Marriage in the Ancient Eastern Church, Orthodoxy & ECUSA

When a Jurisdiction of the Church has in place a solid doctrine & discipline of marriage, then its Ministers can, when and where necessary, make specific dispensations to cover particular needs. However, when a Church (such as the Episcopal Church of the USA) has no solid doctrine or discipline in place then the general state of affairs is more like antinomianism than order.

Some people suggest that what goes on in the ECUSA is not too different from the basic law and tradition of Orthodoxy. This opinion in unfounded, I think.

The Orthodox doctrine of marriage as a sacrament is as high a statement as is possible on earth of the relation of man and wife as one flesh for life – and even for the life of the age to come! And, of course, such a marriage always begins in church in the context of the Eucharist.

In fact so high is this doctrine that the Rite is unrepeatable even for the widow(er) and certainly not for the divorced. Any second marriages of any kind cannot & do not have the sacramental meaning or context as does a genuine first marriage.

In the traditional canon law of the Orthodox Churches, where there is a second marriage of a divorced person that person is under discipline and is treated as if he were a catechumen or under penance for a year or more – that is, not allowed even to attend the Eucharist proper. This is because of the Lord’s teaching about the sin of adultery contracted in second marriages. Here the sin is forgiven but penance is necessary.

Also – and this still applies – a deacon or priest is only allowed to marry once and even if he is made a widower he is still not allowed to marry again. If he does then he is no longer able to function in the Ministry.

So, if the ECUSA (or any new federation of conservative episcopal dioceses & parishes) were to follow Orthodox practice rather than the strict, more legal, way of the Roman Church and the traditional Church of England, what would occur would be something like this:

--That all first marriages would be in the context of the Eucharist

--That there would be no divorced and remarried clergy at all

That where second marriages were performed in church they would not use the same service as that used for first marriages and that those in such marriages would be under discipline (restricted in holding church office and from the Lord’s table) for a stated period, say a year. Penance after forgiveness being in place.

That where a couple has been married according to the minimum laws of the State and in a ceremony that is entirely secular, that where there is a divorce and afterwards one of the parties is converted, baptized and made a church member then she or he may perhaps be allowed to marry in church as if there had been no previous marriage (in this case there would have to be most careful counseling and care for any children etc etc). And that also in extreme circumstances such a person could also become a candidate for the diaconate.

[See further John Meyendorff, Marriage an Orthodox Perspective, St Vladimir’s Seminary Press]

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.),