Church PenaltiesEncyclopedia of Canon Law (Legislative Theology)

Church Canons – Ecclesiastical Penalties [2]

If one prays with the excommunicated or heretics
It is stated in the Apostolic Canons: “He who prays with an excommunicated person shall also be excommunicated. And if someone is cut off by his bishop, no other bishop may receive him, lest confusion arise. But if he was unjustly cut off by his bishop, a council may be convened to look into his matter.”
And in the sixth canon of the Council of Antioch: “No bishop shall receive one who has been cut off by his own bishop until that bishop restores him, or until he appears before a council and presents a convincing defense, and the council annuls the bishop’s judgment. This canon also applies to the laity.”
And the seventh canon of the same council says: “It is not permitted to accept a stranger or one under judgment to perform any ecclesiastical duty.”
The canons also state: “If any member of the clergy prays with one who has been cut off, he too shall be cut off.” This refers, of course, to liturgical prayers and the holy sacraments of the Church. Some canons even add: “Whoever prays with an excommunicated person, even in a private house, shall be excommunicated. And whoever partakes of their offerings shall be excommunicated.”

If one does not fast the Holy Forty Days
It is stated in the Apostolic Canons (49:2): “If anyone does not fast the Holy Forty Days, or Wednesdays and Fridays, let him be cut off, except for reasons of bodily illness.”

If he falls into shameful sins
It is stated in the Apostolic Canons (16:2): “A bishop, priest, or deacon found guilty of adultery, theft, or perjury shall be cut off, but not expelled from the Church,” for no one should bear two penalties for a single sin.
In the second canon of the Holy Council of Nicaea: “If anyone falls into a lustful sin, and two or three witnesses testify against him, he must be removed from the priestly rank.”

If a priest marries
The Church canons rule that if a priest marries after his ordination, he shall be deposed from his priestly rank.

If one castrates himself
The first canon of the Holy Council of Nicaea decrees: “Whoever castrates himself while in sound health, after having been ordained, shall be deposed from his rank.”

Appealing to civil authority without permission
Canons (11, 12) of the Holy Council of Antioch state that if any clergyman dares to appeal to civil authority without his bishop’s permission or without letters from him, “he shall be deposed from office and cast out.”

Impediments to Marriage and Causes of Its Nullity
Verification of the absence of impediments — use of computer systems
All clergy must ensure that no legal impediments exist before performing the sacrament of Holy Matrimony (“the Crowning”), or even before engagement or granting a marriage license from the Patriarchate or dioceses.
It is recommended that a computer system be established to record all data regarding marriages, divorces, and annulments throughout the See of St. Mark — in Egypt, Sudan, and all lands of the diaspora. This system should be kept in the Patriarchate, with data exchange between the Patriarchate and all dioceses, to prevent deceit when granting marriage licenses. The Patriarchate is currently working on implementing this project, God willing.

Impediments to Marriage and Its Nullity
Previous marriage not yet dissolved
A prior marriage bond must be fully dissolved; otherwise, the person is bound to two marriages simultaneously.
This includes cases of civil divorce not recognized by the Church, as such divorces contradict the Gospel’s teachings; hence, the first marriage remains valid.

Marriage after an unlawful divorce
If divorce was granted for reasons not permitted by Scripture, the Church considers it invalid. Only the innocent party in a case of adultery is allowed to remarry.

Sexual incapacity
If one of the spouses is physically unfit for marriage — such as being intersex or impotent, or if the wife has a congenital defect preventing marital relations — the marriage is declared null, and the healthy party may remarry.

Forced marriage
A marriage entered under coercion — physical, moral, or through irresistible threat — is invalid. After annulment, the innocent party may remarry.

Lack of essential elements
If a man marries a woman believing her to be a virgin but discovers otherwise, the marriage may be annulled upon proof and immediate abstinence from marital relations; continuing relations implies acceptance.

Preexisting illness
If one party was insane before marriage or suffered from an incurable disease preventing marital life (e.g., leprosy), the marriage is void. Diseases that develop after marriage, however, do not justify annulment; the healthy spouse must care for the ill one.

Difference of faith
A Christian may not marry a person of another religion; even within Christianity, marriage must be within the same denomination.
What some call the “Pauline privilege” (1 Corinthians 7) refers to marriages contracted before one’s conversion to Christianity. In such cases, the believer may remain married in hopes of leading the other to faith. Yet Scripture says: “If the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such cases the brother or sister is not bound” (1 Cor. 7:15). Based on this, the Church allows separation due to change of religion.

Immaturity of age
If either party lacks physical, sexual, or mental maturity—or the maturity necessary for managing a household and raising children—the marriage is invalid.

Prohibited degrees of kinship
The first list of prohibited degrees appears in Leviticus 18:6–18.
The importance of this prohibition is seen in the example of St. John the Baptist, who rebuked Herod the king, saying: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Matthew 14:4).
The Fathers established that marriage makes two people “one flesh” (Matthew 19:6), and thus the relatives of one become relatives of the other — e.g., the wife’s mother becomes the husband’s mother (“mother-in-law”), and her father becomes his father (“father-in-law”).
Therefore:

A man may not marry his mother-in-law, for she is his mother by law.

A woman may not marry her father-in-law, for he is her father by law.

A man may not marry his deceased wife’s sister.

Likewise, a woman may not marry her deceased husband’s brother, even if not a full sibling.

A man may not marry his wife’s daughter by another marriage; she is his daughter by law.

A woman may not marry her husband’s son by another wife; he is her son by law.

A man may not marry his uncle’s wife; she is his aunt by law.

Nor may he marry his maternal uncle’s wife; she is his aunt by law.

The same prohibitions apply equally between the relatives of the husband and those of the wife.

Just as a man may not marry his uncle’s wife, so after his death, his widow may not marry that uncle’s husband; the same principle applies symmetrically.

If each spouse has children from a previous marriage, those children become siblings by law and may not marry one another.
Thus, the family is bound by purity and virtuous morals, free from bodily desires within the same household.
They see each other as brothers and sisters, fulfilling the divine saying: “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6).

Therefore, a widower may not marry his late wife’s daughter-in-law, for her son became his son by law.

Likewise, a widow may not marry her late husband’s son-in-law, for his daughter became her daughter, and her husband thus her son-in-law.

The Fathers also added an essential rule:

Any marriage that causes confusion in lineage or family relations is prohibited.

Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Watani newspaper, August 2, 1987