Something I'm curious about

buzuxi02

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Something will have to give. In terms of church years the epidemic of divorce is going on 40 years which isn't long. But the problem will have to be addressed.

I said once, and I remember even an AFR podcast in which a priest said that a time may come when the sacrament of marriage may be shelved. That the understanding of Christian marriage may become so blurred it may be needed to put an end to its usage
 
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Yeah, but if marriage is a sacrament, how can it be "shelved?" If God makes something sacramental, isn't it up to clergy to keep it alive and robust?

Something will have to give. In terms of church years the epidemic of divorce is going on 40 years which isn't long. But the problem will have to be addressed.

I said once, and I remember even an AFR podcast in which a priest said that a time may come when the sacrament of marriage may be shelved. That the understanding of Christian marriage may become so blurred it may be needed to put an end to its usage
 
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buzuxi02

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The church would simply no longer offer the sacrament. They retire the liturgical service. You just do the city hall thing and the Church can offer instruction on what a Christian marriage is, the way john Chrysostom did in his Homily on the family. This way the Church will not have to deal with remarriages, or ecclesiastical divorces or employ ekonomia for this and that.
 
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ArmyMatt

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The church would simply no longer offer the sacrament. They retire the liturgical service. You just do the city hall thing and the Church can offer instruction on what a Christian marriage is, the way john Chrysostom did in his Homily on the family. This way the Church will not have to deal with remarriages, or ecclesiastical divorces or employ ekonomia for this and that.

I cannot see that happening. making it not the sacrament that it is is just basically monogomous fornication with some teaching. that sounds really off.
 
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buzuxi02

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No it would be the way it was in first few centuries when there was no church marriage service. Now that secular government is in direct competition with the church and most laity only understanding secular reasons of marriage then there is no longer a need for such a service. Most laypeople simply do not understand nor appreciate what this sacrament is, hence the 50 percent of divorce rates of which most will never get an ecckesiastical divorce even when they remarry under the secular law.
 
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ArmyMatt

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my issue was just saying that the Church would have some "instruction." even if the service is amended or changed or done away with (which I still don't see happening). I imagine there would be more than just some teaching points for the married couple. that was my point
 
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buzuxi02

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Well, I don't think it will happen neither. By instruction I meant the Church would go back to the first few centuries before they offered any church wedding ceremony; precisely because the majority of society had no idea what true marriage was and today we have have come full circle and bring our faulty baggage to the altar. When society became Christian and the state worked synergistically with the Church for the salvation of its citizens it handed marriage back to its proper place. Now that we have come full circle it may be necessary in some future time to put away the crowns and end its usage.

St John Chrysostom's on his homily on Ephesians (ch 5), concerning marriage is what I have in mind. There wasn't to my knowledge at that time any elaborate church ceremony, but he explains that true marriage is a mystery only in Christ. He explains the theology and gives instuction, he also warns Christian spouses not to imitate pagan practices because it then ceases being a mystery, unfortunately these are practices we accept today.

St John Chrysostom:

...'This then is marriage when it takes place according to Christ, spiritual marriage, and spiritual birth, not of blood nor of travail, nor of the will of the flesh.... Yes, a marriage it is, not of passion nor of the flesh, but wholly spiritual, the soul being united to God by a union unspeakable, and which He alone knows....'
 
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