I’ve read that, while a deacon can witness a marriage, he can not perform the crowning.I believe the minister in the byzantine theology is the priest.
tee1623 In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers of Christ’s grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the Eastern liturgies the minister of this sacrament (which is called “Crowning”) is the priest or bishop who, after receiving the mutual consent of the spouses, successively crowns the bridegroom and the bride as a sign of the marriage covenant.
That actually is from an older edition. The newer editions read like this,Do the theologies need to be reconciled?
In answer to the OP, the Catechism:
“1623 In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers of Christ’s grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the Eastern liturgies the minister of this sacrament (which is called “Crowning”) is the priest or bishop who, after receiving the mutual consent of the spouses, successively crowns the bridegroom and the bride as a sign of the marriage covenant.”
tee
I still think though that both editions mean the same thing. Right?1623 According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ’s grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches, the priests (bishops or presbyters) are witnesses to the mutual consent given by the spouses,124 but for the validity of the sacrament their blessing is also necessary.125
I would like to know too, if there are a differences of theologies regarding the ministers of this Sacrament.i’d be interested to see how the theologies of this sacrament between Eastern and Western Churches are reconciled.
The Roman Church permits Deacons to bless marriages as well.Dear brother Dan,
They’re reconciled by focusing on the elements that are required for the marriage to be valid.
Regardless of who is considered the “minister of the Sacrament,” its validity in both Catholic and Orthodox theology and praxis requires both the blessing of the priest (or ordained proxy) and the volitional consent of the couple.
Blessings
I’ve often wondered this myself. The Catholic Church accepts the sacramental nature of non-Catholic baptized persons. The Latin Church pretty freely grants dispensations for a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic in a non-Catholic ceremony. This all seems perfectly reasonable if we take the western view that the couple are ministers of the sacrament. If, however, the priest is necessary as the minister of the sacrament, then how can we recognize the sacrament in a marriage that has not been blessed by a priest?i’d be interested to see how the theologies of this sacrament between Eastern and Western Churches are reconciled.
AFAIK, the Catholic Church does not consider marriages in non-apostolic Churches as “Sacraments.” They consider them “VALID” marriages according to God’s Natural Law, but not “Sacraments.” In the Catholic Church, only a marriage blessed by a validly ordained minister is a “Sacrament.”I’ve often wondered this myself. The Catholic Church accepts the sacramental nature of non-Catholic baptized persons. The Latin Church pretty freely grants dispensations for a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic in a non-Catholic ceremony. This all seems perfectly reasonable if we take the western view that the couple are ministers of the sacrament. If, however, the priest is necessary as the minister of the sacrament, then how can we recognize the sacrament in a marriage that has not been blessed by a priest?
Elizabeth
I believe you are wrong.AFAIK, the Catholic Church does not consider marriages in non-apostolic Churches as “Sacraments.” They consider them “VALID” marriages according to God’s Natural Law, but not “Sacraments.” In the Catholic Church, only a marriage blessed by a validly ordained minister is a “Sacrament.”
Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Can. 1055 §1. The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized.
§2. For this reason,
a valid matrimonial contract cannot exist between the baptized without it being by that fact a sacrament
I Am Not A Canon Lawyer, but this seems to say that baptized persons validly married (ie otherwise free to marry, not defective in form, et cetera) are sacramentally married.
What you state is true of marraiges between the non-baptized or between a baptized and non-baptized. Protestant marriages are held as sacraments.Dear sister Elizabeth,
AFAIK, the Catholic Church does not consider marriages in non-apostolic Churches as “Sacraments.” They consider them “VALID” marriages according to God’s Natural Law, but not “Sacraments.” In the Catholic Church, only a marriage blessed by a validly ordained minister is a “Sacrament.”
Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Blessings
Are protestant marriages sacramental only in the Latin rite or valid in all Catholic rites despite lacking the blessing of a validly ordain priest or bishop?What you state is true of marraiges between the non-baptized or between a baptized and non-baptized. Protestant marriages are held as sacraments.
Fr. Deacon Lance
I am not fully convinced, since the canons state that a Catholic marriage is not valid without the blessing of an ordained minister. I don’t see why a Protestant marriage would be held to a lower standard. I gave some other thoughts addressed to Father Deacon Lance, and I’d appreciate it if you read that as well.I believe you are wrong.
Catechism 1601 echoes CIC 1055:
I Am Not A Canon Lawyer, but this seems to say that baptized persons validly married (ie otherwise free to marry, not defective in form, et cetera) are sacramentally married.
Since Catholic marriages are not considered valid without the blessing of an ordained minister, I don’t see how Protestant marriages can be held to a lesser standard.What you state is true of marraiges between the non-baptized or between a baptized and non-baptized. Protestant marriages are held as sacraments.
I’m not an Eastern, but I’ll take a crack at it - though I’m open to correction, of course.Are protestant marriages sacramental only in the Latin rite or valid in all Catholic rites despite lacking the blessing of a validly ordain priest or bishop?
Which canons state that?I am not fully convinced, since the canons state that a Catholic marriage is not valid without the blessing of an ordained minister.
Canon 1108 -Which canons state that?
tee