Marriage and the State

If I got married in a church by an orthodox priest,anointed with oil, and partake of the Holy Mysteries, why do I need a marriage certificate from the State? Furthermore, if I choose not to have a marriage license and certificate, does that mean my marriage is null before God?

Comments

  • Isn't the answer obvious? Of course you don't need a marriage license from the state.
  • Does that mean we shouldn't care how the state defines marriage - homosexual or otherwise - since it has nothing to do with us?
  • edited January 2015
    Actually, you do need a marriage certificate from the state to get married in the coptic orthodox church. I can get more details from my church father home when I see him but I believe that the order of things to do is this:
    -Register with civil registry to get married
    -Get married in the Church
    -Then, through document's given by the Church, you get a marriage certificate.

     
  • Khepra, 

    I agree with you (and I assume your first question was to get to asking the second.) Marriage is a spiritual institution of God, and so if a marriage is not accepted by the state, yet blessed by God, what value is there to what the state says (apart from tax benefits)? For example, if the state fails to recognize a clergy member of our church as such, is this clergy member forbidden from officiating the sacraments? No! For God's ordination far supersedes the state's objection. 

    The reverse is true. While the state, for example, my grant a civil divorce to a man who's wife gained a lot of weight since they've been married,  the church does not recognize the divorce, and the couple is still married in the eyes of the church (hence why the man cannot re-marry since he is still married to the tubbo :P) So in that case, the state an do what it wants, but the church refused to accept the divorce. It seems to follow that we should thus not care what the state says about gay marriage. Let the state bless whatever it wills. The church is the sole definer of marriage. 

    "Let them eat cake." "Let them marry gays"

    Ray

    Ps. The new site facelift is really nice :)
  • @ReturnOrthodoxy Thanks for summing up everything I pretty much believed in anyway. Vive l'anarchie!

    @minatasgeel Why? It just seems like a waste of time, money and a pollution of the Church by the State. Why do Copts think that the State is a good thing? There are many issues such as this where we seem to have relegated to the state some of the church's responsibilities and have blindly accepted what they say.
  • Khepra wrote, "If I got married in a church by an orthodox priest,anointed with oil, and partake of the Holy Mysteries, why do I need a marriage certificate from the State?"
    Because it is the law (at least in every state in the United States). Matt 22:21 does not give people or religion the authority to ignore the law. Whether or not you politically disagree that States have a right to require marriage certificates, it is not up for debate. You need a marriage certificate from the state.

    "Furthermore, if I choose not to have a marriage license and certificate, does that mean my marriage is null before God?"
    Technically, as minatasgeel alluded to, a Coptic crowning sacraments requires a civil certificate of marriage, not because a civil certificate validates a Coptic sacrament, but because that is how the Church decided to do it orderly and properly. So if you decided you're not going to waste your time on a civil certificate, then don't waste your time with a crowning sacrament either. And without the sacrament, any so called marriage is null before God (Matt 16:19).
  • Khepra said:

    Does that mean we shouldn't care how the state defines marriage - homosexual or otherwise - since it has nothing to do with us?

    True. Most Orthodox Christians therefore oppose same sex marriage for social, not explicitly religious, reasons.
  • Matthew 22:21 doesn't specify what belongs to Caesar. Couldn't He have meant nothing belongs to Caesar? Furthermore, when were marriage licenses and certificates invented? It just seems like a scam (like every sort of crap the government tries to spin) to settle taxes etc. Why do we have government approval for this specific Mystery and not any of the others, such as repentance, unction of the sick and communion, etc.? I was always taught that marriage isn't a covenant between a man and woman, but between the couple and God. Who knew God meant government? Not me.
  • edited January 2015

    "Matthew 22:21 doesn't specify what belongs to Caesar. Couldn't He have meant nothing belongs to Caesar?"
    It is possible but highly unlikely. If Christ wanted to say nothing belongs to Caesar, he would have said it clearer. Maybe he would have used a parable. But Christ was not a Roman anarchist. He was a Pharisaical anarchist. (Although since He is the one with the real authority, we really can't call him an anarchist). If nothing belongs to Caesar, then why did God allow Joseph and Mary to register for the census? Or why did Paul appeal to Caesar for a trial if nothing belongs to Caesar? It seems anti-biblical and anti-Christian to be an antidisestablishmentarianist at face value. Now if the establishment/government is corrupt and immoral, then the Christian thing to do is witness against it. However, the use of marriage certificates does not rise to the level of corruption.

     "Furthermore, when were marriage licenses and certificates invented?"

    Well divorce certificates were found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 24:1, Isa 50:1, Jer 3:8) and the New Testament (Mat 5:31, 19:7, Mk 10:4). One would assume that a marriage certificate was also in play (at least a verbal certificate of agreement). In Europe, written marriage certificates were found about 400-500 years ago. The practice continued to the British colonies include the US. 

    "It just seems like a scam (like every sort of crap the government tries to spin) to settle taxes etc." 
    It probably started out worse than just taxes. "According to the North Carolina History project, in 1741, the state increased control over marriages, primarily to prohibit interracial marriages by issuing marriage licenses. By the 1920s, some 38 other states had issued similar laws in an effort to keep the white race "pure." Virginia's Racial Integrity Act (RIA) of 1924 made it illegal for mixed-race couples to marry. The RIA remained law until 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared Virginia's ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional." 
    But you are correct. "By the latter part of the 19th century, states began to "nullify common-law marriages (Church authorized, non-civil marriages can be included too) and exert more control over who was allowed to marry," says Stephanie Coontz in a 2007 "New York Times" article. The primary reason for government control of marriage licenses remains for vital statistics recording and continues as a source of revenue for local and state governments." 

    I guess one could argue that drivers licenses are also nothing more than vital statistic recording and a means for enforcement of taxes and drafting. (And this happens all the time). Even in this case, it is still a law and it is morally applicable for the welfare of the state.

    "Why do we have government approval for this specific Mystery and not any of the others, such as repentance, unction of the sick and communion, etc?" 
    Good point. I guess there are two reasons. 1. The state really doesn't care if an individual is a sinner, who is sick and seeking religious remedies of medical science (unless it becomes a threat to the general public). 2. The Constitution insists on a separation of Church and State. Thus, if the state seeks all this information, it will likely be thrown out by the Supreme Court. I think marriage licenses exist and persist because of the history of American legislature. I guess if enough religious groups challenged State marriage licenses to the Supreme court, it would be revoked. But the state does have the authority to count/hold a census, regardless of religious opposition.

    "I was always taught that marriage isn't a covenant between a man and woman, but between the couple and God. Who knew God meant government?"
    Of course, a marriage is a covenant between a couple and God. The government is not God. It will never be and no one will accept a theocracy in the US (and likely any other country in the world). But marriage is not exclusively beneficial to the couple and their God only. It can (and should) be a means for a government to count their citizens. It doesn't have to be, but it is helpful for the state, which in turn is helpful for the general public. Don't conflate the two reasons for marriage certificates.  

    Thank you for the discussion.

  • @Remnkemi Thanks. 

    However, you mentioned this stuff about 'church and state'. Our head of state is the Queen and leader of the Church of England. Our law may espouse freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination (even though our attorney general actually stood in the senate and said people have the right to be bigots) but the lines are too blurred for my liking. Furthermore, I wish you all the best with your newly elected Bible-toting congress.
  • ha ha, are you canadian?
    may God bless you as you shine the light of His love to those around you.
    and happy Christmas!
    :-)
  • Australian. Canada is far too sensible to have a moron like our attorney general. (Except maybe Rob Ford. That guy was a crack up).
  • No pun intended
  • oops, forgot australia still has the british queen as well.
    but it's true that we should support our countries and live as good citizens.
    marriage is one of many ways we can do that.
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