Pagini din istoria căsătoriei în ţările române. Căsătoria ca sacrament (secolul al XVII-lea)
Inquiries in the History of Marriage in the Romanian Principalities. The Marriage as Sacrement (the 17th century)

Summary/Abstract: Contrary to the common knowledge, marriage in church was not the regular practice in the Romanian Principalities until mid 17 century. The presence of a priest at the sponses home or the visit of the new couple to the church in search of blessing was not a prerequisite for a socially valid marriage. The necessary condition for a recognized union was the agreement of the concerned families and a convenient banquet. The marriage was duly considered a sacrament in the own right only when a proper theology of the sacraments was triggered by such influential books as Şapte Taine (Iaşi, 1644), Mărturisirea ortodoxă (Snagov, 1691), Învăţătura bisericească (Târgovişte, 1710). In the second half of the 17th century, the Church takes gradually sway over marriage, deemed ever since as one of the seven sacraments. The paper discusses the catholic models of this theological turn in the history and practice of the Romanian Church. The influence of the Conterreformation on the new conditions of validity of the institition of the marriage is adressed in such details as: the consent of the sponses, the blessing by the priest, the public character of the ceremony. However, the sacramental atributes of marriage (indissolubility, mutual assistance, fidelity) as stated by the catholic model were not observed in the social practice.

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