In Part I of this two part post, we considered the differences in theology between the Orthodox Church and the Latin Church regarding the nature and essence of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. We shall now consider how these distinct theological teachings have account for the different pastoral practices of the two Churches in the care of the divorced and remarried members of their respective communities.
In the Latin Church, the Sacrament of Marriage is understood to be essentially a legal contract which binds both spouses to promises they make to confer and accept from each other certain rights and obligations: (1) the right to offspring; (2) fidelity; and (3) permanence until death. In the Latin Church, therefore, the couple are the ministers of the sacrament. The ordained minister only acts as the official witness of their act of mutual consent. Once this contract has been duly ratified by observance of the canonical prescriptions by which their consent is witnessed and consummated in an act of conjugal love, the marital bond cannot be dissolved by the intervention of any human agency, civil or ecclesiastical. Marriages which have been ratified and consummated only end in the death of one of the spouses. Since Marriage in the Latin Church is considered primarily to be a legal contract, a judicial investigation can determine that factors were present at the time of consent which rendered the contract invalid. In such a case, a marriage is declared to have been null and void from the beginning and the parties are no longer bound to the union. Only in the event of death or a declaration of nullity can spouses in the Latin Church legitimately and morally attempt a second marriage. Outside of these two circumstances, those Latin Catholics who do attempt marriage enter into a perpetual state of grave sin (adultery) which renders them incapable of efficacious sacramental absolution and thus prohibits them from the reception of Holy Communion.
In the Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is considered to be a sacred commitment on the part of the spouses, already join in civil marriage, to commit themselves to Christ Who sanctifies their marital union with His Grace. Since marriage is essentially a sacred act, it is the blessing of the proper ordained minister of the Church which constitutes its sacramental character. The priest, therefore, is the minister of the sacrament not the couple. For the Orthodox Church, marriage is a sacrament received, not a contract established by mutual consent. It is a sacrament which perdures forever, a union of persons which mirrors the relationship of Christ to the Church which endures forever. Neither death nor the intervention of any civil or ecclesiastical authority can dissolve the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church.
So how does the Orthodox Church provide pastoral care for its members who do experience the sadness of the death of a spouse or the tragedy of a civil divorce?
Can a member of the Orthodox Church, a widow or widower, an innocent party in a divorce, be married to another person? Very simply put, the answer is yes.
How is this possible?
All Orthodox theology rests upon the foundation set in place by the Early Fathers of the Church who established the fundamental principle of oikonomia, which has several meanings.
The basic meaning of oikonomia is “handling” or “management”. More literally, the word denotes “housekeeping”, that is, a prudent handling or management of a particular issue or problem at hand. More specifically, oikonomia provides for a discretionary deviation from the letter of the law in order to adhere to the spirit of law and to charity, the greatest of all the cardinal virtues.
Oikonomia stands in stark contract to akribia, which is a strict legalism to the letter of the law of the Church.
In Orthodox theology, oikonomia is used to describe two types "handling": (1) divine economy, that is, God's "handling" or "management" of the fallen state of the world and of mankind—the arrangements he made in order to bring about man's salvation after the Fall; and (2) what might be termed pastoral economy (or) ecclesiastical economy, that is, the Church's "handling" or "management" of various pastoral and disciplinary questions, problems, and issues that have arisen through the centuries of Church history.
Applying this principle of oikonomia in the situation of divorced person who wishes to remarry, the Orthodox Church provides the following pastoral solution.
In the Orthodox Church, there is a service of a second marriage, a penitential type of service in which a previously married person repents of the sins he or she may have committed as well as the fact that the first marriage was broken and did not persist. This ritual follows a process of discernment involving one’s proper pastor who assists the couple in determining whether or not this second marriage could or is really working and whether the first marriage is, was and will always be a failure.
In this pastoral solution, the whole point is that people can repent.
The Orthodox Church (and Latin Church as well) recognizes the fact that a baptized person who has sinned, even gravely, can repent and re-enter into Holy Communion after a period of penance. For the Orthodox, the principle of oikonomia provides that a divorced person who wants to remarry within the teachings of the Church could be considered as repenting of the sins committed in their first marriage and then be allowed to enter into a second marriage with proper ritual and be permitted to receive Holy Communion.
Historically, the justification for this pastoral practice can be found in the way the Church addressed the issue of a person who had sinned mortally and desired to be re-admitted to Holy Communion. The Church provide that these persons could be re-admitted after a period of sufficient repentance.
Applying that same principle and practice, the Orthodox Church provides that a person can be remarried in church, have a second marriage, and then remain in holy communion in the Church. But there would have to be a second marriage in the Church for that to happen.
This second marriage is not considered to be a sacrament because the priest does not bless the marriage but acts simple as a witness to the repentance of spouse(s) for the break up of the first marriage and their desire to be re-admitted to Holy Communion in the Church. The second marriage permitted in recognition of this repentance of sin and the desire of the person to continue to live his or her life in union with Christ and His Church through the reception of the sacraments.
Pope Francis, Cardinal Kasper, and recently the bishops of the Argentine Episcopal Conference wish to provide for the pastoral care of Latin Catholics who are divorced and remarried in much the same way that the Orthodox Church provides for its members in similar situations.
While their sentiments are commendable indeed, here’s the fundamental problem.
For the Latin Church follow the Eastern Orthodox Church pastoral practice, it would have to change its fundamental understanding of marriage in the first place, that it is not a juridical act, it’s not a contract that the couple establishes. Rather, marriage is a union of love and a family and have children, a man and a woman—and this is only a man and a woman. Spouses are fallible human beings. They can repent if their first marriage was broken, and perhaps, if there’s really sufficient, authentic repentance over the fact that it’s broken. They may be married a second time with the ritual for a second marriage, in order to maintain Holy Communion in the Church.
Such a change in the Latin Church’s theology of marriage would amount to a repudiation of teachings declared and considered to be infallibly true, part of the Deposit of Faith, the Sacred Tradition of the Church.
The Latin Church’s teaching that a ratified and consummated marriage is indissoluble, that one who abandons his or her spouse and remarries commits grave sin and is thus prohibited from the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ has been affirmed and re-affirmed by the extraordinary magisterium of Ecumenical Councils and Papal teachings for centuries. To change or ignore this Sacred Tradition would be considered to be an act of heresy resulting in excommunication from the ecclesiastical communion of faith. Those who would hold or promote such a change in teaching would be considered to be in schism against the Church and likewise excommunicated from the Mystical Body of Christ.
So, where does this all leave the Latin Church?
I believe we are at a crossroads of faith and practice, an experience within the Latin Church that is without precedence in its two-thousand year history.
Pope Francis has endorsed a pastoral practice whereby divorced and remarried Catholics may be re-admitted to the sacraments which is in clear contradiction to the Church’s Sacred Tradition. He has not only endorsed this practice but has done so in such a way that would encourage other bishops to follow this same course.
Is Pope Francis a heretic? Is he a prophet? Are those who follow his lead in schism with the Latin Church? Or are they faithful members of the Body of Christ in union with the Lord Jesus and His Vicar on earth?
Ironically, one thing is certain: the future for the Latin Church is equally uncertain.
At present, the Latin Church finds itself divided. Some bishops proclaiming that the re-admission of the divorced and remarried to the Sacraments is absolutely and clearly forbidden according to the infallible teachings of extraordinary magisterium. Other bishops are clearly opposing these teachings and embarking upon a pastoral solution which finds no foundation or justification in the history of the Latin Church.
The Latin Church will not be able to live in such a crisis for long. As Christ taught so wisely, “A house divided against itself, cannot stand.”
Will the Latin Church be fractured by this unprecedented moment in its history? Will we see another schism in our lifetime? Is there a solution to this dilemma that has yet to be revealed?
We need to call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us at this critical moment in the life of our beloved Church. May Christ Jesus come to our aid and assist us in our sincere desire to minister to those who have suffered divorce, yet wish a life of love and family in union with the Lord and the Church. Come, Lord Jesus, and do not delay. Help us. Guide us. Protect the Church we love. Give us Your Wisdom and Grace in this and all things. Amen.
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