The story behind the sacrament of marriage
When we examine the history of marriage as a sacrament, we learn that the church found at least some evidence that Jesus instituted the other six sacraments of the church. A few theologians believed that Jesus might have instituted matrimony at the marriage feast at Cana. That proved to be too much a stretch of the ecclesial imagination. The wedding feast at Cana is important not because Jesus “made” a sacrament there, but because it was the first great sign in St. John’s Gospel that the kingdom of God was beginning. And Jesus was there to ensure that there was enough wine to celebrate this. Marriage as part of God’s world had a different kind of history. Unlike the other sacraments, marriage preceded the coming of Christ, going all the way back to the dawn of human time. It is thought the names given to that first married couple were Adam and Eve.
Surprisingly in early Christianity the presence of a priest or bishop at marriage ceremonies was not required. Additionally the religious aspects within wedding ceremonies today, were thought of as unnecessary in the first twelve hundred years in Christianity. It was not until the sixteenth century during the Council of Trent that a bishop or priest was then deemed necessary to in order to validate a marriage.
The road to having this kind of contractual marriage become a sacrament was traveled under three powerful impulses. These impulses consisted of a renewed interest in Augustine and his teachings on marriage, the impetus of a grand spiritual renewal that gripped Europe during the eleventh and twelfth centuries and Gnosticism revived, this time under the name of the Albigensian heresy.
It is evident that marriage existed long before Christ. Marriage has been justified as a sacrament on the basis of St. Paul’s teaching that it was a living sign of Jesus’ convenient with his church. It was an outward sign of his inner love. The grace of the sacrament was to assist the couple to grow in holiness and perform their married duties.
Marriage being a sacrament was eventually settled only by Pius IX of the nineteenth century and the 1917 Code of Canon Law (c. 1012).
Surprisingly in early Christianity the presence of a priest or bishop at marriage ceremonies was not required. Additionally the religious aspects within wedding ceremonies today, were thought of as unnecessary in the first twelve hundred years in Christianity. It was not until the sixteenth century during the Council of Trent that a bishop or priest was then deemed necessary to in order to validate a marriage.
The road to having this kind of contractual marriage become a sacrament was traveled under three powerful impulses. These impulses consisted of a renewed interest in Augustine and his teachings on marriage, the impetus of a grand spiritual renewal that gripped Europe during the eleventh and twelfth centuries and Gnosticism revived, this time under the name of the Albigensian heresy.
It is evident that marriage existed long before Christ. Marriage has been justified as a sacrament on the basis of St. Paul’s teaching that it was a living sign of Jesus’ convenient with his church. It was an outward sign of his inner love. The grace of the sacrament was to assist the couple to grow in holiness and perform their married duties.
Marriage being a sacrament was eventually settled only by Pius IX of the nineteenth century and the 1917 Code of Canon Law (c. 1012).
Thomas, 2007 and Bausch, 1998
beliefs and values of the sacrament of marriage
Marriage symbolises the values of love and commitment a man and a woman have for one another. The ceremony itself is a celebration of this love and commitment and what follows as marriage is a continuance of these values.
As cited in Kain (1993) it is believed that “God is Love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in that person (I Jn 4:16)”. A married couple “know God” through their love for each other and thus they experience the sacred through their connection.
As cited in Kain (1993) it is believed that “God is Love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in that person (I Jn 4:16)”. A married couple “know God” through their love for each other and thus they experience the sacred through their connection.