Căsătoriile mixte în teoria şi practica Bisericii Ortodoxe
Mixed marriages in the theory and practice of the Orthodox Church

Summary/Abstract: Mixed marriages in the theory and practice of the Orthodox Church. To what mixed marriages are concerned, the Church law has seen a gradual evolution in the first millennium: since the acceptance of such marriages, caused by social conditions and hoping that the unfaithful spouse would gradually become converted if they were categorically banned under the punitive sanction of nullity and excommunication for those who dared to contract. The main argument was that a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever could not be called marriage, whereas it was not a mystery. Despite the severity required by canonical and civil rules, mixed marriages will continue to be contracted, being a reality that the Church could not ignore. This thing led in time to another kind of approach of the phenomenon as such, and namely, the work of the Church in its two forms: the degradation (condescension) and the severity (acrivia). By applying this principle, the private law of some Orthodox Churches (Patriarchate of Constantinople and Romanian Patriarchate) will allow mixed marriages provided that certain provisions be respected, of which the most important refers to the celebration form and minister of cult. Thus, only those marriages celebrated by an Orthodox priest in the Orthodox rite are allowed.

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