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You are here: Experts > Homework Help > Christianity - General > Eastern Orthodox > Marriage
Expert: Alex Anatole - 11/2/2009
Question
On 7/23/08 you answered a question by Harmony about marriage. In your response to her question you stated in part:
"For the record, the Orthodox Church does permit the rite of matrimony even if one partner is not Orthodox, so long as they are a baptized Christian."
My wife and I had been married for 25 years when I became Orthodox. The only Orthodox Church in town was a Greek Orthodox Church. The Priest told me that I could not receive communion until my wife and I were remarried in the Orthodox Church even though she was not Orthodox. I was very confused about this since the Priest also told me that the church recognized my baptism as valid. Both my baptism and marriage were performed by the same Pastor at the same church. The Priest only responded "I don't make the rules".
Since you made the statement to Harmony I am further confused. Who does make the rules? It sounds as though they are arbitrary. I must tell you that I never expected my wife to go through another ceremony and although she graciously insisted and did it for my benefit it was a very stressful and hurtful experience for both of us. It was as if the church was saying that our marriage wasn't valid before God and that we had been living in sin for 25 years. I know that with God all things are possible but this has assuredly created a barrier to her feeling comfortable with Orthodoxy. I consulted with an OCA priest who was uncertain as to what was going on with my experience. He said that the jurisdictions he came from would actually forbid another marriage ceremony. Can you shed any light on this? How can there be such disparity within a church that is always pointing to it's unity and concilliar councils? It seems to me that this issue would have been a common one that would have been resolved hundreds of years ago.
Answer
Daniel,
Please forgive me. I erred in not making it clear that my answer was based on the current usage of the OCA.
A thousand years ago this was not an issue. Christians were Christians, heretics were heretics, and pagans were pagans. Even after the Great Schism, East and West still recognized each other as Christians.
The Protestant Reformation complicated the issue. And those complications grow more complex and more troublesome by the day.
Some Protestant denominations have flip flopped on key doctrine. Others have invented (and continue to invent) doctrines and practices that have no roots in and no resemblance to anything identifiable as historical Christianity.
The Bishop of a diocese must find the right solution to administering the Sacraments in situations undreamed of by his predecessors. But how do you hit the mark when the target keeps moving?
There was a time when an Anglican was a Christian. The Sacraments of the Anglican church were accepted by Orthodoxy. The validity of an Anglican wedding were unquestioned.
Does that hold true today when an openly practicing lesbian Anglican priestess who denies the reality of the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ performs a wedding?
In the face of such bizarre events, our Bishops are struggling to find the right balance of caution and economy when dealing with the spiritual state and needs of converts. As I said, there is no clear road to the correct solution. The Bishops do the best they can. They consult with each other. They pray. But a clear and unified approach the problem grows ever more difficult as Protestantism continues to divide and mutate. Therefore, there are variations from diocese to diocese and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction as to how to deal with the issue. In my attempt to give the usual practice, I neglected to address the possible local variations.
I am deeply sorry this situation has affected you and your wife. In one way, the solution your Bishop elected makes questionable sense. But that is because the question itself is fuzzy and unstable. Remember that the Bishop's concern is your your spiritual wellbeing and for the wellbeing of the Church.
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