www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall divorce, annulment, and the priesthood

I've been trying to figure something out. Please correct me if I'm wrong: In the Orthodox Churches, a man who was divorced can't receive holy orders, nor can a man who married a woman who was divorced (though he himself was never divorced).

Does this extend to the Eastern Catholic Churches? How does annulment work here? If a man is married and then the marriage is annuld, can he seek orders? What if his wife's marriage was annuled?

I know that in the Roman Church a man who is divorced but has his marriage annulled can indeed seek the priesthood. My spiritual director is a case in point. Divorced many years ago he was a public figure (politician) in the frigid north for a long time. Then he felt a call to the priesthood, I guess about 10 years ago. Went to seminary and now is a priest in our diocese.

Jason

The Orthodox Church actually does do annulments, although rarely. One reason is that suggested here; the man wants to become a priest (he has another option: if he becomes a monk, his previous marriage becomes irrelevant). Another reason is that the Orthodox Church severely frowns on third marriages and flatly will not perform a fourth.

Fr. Serge

I was told by an Orthodox friend that a man who was not a virgin on his wedding night could not become a married priest. I assume that the implication was also that a man who was not a virgin could not become a priest-monk as well.

Does anyone know about that?

What about in the Eastern Catholic Churches?

Fr Serge, I didn't know that. Will they grant an annulment to your wife, if she were previously married?

Dr Eric, do you think that's still true? What about the lad who's a bit of a rambler, but then repents? I'm sure the "rules" have lots of stuff to say, but maybe aren't applied as such.

Well the Ecumenical Patriarchate had Bishop Cassian, who was divorced, in the Western European Exarchate; he was rector of Saint Sergius Seminary in Paris for a time.

By the way, an annulment is not granted "to" an individual - it is a finding by the tribunal that no marriage ever fully took place, and in theory does not favor either party (any resemblance between this theory and the real situation is often purely coincidental).

Fr. Serge

Fr Serge is/was married????

Dear Marc,

As far as I know, Father Serge is Father ARCHIMANDRITE Serge, and therefore, by virtue of his title, he is not married.

Perhaps this was a writing error or a joke, but in any case, let's get back to the topic.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Alice

Hi,

I can tell you that in the Latin Archdiocese of Los Angeles, an annuled marriage is not an unsurmountable impediment for a man to be accepted in the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program.

Sorry, that is as close as I can get.

Shalom,
Memo

I believe Deacon John was making a joke to point out the usage of "your" instead of "my."

In any case, it is my understanding that several of the EC churches currently use the Latin model of annulments. I think this question would best be posed to the church in question's hierarch and/or seminary because it would provide a direct and definite response.

Dear Wondering,

Thanks for pointing out that possibility!

Regards,
Alice

I am indeed an Archimandrite. I am not married, nor have I ever been married!

Thus my only experience of annulments has been shepherding people through the process of obtaining them. There are lots of things I would rather do, but sometimes needs must.

Fr. Serge

I assume Fr. Deacon was joking, too. I used the pronoun "your" as a general, because "ones" sounds stuffy. I'm not married, nor have I ever been (and so far I've no prospects either), so this isn't about me. I'm just curious.

of course, no one really seems to know the answer.