Episcopal Church wedding

[Curiouser1]

Good morning!
Odd question but my fiance has a family friend who is a Catholic Bishop and would like to do the ceremony for our wedding. We were both baptised Catholic but have been attending a Episcopal Church because it is were we have felt most at home and would like to have the ceremony there. Is that possible? Thanks!

 

[TechieGuy]

You should probably ask the Bishop, not us.

 

[TheLittleLady]

You will have to seek permission of the Bishop (Catholic).

 

[EnglishTeacher]

Definitely talk to the Bishop and see what he says. However, the answer will be almost certainly be no for a few reasons. The main reason is that the wedding you are planning would most likely be invalid. Catholics are required to be married in a Catholic wedding liturgy. While exceptions are sometimes granted for Catholics marrying non-Catholics (e.g. a Catholic marrying a Lutheran might be able to receive a dispensation to marry in a Lutheran church), they will not grant a dispensation for two Catholics to be married in a Protestant church.

I would invite you to make an appointment with a priest or your bishop friend and talk to them about your upcoming marriage and about returning home to the Catholic Church. I think you will be glad you did.

 

[Catholicos]

Wouldn’t it be better to just become Episcopalian?? Yes, your Catholic baptism marks the beginning of your Catholic and spiritual life, but it didn’t end there either. Being Catholic involves being united and being in Communion with the Catholic faith.

 

[1ke]

Odd question but my fiance has a family friend who is a Catholic Bishop and would like to do the ceremony for our wedding. We were both baptised Catholic but have been attending a Episcopal Church because it is were we have felt most at home and would like to have the ceremony there. Is that possible? Thanks!

If you are seeking to return to the Catholic Church, and the practice of the faith, and are therefore asking for the Catholic sacrament of marriage conducted in Catholic form, then it would be up to your bishop on whether to allow the marriage in a place other than the parish church of the bride or groom (and here I am speaking of the Catholic parish). Canon law allows for a Catholic wedding to take place in another place, but only with the permission of the bishop. (nor am I talking about a dispensation from form, which involves a non-Catholic party).

If you are asking if the Catholic bishop can officiate an Episcopalian wedding, the answer is no.

 

[1ke]

Catholics are required to be married in a Catholic wedding liturgy.

If a Catholic bishop married them, it would BE in Catholic form.

they will not grant a dispensation for two Catholics to be married in a Protestant church.

While this is true, it may be possible for a bishop to grant permission for a Catholic wedding to be held somewhere other than the Catholic parish of the bride or groom. That is NOT the same thing as dispensation from form.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

If a Catholic bishop married them, it would BE in Catholic form.

Right. But I understood the OP to be specifically asking whether the bishop could marry them in the Episcopal Church, which he cannot do. (I see what you’re saying, though.)

 

[1ke]

Right. But I understood the OP to be specifically asking whether the bishop could marry them in the Episcopal Church, which he cannot do. (I see what you’re saying, though.)

I took it to mean could he marry them in the building, not the denomination.

Yes, to building. No to denomination.

Although building is a long shot, as it has the potential to give scandal. It depends on a lot of details.