Abstract

Since the Catholic Church acknowledged autonomy of other Christian Churches and Ecclesiastical Communities to state their law, it has become more important and necessary to respect that kind of law, especially in cases of mixed marriages between Catholics and the faithful of other Christian denominations. This article describes selected issues of law of the Church of England – the established Church of that part of the United Kingdom.

The first paragraph explains the legal definition of marriage as seen in the Canons of the Church of England. It also refers to essential qualities of marriage such as unity, indissolubility and sacramentality as understood in the doctrine of the Church of England.

The second part of the article describes impediments that make marriage void, that is age, consanguinity, affinity and still existing lawful bond of previous marriage or civil partnership.

The third section raises the issue of required forms of solemnization of marriage which are acknowledged by the Church of England as causing valid marriage.

The following paragraph refers to the two ways of dissolution of marriage stated by the English law, which are divorce and nullity. It presents also the conditions required by the Church of England, which allow a divorced person to remarry.

The fifth paragraph describes what the view of the Church of England over mixed marriages is. The conclusion includes advice for Catholic ministers, who may be asked by the faithful to assist at the solemnization of mixed marriage between a Catholic and a member of the Church of England, regarding the fact that Catholic ministers are required by canon law to inform the couple about the essential qualities of marriage as seen by the Catholic Church as well as to check whether both parties are free to marry one another.