Rachel Evans
The Catholic Church has had a long and complex relationship with the institution of marriage. While the Church has traditionally emphasised the superiority of celibacy and virginity over marriage, it has also played a significant role in shaping the way marriages are conducted and recognised. In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III decreed that a valid marriage was based on the free mutual consent of the spouses, marking a shift from traditional arranged marriages. Over time, the Church introduced more specific requirements, such as the presence of a priest or bishop, and emphasised the sacrament of marriage. While the Church's involvement in marriage has evolved, the fundamental belief in the sacred nature of the union between spouses remains a key aspect of Catholic teaching on marriage and consensual love.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first written detailed account of a Christian wedding in the West | 9th century |
| Catholic Church's involvement in marriage | From the Middle Ages |
| Catholic Church's control over weddings | From the Middle Ages |
| Catholic Church's view of celibacy | Superior to marriage |
| Catholic Church's view of marriage | A sacrament, a covenant between spouses, ordered by nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation of children |
| Catholic Church's view of consent in marriage | Mutual consent by spouses, not a decision by parents or guardians |
| Catholic Church's view of mixed marriages | Forbidden without permission from an authority of the Church |
| Catholic Church's requirements for a valid marriage | Spouses are free to marry, freely exchange their consent, intend to marry for life, to be faithful to one another, be open to children, and their consent is given in the canonical form |
| Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church | Mandated for all clergy in the Latin Church except in the permanent diaconate |
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What You'll Learn
The Catholic Church's view of consensual marriage
In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III made a pivotal decree stating that a valid marriage was based on the free mutual consent of the spouses, rather than the decision of their parents or guardians. This decree, while denounced by the Church, led to an increase in clandestine marriages or youthful elopements, which ecclesiastical courts had to adjudicate. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 reinforced this shift by requiring all marriages to be announced in a church by a priest, marking a more active role for the Church in marriage ceremonies.
The Catholic Church has consistently emphasized the sacred nature of marriage as a lifelong covenant between spouses, reflecting God's covenant with humanity. This covenant is intended to foster love, procreation, and the education of offspring, mirroring the holy family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The Church teaches that marriage is not merely a human institution but is divinely established and endowed with its own laws by God.
Over time, the Church has faced challenges to its authority on marriage, particularly during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) responded by introducing more specific requirements for valid marriages, such as the presence of the parish priest or bishop, solidifying the Church's role in validating marriages.
While the Catholic Church upholds the sacrament of marriage, it also values celibacy and virginity as holier states, tracing this belief to writers like Plato and Aristotle. The Church has mandated clerical celibacy, requiring most clergy members to remain unmarried and sexually abstinent. This mandate has been a subject of debate and has been secretly violated by some members of the clergy throughout history.
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The sacrament of marriage
Marriage has been viewed differently by different religions and societies throughout history. In the Catholic Church, marriage is considered a sacrament. The idea of marriage as a sacrament was challenged and debated by various groups, particularly during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. However, the Catholic Church has long regarded marriage as sacred.
The history of marriage in the Catholic Church is complex and has evolved over time. In the early centuries of the Church, marriage was often viewed as secondary to celibacy and virginity. Saints such as Paul and Augustine taught that original sin was transmitted through intercourse, thus elevating the idea of abstinence and virginity as ideals. The Church also defended the right of women to choose to remain unmarried, which was a radical idea at the time.
In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III decreed that a valid marriage was based on the free and mutual consent of the spouses, rather than the decision of their parents or guardians. This led to a proliferation of clandestine marriages and youthful elopements, which the Church had to address through ecclesiastical courts. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 further reinforced the idea of marriage as a sacrament, stating that both married and celibate persons could find favour with God through right faith and good actions.
The Council of Trent in 1547 played a crucial role in reaffirming the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, including marriage. This was in response to the Protestant Reformation's rejection of the sacramental nature of Catholic marriage. The Council of Trent introduced more specific requirements for valid marriages, such as the presence of a witness authorised by the Church.
Today, the Catholic Church still recognises marriage as a sacrament and has specific requirements for a marriage to be considered valid. These include the freedom of the spouses to marry, their mutual consent, their intention to marry for life and be open to having children, and the canonical form of consenting in the presence of witnesses and an authorised church official.
In conclusion, the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic Church has a rich history and continues to be an important aspect of Catholic teaching and practice. While there have been debates and challenges throughout the centuries, the Church has consistently emphasised the sacred nature of marriage and its role in the spiritual lives of its members.
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Marriage in the Middle Ages
The church upheld freely given consent as the foundation of marriage, but in practice, families and social networks usually had a great deal of influence over the choice and approval of marriage partners. Marriage ceremonies took place outside the church door, with the man standing on the right side and the woman on the left, facing the door. The priest would ask the couple if there were any reasons why they should not be married, giving them a chance to confess any impediments to the marriage, such as consanguinity, monastic vows, rape, adultery, or incest. The couple could not be married during a time of fasting, such as Lent or Advent, and could not be married by someone who had committed murder.
The wedding ceremony included the exchange of gifts and rings, with the ring placed on the fourth finger, as is still done today. After the ceremony, the couple and their families would have a large feast, with the groom footing the bill. The whole community would participate in the celebrations, with women helping the bride get into bed and men helping the groom. Noisy charivari traditions were also common, with the community making a ruckus outside the couple's bedroom or house.
While the literature of the Middle Ages is full of praise and condemnation of marriage, it is difficult to know how many people married for love or found love in their marriage. Marriage was the only acceptable place for sex, so Christians were allowed to marry from puberty onwards, which was generally considered to be 12 years for girls and 14 for boys. However, if either spouse had previously made a religious vow or was not Christian, the marriage would be dissolved. There were few reasons for a marriage to be dissolved in the Middle Ages, and annulments were difficult to obtain, even in cases of adultery or impotence.
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Clerical celibacy
Within the Catholic Church, clerical celibacy is mandated for all clergy in the Latin Church, except in the permanent diaconate. The Latin Church is one of the 24 rites of the Catholic Church, with some particular exceptions and autonomous churches. The Catholic Church considers the law of clerical celibacy to be not a doctrine, but a discipline. Exceptions are sometimes made, especially in the case of married male Lutheran, Anglican, and other Protestant clergy who convert to Catholicism. The discipline could, in theory, be changed for all ordinations to the priesthood.
Theological arguments for clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church are based on the idea that the priesthood is a ministry conformed to the life and work of Jesus Christ. Priests as sacramental ministers act in persona Christi ('in the mask of Christ'). Thus the life of the priest conforms, the church believes, to the chastity of Christ himself. The sacrifice of married life is for the "sake of the Kingdom" (Luke 18:28–30, Matthew 19:27–30), and to follow the example of Jesus Christ in being "married" to the church, viewed by Catholicism and many Christian traditions as the "Bride of Christ" (following Ephesians 5:25–33 and Revelation 21:9, together with the spousal imagery at Mark 2:19–20; cf. Matthew 9:14–15).
The tradition of clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church is thought to have developed over time. In the early Church, it was believed that Peter, the first pope, as well as many subsequent popes, bishops, and priests during the church's first 270 years, were married men, and often fathers. The practice of clerical continence, along with a prohibition of marriage after ordination as a deacon, priest, or bishop, is traceable from the time of the Council of Elvira of approximately 305–306. This law was reinforced in the Directa Decretal (385) and at the Council of Carthage in 390. The tradition of clerical continence developed into a practice of clerical celibacy (ordaining only unmarried men) from the 11th century onward. The First Lateran Council (1123–1153) forbade those in orders to marry and ordered all those already married to renounce their wives and do penance. The Second Lateran Council (1139) seems to have enacted the first written law making sacred orders a diriment impediment to marriage for the universal Church. The tradition in the Western or Latin-Rite Church has been for priests and bishops to take vows of celibacy, a rule that has been firmly in place since the early Middle Ages.
In February 2019, the Vatican acknowledged that the policy has not always been adhered to and that rules had been secretly established to handle clergy who violated their vows of celibacy. Some clergy have been allowed to retain their clerical status after violating their vows of celibacy, and even after secretly marrying women.
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Mixed marriages
In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III decreed that a valid marriage was formed through the free and mutual consent of the spouses themselves, rather than being a decision made by their parents or guardians. This led to a rise in clandestine marriages and youthful elopements, which were acknowledged as valid by the Church, despite being "detested and forbidden".
Today, the Catholic Church forbids Catholics from entering into mixed marriages (marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic Christian or non-Christian) without permission from an authority within the Church. However, if a Catholic enters into such a marriage without permission, it is still considered valid, as long as the other conditions are fulfilled.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament, and that the grace of the sacrament is found in the unitive and procreative nature of sexual intercourse. The Church teaches that marriage is a vocation written into the very nature of man and woman, and that it is not a purely human institution.
The Church has four requirements for a valid Catholic marriage:
- The spouses are free to marry
- They freely exchange their consent
- In consenting to marry, they intend to marry for life, to be faithful to one another, and to be open to having children
- Their consent is given in the canonical form, i.e. in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorised church
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church began to take control of the wedding and the sacrament of marriage. The first available written detailed account of a Christian wedding in the West dates from the 9th century and appears to be identical to the old nuptial service of Ancient Rome.
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Frequently asked questions
The Catholic Church began to involve itself in marriage during the Middle Ages. However, the first available written detailed account of a Christian wedding in the West dates only from the 9th century and appears to be identical to the old nuptial service of Ancient Rome.
For most of its history, the Catholic Church did not involve itself in marriage. Before the 12th century, marriage was considered a private contract between two people. They would make a pledge to each other and, from that moment on, they were considered married.
In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III decreed that what made a marriage was the free mutual consent of the spouses themselves, not a decision by their parents or guardians. From then on, to be legally recognised, a marriage had to take place in a church with a formal service conducted by a priest.
The Catholic Church forbids Catholics from entering mixed marriages without permission from an authority of the Church. However, if someone does enter such a marriage without permission, the marriage is still valid, provided the other conditions are fulfilled.
A valid Catholic marriage results from four elements: 1) the spouses are free to marry; 2) they freely exchange their consent; 3) in consenting to marry, they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and be open to children; and 4) their consent is given in the canonical form, i.e. in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorised church.
