When and why did the Catholic Church first start issuing annulments?
score:12
Definition: An annulment doesn't dissolve a marriage; an annulment is a solemn pronouncement that there never was a marriage contract (as explained in the pronouncement) and, therefore, what was perceived as a marriage was in fact null.
Why: In order for a marriage to be valid, it cannot be null. If a marriage is ruled to be null then the couple can either try to fix the issues regarding the cause of nullity or must separate (which typically already happened).
When: Presumably this practice was with the Church from the beginning. The reason it was so rare previously is that Catholics used to be taught their Faith before seeking to get married, and as part of their marriage preparations they used to be "annulment proofed" both by the priest insuring the couple are mature, sane, morally capable and aware adults, as well as the custom of "reading the bands" which, among other things, was a moral requirement for anyone who knew of an impediment for the couple to get married (which would be grounds for nullifying the attempted wedding contract) to come forward and make it known to the priest.
These days, with inadequate education in the Faith, general immaturity of the populace in general and people seeking to get married in particular, and no moral requirement to make impediments known to the clergy, it can only follow that the number of annulment cases will skyrocket.
Upvote:0
Jesus's words at the time of marriage were pretty clear Mark 10 (KJV)
... Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
A later rendering of that is the familiar 2And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
It doesnt say any thing about annulment. Annulment came from men, not Jesus. Who is the boss here on earth: man or Jesus?
Later traditions captured the essence of Jesus's point, for example a phrase first found 'The Book of Common Prayer' (an Anglican text published in 1549) "tyl dethe us departe", which translates to "till death US DEPART" and then was "till death US DO part" before it became "till death DO US part". Source: Daniel, Evan (1901) . London: Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., 491-494 – (credit to @kraftydevil for the source and note).
Upvote:5
The Catholic Church regards itself as bound by the words of Jesus, who is reported (Matthew 19:9) as saying:
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."
On the face of it, this places the origin of Catholic annulment in the time of Jesus, limiting the purpose of annulment to instances in which the marriage is unlawful. However, Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 5:32) also provides a further ground for annulment, sexual immorality (πορνείας). This greatly widens the options for annulment, and the New Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible prefer to translate πορνείας as 'unlawful', suggesting that the Catholic Church has not seen Matthew 5:32 as justifying annulment on the grounds of immorality.
In 1 Corinthians 7:10-13, Paul expresses disapproval of divorce, but says that if a wife does divorce her husband, she must remain single:
To the married, however, I give this instruction (not I, but the Lord): a wife should not separate from her husband - and if she does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband - and a husband should not divorce his wife.
Here Paul does not prescribe grounds for divorce or annulment, although later he says that irreconcilable incompatibility of beliefs could be grounds for a marriage breakdown. Paul wrote this in the context of an imminent parousia, necessitating all to remain the their present state if possible - see verse 20, "Everyone should remain in the state in which he was called."
To answer your question of when: during or before the ninth century CE
An early historical reference to Catholic annulment involves Pope Nicholas I (858-867), who refused to grant an annulment to King Lothair II of Lotharingia so that Lothair could marry his mistress Waldrada, but a Council pronounced in favour of the annulment, resulting in Nicholas disbanding the Council. Regardless of the outcome for Lothair, it seems that Church annulments were an established fact, at least for the ruling classes.
When Louis XII became king of France in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI so that he could marry Anne of Brittany.
More post
- 📝 How do Christians make sense of exorcisms in other religions?
- 📝 What do Catholics believe about Yom kippur and judgment?
- 📝 According to Orthodox trinitarianism, can the Father exist without the Son or Holy Spirit?
- 📝 What does it mean for the Spirit to only speak of what he hears? (trinitarian perspective)
- 📝 Who can validly confer the sacrament of confirmation?
- 📝 Why did Magdalena use her hair to dry Jesus' feet?
- 📝 Are there any Christian sects that allow for the existence of other "God" claims?
- 📝 What prophets did Messiah mean in Luke 16:16 when we see yet more prophets thereafter?
- 📝 Why do Kingdom Halls have no windows?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the Catholic and Eastern doctrines of the Assumption of Mary?
- 📝 What is the implication of "munus"?
- 📝 Did God ever really help the Hebrews in battle?
- 📝 Are there more detailed descriptions how it is in Heaven?
- 📝 What is meant by the expression that Jesus came in the fullness of time?
- 📝 What is the significance of the four laws given to early Christians who were not ethnically Jews?
- 📝 According to Protestant interpretations, is Romans 3:5-6 a text relating to Theodicy or something else?
- 📝 Is there any tradition that argues for prophetical succession under the Old Testament just like some argue for Apostolic succession?
- 📝 Who are the seven princes of hell?
- 📝 Are there examples of English words and phrases that are associated with blasphemy of the Virgin Mary?
- 📝 The difference(s) between “The Way of the Cross” by St. Francis and by St. Alphonsus?
- 📝 If God set the maximum age to 120, then how could Jacob be 130 years old?
- 📝 What major views are there on the question of whether God shares moral responsibility for our deeds, good and bad?
- 📝 According to Jehovah’s Witnesses who are the two messengers at Malachi 3:1?
- 📝 Parable of weeds - where did the enemy get seeds from?
- 📝 Is there a hierarchy in the Trinity?
- 📝 Why does the NIV have 16 verses missing from the Bible?
- 📝 What Christian companies, today, have no name by which they are known?
- 📝 What does a "non-denominational" Protestant believe?
- 📝 Is seeing nudity a sin in Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 What was the basis for saying that 11th-century Greek churches were "rebaptizing" Latins?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When and why did the Catholic Church first start issuing annulments?
- 📝 When and why did the Catholic Church stop the Crusades?
- 📝 When did the Catholic Church first distinguish mortal from venial sin and connect it to state of grace?
- 📝 If both the Orthodox and Catholic Church affirm salvation by grace through faith, why did the Protestant Reformation happen?
- 📝 Since when did the Catholic church accept Protestant baptism, and what was the original rationale for accepting?
- 📝 When and where did the Catholic tradition of first communion at 7 years old start?
- 📝 When did a Catholic church council first recognize the need to forbid forcing or outwardly compelling unbelievers to the Christian faith?
- 📝 When and how did the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament start in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 In Catholic Church History, when, why and by whom did the four living creatures become associated with the four evangelists?
- 📝 When and why did the ancient church no longer care about offending a brother?
- 📝 When did the Catholic Church first prohibit bishops from remarrying?
- 📝 When did the prohibition of marriage for priests in the Catholic church originate?
- 📝 When did the one-way monologue sermon first become a normal feature of church assemblies?
- 📝 When did the split in crufix/empty-cross sybolism occur and why did it happen?
- 📝 Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place?
- 📝 When did Peter become the first Pope, according to Roman Catholic tradition?
- 📝 When did the Orthodox and Catholic Churches distinguish the manner in which the Sign of the Cross was to be made?
- 📝 Why did the Catholic Church change so radically after Vatican II in regards to the status of Jews?
- 📝 Why did the soldiers go backward and fall down when Jesus said "I am he" in John 18:6?
- 📝 Did the disagreement between the Catholic Church and Protestant Church on the issue of salvation by grace alone end in 1999?
- 📝 Why did the Catholic Church decide to have a Bible?
- 📝 When did the LDS church start teaching that God the Father had a beginning?
- 📝 When and why did the modern literal 6-Day creation theory become popular?
- 📝 When did the Latin Catholic Church begin to generally require fasting only one hour prior to the Eucharist?
- 📝 When did the Catholic Church decide 'daily bread" is its Eucharist?
- 📝 When and why did the devil, or Satan, really emerge as a force in Christian belief?
- 📝 When did the older English spelling of the endings of Isaiah and Elijah stop being used in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 When did sin and evil in the universe first appear?
- 📝 When and why did the modern Young Earth Creationism movement gain such a large following?
- 📝 According to Catholic Church tradition, where, when, how and by whom did the devotion of the Stations of the Cross begin?