Civil Annulment's Effect on Church Marriage?

Details: Created on Thursday, 17 June 2010 18:22

Q. This concerns a U.S. marriage. If the marriage is civilly annulled, what is the effect upon the Church marriage? Is it also annulled?

-P.

A. Civil procedures have no bearing on the Church. If the state annuls a marriage, that does not have any bearing on the Church marriage. A separate ecclesiastical divorce has to be obtained in order to marry again. There is no concept of an annulment in the Orthodox view.

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