Civil Annulment's Effect on Church Marriage?

Details
Created on Thursday, 17 June 2010 18:22

Q. This concerns a U.S. marriage. If the marriage is civilly annulled, what is the effect upon the Church marriage? Is it also annulled?


-P.

A. Civil procedures have no bearing on the Church. If the state annuls a marriage, that does not have any bearing on the Church marriage. A separate ecclesiastical divorce has to be obtained in order to marry again. There is no concept of an annulment in the Orthodox view.

Submit your own questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Orthodox Awareness

Why the True Orthodox Are Truly Orthodox

A Rejoinder to Fr. Basil Gregoriates and an Apology for Breaking Communion with Ecumenist Bishops

In every age the devil tempts the faithful by various means: persecutions, foreign invasions, the lure of worldly seduction. Among his most effective snares are heresy and schism which, by separating Christians from the Church, lead them away from Christ and into spiritual deception and apostasy. Read more...

Missions

Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a town located near the Eastern border of Arkansas, with a population of approximately 60,000. From a human standpoint, it’s not the most likely candidate for a traditional Orthodox mission, but for an Orthodox Christian who orders his priorities around Christ and His Church, it makes perfect sense. Read more...

Youth

2025 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Fasting

Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...