant relationship between God and his people
(Hosea). The Letter to the Ephesians sees marriage as the type of relationship
which exists between Christ and his church (Eph. 5:31-35). Consequently both
the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches affirm the permanent character of
Christian marriage: "What God has joined together, let no man put
asunder" (Mt. 19:6).
However, the Orthodox Church, out of consideration of the human realities,
permits divorces, after it exhausts all possible efforts to save the marriage
and tolerates remarriages in order to avoid further human tragedies. The Roman
Catholic Church recognizes the dissolution of sacramental nonconsummated
marriages either through solemn religious profession or by papal dispensation.
To resolve the personal and pastoral issues of failed marriages which have
been consummated an inquiry is often undertaken to uncover whether there
exists some initial defect in the marriage covenant which would render the
marriage invalid.
III. The Redeeming Effect of Marital Love
A total sharing of a life of love and concern is not possible apart from God.
The limitations of human relationships do not allow for a giving and receiving
which fulfill the partners. However, in the life of the church, God gives the
possibility of continual progress in the deepening of human relationships. By
opening the eyes of faith to the vision that these relationships have as their
goal, God offers a more intimate union with himself. Through the liberating
effect of divine love, experienced through human love, believers are led away
from self-centeredness and self-idolatry. The Gospel indicates the direction
that this love must ultimately take: toward intimate union with the One Who
alone can satisfy the fundamental yearning of people for self-fulfillment.
Given this vision of reality, Christian tradition recognizes that the total
devotion of the married partners implies as its goal a relationship with God.
It teaches, moreover, that the love which liberates them to seek union with
God and which is the source of sanctification for them is made possible
through the presence of the Spirit of God within them.
Through the love manifested in marriage, an important witness is given to the
world of the love of God in Christ for all people. The partners in Christian
marriage have the task, as witnesses of redemption, to accept as the inner law
of their personal relationship that love which determines the relationship
between Christ and the church: "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25). Through this love
which liberates believers from selfish interests and sanctifies their
relationships, the Christian husband and wife find the inspiration in turn to
minister in loving service to others.
IV. Theological Clarifications on Christian
Marriage
In the teaching of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches a sacramental
marriage requires both the mutual consent of the believing Christian partners
and God's blessing Imparted through the ministry of the church.
At present there are differences in the concrete ways in which this ministry
must be exercised in order to fulfill the theological and canonical norms for
marriage in our two churches. There are also differences in the theological
interpretation of this diversity. Thus the Orthodox Church accepts as
sacramental only those marriages sanctified in the liturgical life of the
church by being blessed by an Orthodox priest.
The Catholic Church accepts as sacramental the marriages which are celebrated
before a Catholic priest or even a deacon, but it also envisions some
exceptional cases in which, by reason of a dispensation or the unavailability
of a priest or deacon, Catholics may enter into a sacramental marriage in the
absence of an ordained minister of the church.
An examination of the diversities of practice and theology concerning the
required ecclesial context for Christian marriage that have existed in both
traditions demonstrates that the present differences must be considered to
pertain more to the level of secondary theological reflection than to that of
dogma. Both churches have always agreed that the ecclesial context is
constitutive of the Christian sacrament of marriage. Within this fundamental
agreement various possibilities of realization are possible as history has
shown and no one form of this realization can be considered to be absolutely
normative in all circumstances.
V. Plans for Further Study
The members of the Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation give thanks to God for
this common faith in the sanctity of marriage which we share in our sister
churches. We recognize however that pastoral problems remain to be studied in
depth, such as the liturgical celebration of weddings between Orthodox and
Roman Catholic partners and the religious upbringing of children in such
families. We continue to explore these questions out of a common vision of
marriage and with confidence in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
New York, N.Y.
December 8, 1978
19th meeting
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