General Christianity and Marriage (tradition, church, scriptures, bible, divorce)

[Bishka]

Questions for y'all

Does either family or the woman or man pay a dowry?

Is intermarriage between faiths allowed?

Age allowed to marry?

Engagements?

Is Pre-Martial Sex Allowed?

How is Marriage defined (man and man, woman and woman, man and woman)?

Is marriage required?

Is divorce okay?

[dawny0826]

Does either family or the woman or man pay a dowry?

No.

Is intermarriage between faiths allowed?

Yes. The Bible even says that one believer can bring a household to Christ.

Age allowed to marry?

Whatever is legal in your home state, as we're supposed to obey authority.

Engagements?

Comes before the wedding, generally.

Is Pre-Martial Sex Allowed?

No.

How is Marriage defined (man and man, woman and woman, man and woman)?

According to scriptures, I believe marriage is defined as being the union of a man and a woman.

Is marriage required?

No, it isn't at all.

But if one lusts for one...we're encouraged to marry.

Is divorce okay?

Only in the instance of adultery but remarriage is not allowed.
___________________________

[James the Persian]

Originally Posted by beckysoup61

Questions for y'all

Well, I'll give you the Orthodox perspective because it'll be a little different to any of the western confessions

Does either family or the woman or man pay a dowry?

Not any more, no, though they once did in some cultures. This was never a religious teaching, though.

Is intermarriage between faiths allowed?

If by other faiths you mean non-Christian ones, no. If you mean heterodox Christians, yes, provided that they were baptised using the correct Trinitarian formula. It's quite common to require heterodox spouses to agree to raise any children Orthodox also.

Age allowed to marry?

I don't believe there's a religious teaching on this. Traditionally adulthood was seen as being at age 12 (this is when godparents are no longer responsible for bringing up the children if they are orpahned) but obviously this was an ancient culturally determined view. As in most cultures, child marriages did occur in the past but do not any longer.

Engagements?

Now here is a major difference. What is seen as a wedding band in the west is actually an engagement ring for us. The wedding is done with a crowning ceremony and not an exchange of rings. The latter is done at a betrothal ceremony which is, in effect, an engagement within the Church. Nowadays, of course, under western influence many do get informally engaged first. Originally the betrothal was performed long in advance of the wedding, often a year or more. Nowadays it is usually done immediately prior to the crowning as a concession to human weakness. This is because after the betrothal you are considered almost married - with all of the responsibilities (fidelity etc.) - but you are not allowed to sleep together. It's obviously easier to live by this if the wdding follows immediately, though I do know a few couples in Romania who chose to be betrothed months before despite the difficulty.

Is Pre-Martial Sex Allowed?

Obviously, given my comments above, not.

How is Marriage defined (man and man, woman and woman, man and woman)?

Between a man and a woman only.

Is marriage required?

Not if you want to be celibate (and we do have many monastics) but if you wish to have sex, yes.

Is divorce okay?

No, but it may be accepted, again as a concession to human weakness. Divorce is allowed by the Church for certain things, such as infidelity, but it is reasonably rare. Re-marriage is allowed after such a divorce (and after being widowed) but it is considered better to remain single. For this reason second and third marriages (more than three is impossible) have a much more penitential flavour to the ceremony than joful first marriages do. I, personally, am certain that I would never re-marry under any circumstances but, God willing, I hope to never be put in such a position.

James