page_title: Marriage
section_title: Christianity
hierarchical_section_title: Marriage / Religion / Abrahamic religions / Christianity
caption_attribution_description: English: Russian church ceremony in Toronto,Canada
context_page_description: Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally recognised union between people, called spouses, that establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. The definition of marriage varies around the world, not only between cultures and between religions, but also throughout the history of any given culture and religion. Over time, it has expanded and also constricted in terms of who and what is encompassed. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity. When defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal. A marriage ceremony is called a wedding.
  Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal, social, libidinal, emotional, financial, spiritual, and religious purposes. Whom they marry may be influenced by gender, socially determined rules of incest, prescriptive marriage rules, parental choice and individual desire.
context_section_description: Modern Christianity bases its views on marriage upon the teachings of Jesus and the Paul the Apostle. Many of the largest Christian denominations regard marriage as a sacrament, sacred institution, or covenant. However, this was not the case in the Roman Catholic Church before the 1184 Council of Verona officially recognized it as such. Before then, no specific ritual was prescribed for celebrating a marriage: "Marriage vows did not have to be exchanged in a church, nor was a priest's presence required. A couple could exchange consent anywhere, anytime." The Church only formally recognized the union and it was finalized with the couple together partaking Holy Communion.
  Decrees on marriage of the Roman Catholic Council of Trent (twenty-fourth session of 1563) made the validity of marriage dependent on the wedding occurring in the presence of a priest and two witnesses. The absence of a requirement of parental consent ended a debate that proceeded from the 12th century. In the case of a civil divorce, the innocent spouse had and has no right to marry again until the death of the other spouse terminates the still valid marriage, even if the other spouse was guilty of adultery.
  The Christian Church performed marriages in the narthex of the church prior to the 16th century, when the emphasis was on the marital contract and betrothal. Subsequently, the ceremony moved inside the sacristy of the church.
  Christians often marry for religious reasons, ranging from following the biblical injunction for a "man to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one", to accessing the Divine grace of the Roman Catholic Sacrament.
  Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, as well as many Anglicans and Methodists, consider marriage termed holy matrimony to be an expression of divine grace, termed a sacrament and mystery in the first two Christian traditions. In Western ritual, the ministers of the sacrament are the spouses themselves, with a bishop, priest, or deacon merely witnessing the union on behalf of the Church and blessing it. In Eastern ritual churches, the bishop or priest functions as the actual minister of the Sacred Mystery; Eastern Orthodox deacons may not perform marriages. Western Christians commonly refer to marriage as a vocation, while Eastern Christians consider it an ordination and a martyrdom, though the theological emphases indicated by the various names are not excluded by the teachings of either tradition. Marriage is commonly celebrated in the context of a Eucharistic service (a nuptial Mass or Divine Liturgy). The sacrament of marriage is indicative of the relationship between Christ and the Church.
  The Roman Catholic tradition of the 12th and 13th centuries defined marriage as a sacrament ordained by God, signifying the mystical marriage of Christ to his Church.
  The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.
  For Catholic and Methodist Christians, the mutual love between husband and wife becomes an image of the eternal love with which God loves humankind. In the United Methodist Church, the celebration of Holy Matrimony ideally occurs in the context of a Service of Worship, which includes the celebration of the Eucharist. Likewise, the celebration of marriage between two Catholics normally takes place during the public liturgical celebration of the Holy Mass, because of its sacramental connection with the unity of the Paschal mystery of Christ (Communion). Sacramental marriage confers a perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses. By its nature, the institution of marriage and conjugal love is ordered to the procreation and upbringing of offspring. Marriage creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children: "[e]ntering marriage with the intention of never having children is a gr
caption: Russian orthodox wedding ceremony
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