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I was wondering if the practice of annulments has always been part and parcel of Eastern Rite Catholicism, or was there a 'beginning' to the practice?

Orthodox Catechumen,
Rusty

Anyone?

Thanks,

rusty

bump

Are annulments in the Eastern Catholic Church considered a latinization?

Are they handled any differently from Latin Catholic practice?

I would have thought so, but I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.

Rusty,

Annulments area Latinization that really don't fit into the Eastern theology of marriage. Since it is the priest not the couple who marries, it is impossible from the Eastern view to have an invalid marriage. Eastern Catholics continued with ecclesiastical divorces up until the late 1800s, at which point Rome made it a point to stop this practice among us.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Good morning Father Deacon Lance.

Actually, annulments are a fact in the various sui iuris Churches in the U.S. and Canada. In reviewing The Official Catholic Directory I note that the following have tribunals and/or judges and defenders of the bond: the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and its suffragan Eparchies of Parma, Passaic, and Van Nuys; the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia and its suffragan Eparchies of Parma and Stamford; both Maronite eparchies; the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle (Detroit); the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago uses the local Latin tribunal. Most eparchies in Canada also have tribunals.

According to a Canadian friend who is a canon lawyer, the tribunals of the sui iuris Churches in the U.S. & Canada have the same procedural law as the Roman Church.

Peace,

Charles

Dear Father Lance:

Thanks for explaining this so very clearly.

I've always wondered about this.

An Orthodox Priest once made the comparison:

Within Catholicism, it is the couple who marries themselves.

Within Protestantism, it is the minister who marries the couple.

Within Orthodoxy, it is God who marries the couple. And what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

Charles,

Please note the question was:

"I was wondering if the practice of annulments has always been part and parcel of Eastern Rite Catholicism, or was there a 'beginning' to the practice?"

It has not always been our practice. Our practice mirrored the Orthodox until the late 1800s generally. Rome considered our practice of ecclesiastical divorce an abuse that needed corrected.

I did not state that we do not currently follow the same annulment procedure as the Latin, we do. Whether that practice coincides with our theology of marriage is another matter to be dealt with by theologians.

Fr. Deacon Lance

And YET, Orthodoxy ALLOWS DIVORCE. That goes directly AGAINST what Christ G-d said "What G-d has join, let no man put asunder."

Isn't that PURE hypocricy?

Christ said that Moses allowed divorce because of harden of hearts. Christ was very clear that divorce is not to be tolerated. If a man and woman decides to separate, then let it be so but cannot marry someone else but can go back together with the same spouse.

I have to admire and respect the Catholic Church for her STRONG stance against divorce. And promoting dignity of Marriage (especially during the reign of the late John Paul II).

Catholicism does not allow divorce. Annulment is another way of getting out of marriage without disobeying/disrepecting G-d's commands on marriage (sneaky loophole, I'd say). :rolleyes:

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Divorce is frowned upon and heavily penanced within Orthodoxy - many people who are divorced (and not remarried) because of their great grief fast and pray for 3 to 7 years before even approaching the priest in Holy Confession.

We must pray for them in their grief and broken dreams. Not judge them.

Good afternoon Father Deacon Lance,

With respect, in your reply to Rusty, it does not appear to me that you answered the question "if the practice of annulments has always been part and parcel of Eastern Rite Catholicism, or was there a 'beginning' to the practice?"

Your reply appeared to me to be akin to a statement that they do not exist because "...it is impossible from the Eastern view to have an invalid marriage", and after your statement about Rome stopping the practice of ecclesiastical divorces, you did not follow that up with a statement that it was then that the practice of annulments was extended to or adopted by the sui iuris Churches - the beginning.

I apologize if I misread you.

Peace,

Charles

If it looks like a divorce, stinks like a divorce, has the same effects of a divorce . . . it may be an annulment. . . . And yet the Roman Church is to commended for her strong stance against divorce? Color me confused.

Let me put it this way. John the Baptist would not be put to death today. Upon finding that Herod was with the wife of his brother Philip, John would say, "let's go talk to the marriage tribunal and see if we can work this out."

Sorry, Elizabeth Maria, but this is a horrible caricature. It implies that, according to the Catholic understanding of marriage, God does not join the couple together. That, of course, is ridiculous--and I think Catholic magisterial teaching would serve as a more accurate source for Catholic dogma than some polemically-minded Orthodox priest.

LatinTrad