Church marriage is an oath of love and loyalty to the Lord

For many people, the concept of "church marriage" means something of its own, but its essence does not change from this. This is the legalization of their relationship in the Church before the eyes of God according to religious rites. Today this type of marriage is, rather, a moral and cultural connotation, since it has no legal force. In pre-revolutionary Russia, on the contrary, this was the only way to legitimize one's relations. But we will return to this a little later.

Church marriage in the Russian Empire

At the time of Emperor Nicholas I, the marriage was considered a Christian sacrament, blessed by the Church and turning into a conjugal union in the image of the union of Jesus Christ and the Church. In other words, the church marriage on behalf of the Lord blessed the bride and groom who expressed their desire to live together, the right to be husband and wife. The traditional formal procedure, which at that time had to be performed before the wedding, is an engagement. Its essence was in notifying the surrounding people that a man and a woman by mutual consent are ready to become one family.

Dissolution of church marriage

In general, it is considered that marriage concluded in the face of God can not be dissolved, because if the young married in the Church, they swore allegiance to each other before the Lord himself, and the dissolution of the union is the failure to fulfill this oath, which is regarded as a deceit of the Most High. And to deceive him is not good. The Church does not welcome debunking, moreover - condemns such people. A church marriage is an eternal love and faithfulness to one another. The Lord God certainly did not mean their dissolution. But nothing is impossible! No matter how condemned the church divorce, it is considered the Lord's indulgence for human infirmity, so the right to hold such a procedure remains for the bishop. He will remove the former blessing in the presence of motives for divorce, as well as all the necessary documentation of a legal nature: certificates of divorce, passports. Today, there is enough motivation for debunking, but in the Gospel God indicated only one - adultery. By the way, the Church allows up to three attempts to legitimize its relations.

Civil marriage - what is it?

Contrary to the misinterpretation by some people of the notion of civil marriage, this is not cohabitation. A civil marriage is an official entry into a family relationship registered by the registry office. What some people today call this phrase, has its clear name - "unregistered cohabitation." People, let's competently call things by their proper names!

Church and civil marriage

It is interesting that today the official marriage (civil marriage) can occur without a church wedding, but on the contrary - in any way! Since in modern Russia the Orthodox wedding does not have legal force, it can not act as an independent procedure for registering a new social unit. However, in pre-revolutionary times, church marriage was the only official way to create a family. What can I say, the time changes, the ages change, the spiritual values of people change ...