Agreement on Faith
Agreement on Faith
If the spouses must agree in everything, they must also be in agreement in faith.
Agreement in Faith
It is not sufficient that they are only Christians, but they must also be Orthodox.
They should belong to one denomination, one doctrine, and one faith. They should be in agreement regarding fasts, feasts, and the Church sacraments, worshiping God with one spirit. They go to church together, and they can partake together, and confess to one father.
Doctrinal disagreement not only tears apart the unity of the spouses but also tears apart the children; they become confused—should they follow the father or the mother?! And if they follow one of them, they will judge the other as being in error, and this is against the ideal image that the child wishes to have of his parents.
From a practical standpoint, and from a legal and ecclesiastical standpoint, the Church does not permit the marriage of two who differ in denomination…
However, some attempt to overcome this obstacle:
One of the two makes a formal affiliation to the denomination of the other, the marriage takes place, yet the doctrinal disagreement remains, and its consequences remain!!
What is the value of this formal affiliation from the standpoint of faith?! And how can the conscience of the priest who performs it accept it?!
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