Interdenominational marriage

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An interdenominational marriage is a marriage between members of two denominations or denominations within the same religion . In ecumenical dialogue, this term refers to Christians who want to marry one another. The interfaith marriage as interchurch marriage , interchurch marriage or in the language of the Roman Catholic Church law as a mixed marriage ( matrimonium Mixtum called). The term mixed marriage was replaced in the German-speaking Catholic area after the Second Vatican Council by the term denominational marriage (Switzerland: confessional marriage ) and is therefore only used colloquially.

history

Old church

In the early Church, the marriage of a Christian with an unbaptized partner was the norm and was approved by the Church, also for reasons of missionary tactics. The subject already appears in the New Testament : 1 Petr 3,1–2  EU emphasizes the chance to evangelize the spouse, 1 Cor 7,16  EU indicates that this is not always possible. The theologians of late antiquity took different positions: Cyprian of Carthage rejected mixed marriage altogether, Augustine and John Chrysostom distinguished between careless and responsible entering into such a marriage.

Since the 4th century, some synods have banned mixed marriages:

  • Synod of Elvira (around 309): punishment for parents who married their daughter to a pagan, Jew or Christian heretic;
  • Synod of Arles (314): Temporary exclusion from communion for Christian women who marry a pagan.

In both cases, the marriage of a Christian man to a woman not belonging to the Catholic Church required no regulation at all, given the patriarchal family structure at the time.

  • Synod of Laodikeia (around 372): Prohibition of "indiscriminate" mixed marriages, encouragement to such, if the partner expresses the intention to become a Christian in the future;
  • Council of Chalcedon (451): The lower clergy are obliged to ensure the Catholic upbringing of their own children even in the case of mixed marriages.

Further development in the Latin West

A mixed marriage entered into without dispensation was invalid in the Western Church since the 13th century. The Tridentine Council made marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic Christian more difficult by the so-called formal requirement: In the Tametsi decree it was regulated that “those who try to marry other than the pastor or a delegated priest and two or three witnesses are incapable are to enter into such a marriage. "

Advertisement for a book that argues against mixed marriage (1877)

In Protestant territories, it was not Martin Luther who prevailed in the medium term with his view that marriage was a "worldly thing", but Philipp Melanchthon : marriage was a causa mixta , and in the 16th century consistories for matrimonial matters were established with theologians and lawyers were occupied. In the 17th century, Protestant marriage law was influenced by the then modern doctrine of natural law . Mixed marriages were rejected, but often tolerated with reference to the apostle Paul (with the hope of the spouse's conversion). "Although there were warnings against marriages with Catholics or Reformed people and the priestly consecration was tied to different conditions in the individual territories, marriages of different confessional rights only formed a suspensive marriage barrier, as under canon law." B. the sovereign granted the necessary dispensation on the condition that all children were raised Lutheran.

In 1741 Pope Benedict XIV restricted the formal requirements for Holland and Belgium to purely Catholic marriages; later this regulation was extended to other areas. In 1906, Pius X lifted the Tridentine formal requirement for non-Catholic marriages in the territory of the German Empire.

The so-called "mixed marriage dispute" of the 1830s led to the confusion in Cologne . Even at the beginning of the 20th century, there was still exclusion from the parish when Protestant Christians had promised a Catholic upbringing of the children resulting from the marriage. Under the pressure of National Socialism, both churches put their denominational rivalries back, but these soon revived in the Federal Republic of Germany. Both sides pursued “confessional identity assurance.” More than any church regulations or recommendations, however, the social pressure of a village community had an impact in everyday life: in predominantly Protestant villages a mixed denominational couple married mostly Protestants, in predominantly Catholic villages they married Catholics.

Roman Catholic canon law before the Second Vatican Council

The marriage between two validly baptized persons, one of whom belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and the other did not, was opposed to the difference in confession as a "prohibitive obstacle to marriage". "If it is closed as a Catholic, it is also valid without a dispensation (c.1060, IOmatr c.50), although it is punishable." This dispensation was only a toleration on the part of the church, which was intended to prevent worse, and was granted on the condition that the bride and groom undertook to fulfill certain conditions, in particular the Catholic baptism and upbringing of all children born of marriage; a protocol was to be drawn up about this, of which the bride and groom received a duplicate. Since in Germany, according to Section 4 of the Reich Law on Religious Upbringing (July 5, 1921), “contracts for the religious upbringing of a child have no civil effect”, an affidavit or affidavit from the Catholic partner was required before Catholic witnesses.

If a member of the Roman Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council entered into what was then known as a mixed marriage without dispensation, this resulted in the rejection of ecclesiastical services and sacramentals pending the imposition of a penalty by the pastor. With the excommunication was punished:

  • Expressing the will to marry in front of a "non-Catholic religious servant" unless the latter was a registrar;
  • Entering into marriage with an express or tacit agreement to raise some or all of the children outside the Catholic religion;
  • Consent to a child being baptized by a non-Catholic religious minister.

The German Catholic bishops declared in a pastoral word in 1958: “Anyone who warns against mixed marriage does not disturb denominational peace. [...] Anyone who warns against mixed marriage helps to protect against suffering and emotional conflicts; it serves religious peace. "

Evangelical "Enlightenment"

Protestant pastors and missionaries tried harder in the post-war period to dissuade their congregation members from marrying with Catholic partners in advance. It was now said, for example, that for a Protestant Christian "who takes his faith seriously", a Catholic marriage is "impossible." One should check whether God, instead of the Catholic with whom one has entered into a relationship, is rather an Evangelical partner have chosen. In this way, Protestant pastors also reacted to experiences with aggressively anti-Protestant Catholic pastors who exerted pressure on interdenominational marriages. In 1960 the Protestant magazine Frau und Mutter warned : "If a Protestant Christian is married to a Catholic, he not only marries his Catholic spouse, but also all of his Catholic relatives and the Catholic pastor." If all information and warning are disregarded Protestant Christian married Catholic, he should be accompanied in his situation pastoral.

Catholic canon law since the Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council reformed mixed marriages in the scheme of Voti de matrimonii sacramento , Art. 5. Further stations were: the Instruction Matrimonii sacramentum (March 18, 1966), the German Synod of Bishops of 1967, the Apostolic Exhortation Motu proprio Matrimonia mixta on the legal order mixed marriages (March 31, 1970). Then applies:

  • It is forbidden to enter into a religious marriage without the express permission of the competent ecclesiastical authority.
  • Permission is granted for a just and reasonable cause when the conditions set out in c.1125 are met.
  • In individual cases, the local ordinary can dispense from the canonical form of marriage in favor of any public form of marriage.
  • The "double marriage" is prohibited.
  • A consensus inquiry by the Catholic pastor and the official of a non-Catholic church or ecclesiastical community is prohibited.

Pastoral practice

In the apostolic letter Familiaris consortio of 1981 Pope John Paul II pointed to numerous positive values ​​that are lived in an interdenominational marriage: “This is especially true when both spouses fulfill their religious obligations. The common baptism and the dynamic power of grace in these marriages are the basis and constant stimulus for the spouses to give shape to their unity in the area of ​​moral and spiritual values ​​in life. ”A marriage“ that is fully based on the faith of the two Christian spouses is lived ”also has ecumenical significance. Even when preparing for marriage, “a cordial cooperation between Catholic and non-Catholic clergy” should be sought, “even if it is not always easy”.

statistics

In the 1920s, around 10% of Christian marriages were so-called mixed marriages. In the post-war period, the proportion of mixed-denominational marriages was 20%, in 1985 it was around a third of all Christian marriages in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the trend is rising. In some regions of Germany their share is over 50%.

Position of the Orthodox Church on interdenominational marriages

The question of "mixed marriages" was already controversial in the preparation process for the first modern all-Orthodox Holy and Great Council of 2016. The Georgian Patriarch Ilia II spoke out against the proposed draft text, and the Georgian Church then did not take part in the Council because it adopts a more rigorous stance on mixed marriages. While a marriage between an Orthodox Christian and a non-Christian is categorically forbidden, the draft had opened up the possibility of a blessing “out of mercy and philanthropy” in the case of marriage between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians.

At the council the following text was finally adopted: “a) The marriage of Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians is forbidden according to canonical meticulousness (72nd canon in Trullo ). b) The possibility of applying the ecclesiastical oikonomia in relation to barriers to marriage must be approved by the Holy Synod of every autocephalous Orthodox Church in accordance with the principles of St. Canons and be perceived in the spirit of pastoral concern for the goal of human salvation. "

The possibility of blessing a marriage between a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and a member of the Roman Catholic or Evangelical Church has existed for a long time and was agreed between the Joint Commission of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and the German Bishops' Conference in 1993; In 2006 a corresponding agreement was made with the EKD. It was agreed that church marriage (“sacrament of coronation”) should be performed according to the Orthodox rite; The Orthodox partner should also promise to have the children from this marriage baptized Orthodox, which conflicts with the obligation that a member of the Roman Catholic Church enters into towards his church in order to receive the dispensation to marry a non-Catholic.

"Ecumenical Wedding"

In a mixed denominational marriage, the bride and groom decide in which church the wedding should take place. The marriage then takes place according to the order of this church. Some couples express the wish that clergymen of both denominations take part in the wedding ceremony. In 1970, the German Bishops' Conference and the EKD Council agreed two types of marriage for this case - according to the Catholic and the Protestant ceremony. In the Protestant Church, the “ecumenical marriage” is a Protestant wedding with the participation of a Catholic clergyman - and vice versa. (An exception applies to the area of ​​the Archdiocese of Freiburg and the Evangelical Church in Baden, where there is the possibility of an ecumenical wedding according to Form C. ) A renewal of the mourners in both churches made it necessary to revise these regulations in 1992, which also included those since 1970 gained experience. Various mourners are in use in the member churches of the EKD; the order is based on the wedding liturgy of the VELKD of 1988; The Catholic order is based on the celebration of the marriage in a liturgical service from the marriage ritual The celebration of the marriage in the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area (1992).

Ecumenical wedding in a Protestant church Ecumenical wedding in a Catholic church
Reception of the bride and groom
Indent
Song of the community
greeting
introduction
Psalm prayer / opening prayer Opening prayer
Scripture reading Readings and chants for the readings
sermon Homily
God's word for marriage
Grape knowledge Questioning the bride and groom
Blessing of the rings
Handover of the rings and handout marriage
Confirmation of the marriage
blessing Solemn wedding blessing
Song of the community
Intercession
Prayer of the lord
Presentation of gifts
blessing Final blessing
Discharge
abstract

Organization of sectarian couples

With Netzwerk Ökumene (interdenominational couples and families in Germany), a nationwide initiative was founded in 1999 that represents the interests of these couples. Bishop Gebhard Fürst ( Diocese Rottenburg ), Bishop Walter Klaiber (Evangelical Methodist Church) and Bishop emeritus Gerhard Maier ( Evangelical Church in Württemberg ) have taken on the sponsorship of Netzwerk Ökumene .

The non-denominational couples in Germany are also involved in a worldwide movement that last met at the II World Conference of Interdenominational Couples in Rome in 2003.

See also

literature

Church pronouncements

  • Apostolic letter Motu proprio Matrimonia mixta on the legal order of mixed marriages (March 31, 1970): PDF .
  • German Bishops' Conference, Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Hrsg.): Joint celebration of the church wedding. Order of church weddings for couples of different denominations with the participation of those authorized to marry from both churches . EVA Leipzig, Verlag Herder Freiburg, Lutherisches Verlagshaus Hannover, Verlag Friedrich Pustet Regensburg 2nd edition 1997.
  • To interdenominational marriage . Common word of the German Bishops' Conference and the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany 1985: PDF .
  • Joint Church Recommendations for Marriage Preparation for Partners of Different Denominations , ed. from the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference and the EKD Church Chancellery: PDF .

Monographs

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Heribert Heinemann: Confessional marriage I. Canon law . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 238 f .
  2. ↑ a b c Bernhard Häring: Mixed marriage II. Practical . In: Josef Höfer , Karl Rahner (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 2nd Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1962, Sp. 440-444 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Joseph Wenner: Mixed marriage I. In canon law . In: Josef Höfer , Karl Rahner (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 2nd Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1962, Sp. 437-440 .
  4. ↑ a b Joseph Wenner: Ehe VI. In canon law . In: Josef Höfer , Karl Rahner (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 2nd Edition. tape 3 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1959, Sp. 690-698 .
  5. ↑ Dagmar Freist: Faith - Love - Discord: Religious and denominational mixed marriages in the early modern period , Berlin / Boston 2017, p. 61.
  6. ^ Claudius Kienzle: Mentality shaping in social change: Evangelical pastors in a growth region of Württemberg in the early Federal Republic . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, p. 200.
  7. ^ A b Claudius Kienzle: Mentality shaping in social change: Evangelical pastors in a growth region of Württemberg in the early Federal Republic . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, p. 202.
  8. ^ German Bishops' Conference: Shepherd's word on mixed marriage. (January 1958), printed in: Herder-Korrespondenz , Volume 12, February 1958, pp. 202–204.
  9. ^ A b Claudius Kienzle: Mentality shaping in social change: Evangelical pastors in a growth region of Württemberg in the early Federal Republic . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, p. 201.
  10. ↑ Vatican: Apostolic Letter Familiaris consortio
  11. ^ Evangelical regional church in Baden: Marc Witzenbacher: Practical laboratory of unity: denominational marriages .
  12. ↑ religion.orf.at: Orthodox Council: Controversy over marriage document , June 22, 2016.
  13. ↑ Canon 72 forbids marriage between Orthodox believers and "heretics"; the Pan-Orthodox Council speaks of "heterodox" instead of heretics.
  14. ↑ Anargyros Anapliotis: Marriage and Monasticism in Orthodox Canon Law: A collection of canons with the canons of the local synods and the church fathers . LIT Verlag, Münster 2019, p. 34.
  15. ↑ Athanasios Vletsis : Marriage as a bridge between the separated churches? Confessional marriage as a model for the restoration of eucharistic communion between the churches. An orthodox voice . In: Thomas Söding , Wolfgang Thönissen (ed.): Eucharist - Church - Ecumenism: Aspects and Backgrounds of the Communion Controversy (= Quaestiones disputatae . Volume 298) Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2019, pp. 254–281, here pp. 272f.
  16. ↑ German Bishops' Conference, Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (ed.): Joint celebration of church wedding , Leipzig, Freiburg, Hanover, Regensburg 2nd edition 1997, p. 7.
  17. ↑ German Bishops' Conference, Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (ed.): Joint celebration of church wedding , Leipzig, Freiburg, Hanover, Regensburg 2nd edition 1997, p. 9.