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Hi all,

Having been intrigued by a thread going on in the Town Hall section, I wanted to post a question here. If this has been covered before (which is more than likely), please just point me to the previous threads that answer my question...

I understand that in Byzantine theology, marriage is meant to symbolize the Kingdom of God. That makes sense to me. However, how does the Byzantine perspective that marriages persist in heaven get past the objection posed by Matthew 22:30 ("At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.")?

I've always taken this verse as a "proof-text" to show that the Mormon belief in marriage "for time and eternity" is untenable. (Mormons, of course, have many arguments against mine, such as saying that "nor are given in marriage" simply means that people don't get married in heaven, but can stay married if they were married on earth. I, on the other hand, have tended to view "nor are given in marriage" to mean that people who were given in marriage on earth are no longer given in marriage in heaven...)

Please excuse me for making a somewhat eerie parallel between Mormon beliefs and Byzantine theology; please simply ascribe this to my own ignorance of both Mormon beliefs and Byzantine theology. :-)

Thanks!


Peace,
Alex NvV

I suggest Father John Meyendorff's study of Matrimony.

Incognitus

Does anyone else have any more information on this topic?

Brothers,

I think that we are taking a literalistic and legalistic approach to an answer that the Lord gave exactly to counter the literalistic and legalistic approach of those who posed the original question: in heaven, whose wife is she (that was married successively to seven brothers)?

The Lord is telling us that life in heaven is not like life on earth. In short, we fail to understand that and attempt to recreate heaven in our own image and likeness.

In Christ,
Andrew

I am not able to stay up long but felt strongly that I must search for something for you. This is the link I found. Am not certain if it answers your question but it sure does bring about the mystery.
http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/mshivana/marriage-icon.htm

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your insight. I can't wait to find out what heaven really is like! (If I, a sinner, actually do get there...)

Thank you also to Pani Rose (though I have only skimmed the article so far) and to Incognitus (though I haven't yet gotten around to looking at Fr. Meyendorff's book).


Peace,
Alex

Andrew's post is right on target.

We had this discussion in an Orthodox marriage seminar I once attended. One man even went so far as to ask which wife (his first wife passed away) he would be with in eternity, and that he wanted to be with his new wife instead of his old wife! :rolleyes:

Anyway,it was ofcourse explained that we are in Heaven with all the people we love (presuming we, or they, have made it there) and that our purpose is not to have relationships with wives or husbands, but that we are all there in another dimension of existence, an existence which will be not of this world, but one of love and praise of God.

In Christ,
Alice