Some Impediments to Marriage in Christianity

Some Impediments to Marriage in Christianity

🔹 The Main Idea of the Lecture

The lecture addresses some impediments to marriage in Christianity from a biblical and ecclesiastical perspective, affirming that these impediments are not human or civil laws, but divine commandments established in Holy Scripture and supported by the laws of church councils and the teachings of the holy fathers.

🔹 The Biblical Foundation of Marriage Impediments

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that the prohibition of marrying a brother’s wife or a wife’s sister is clearly stated in the Book of Leviticus (chapters 18 and 20), where this act is considered uncleanness and a defilement of the sanctity of the family. The only exception mentioned in Deuteronomy was connected to raising offspring for a deceased brother who had no children, under specific conditions that ended with the end of their historical and symbolic reasons.

🔹 The Unity of the Spouses and the Sanctity of Kinship

In the Christian concept, the two spouses become one flesh as stated in Matthew 19 and Mark 10; thus, the relatives of one spouse become relatives of the other. The brother of the husband is considered a brother to the wife, and the sister of the wife is considered a sister to the husband. Therefore, marriage to them is regarded as a violation of spiritual and physical kinship.

🔹 Response to Objections

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III responds to claims that the prohibition is merely Roman civil law, clarifying that the prohibition precedes those laws by many centuries. He also affirms that the aim is not merely to prevent potential crimes, but to preserve the chastity of the family and the purity of relationships within the home.

🔹 The Church’s Position Through the Ages

The Apostolic Canons, the Council of Neocaesarea, the teachings of Saint Basil the Great, Pope Timothy of Alexandria, as well as later canonical laws, all affirmed the continued prohibition of such marriage. The penalty could reach exclusion from church communion unless the unlawful marriage was dissolved.

🔹 The Spiritual and Educational Dimension

The main spiritual message is preserving the sanctity of marriage as a holy sacrament and safeguarding the family from confusion in lineage or disturbance in relationships. Family relations must be based on brotherly purity, not on possibilities of desire or ambiguity.

🔹 The Constancy of the Law Through the Ages

This prohibition was not linked to a specific era, but continued from the Old Testament, through the New Testament, and into various church ages. This proves that the matter is not a temporary regulation, but a fixed divine principle that preserves the sanctity of family life.

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