Valid marriages in non-Catholic Christian circles?

[Departed_Light]

I’ve read a lot of threads on here about what constitutes a valid marriage in the Catholic Church, well I guess more about what makes them invalid or able to be annulled.

I was wondering if similar situations occur in non-Catholic denominations? I haven’t really seen anything like that in the non-denominational or independent churches I have been involved with.

Maybe Lutherans and Anglicans have similar laws regarding valid marriages? It seems to be a major sticking point for people that are converting to Catholicism. Is that true of other Christian Communities?

 

[Nominefili]

I’ve read a lot of threads on here about what constitutes a valid marriage in the Catholic Church, well I guess more about what makes them invalid or able to be annulled.

I was wondering if similar situations occur in non-Catholic denominations? I haven’t really seen anything like that in the non-denominational or independent churches I have been involved with.

Maybe Lutherans and Anglicans have similar laws regarding valid marriages? It seems to be a major sticking point for people that are converting to Catholicism. Is that true of other Christian Communities?

While the Lutheran church doesn’t have an official council that determines the validity of a marriage, there are many pastors who refuse to, for instance, preside over a marriage in which one or both partners were divorced previously for an invalid reason. There is also usually premarital counseling in which the pastor can get a feel for the relationship’s motivations and dynamics. Those decisions are generally left up to the conscience of the individual pastor though, and if that couple is married civilly (either by another minister or justice of the peace) the church would usually have no problem accepting them into the fold.

 

[1ke]

I’ve read a lot of threads on here about what constitutes a valid marriage in the Catholic Church, well I guess more about what makes them invalid or able to be annulled.

I was wondering if similar situations occur in non-Catholic denominations?

The only other Christian Churches (or ecclesial communities) that have a required form for validity (or even the concept of validity) are the Orthodox Churches.

Others do not have the same understanding of marriage in the Sacramental Economy.