A Short Presentation Of The Theory And Practice In The Course Of Human History

Complementary of relationship is basic element of human life. Shared the life of man and woman in
marriage appears at the very dawn of humanity as an expression of the basic constituent element of
human life. Cultures and societies have provided a multiplicity of ways in which this phenomenon has
been explained.We shall try to understand some of them. This will  enable us to situate our Christian
understanding of marriage in a correct perspective.


Marriage as an secular reality.Marriage is basically a secular reality, although throughout
history it has been surrounded by religious rites and ceremonies.Vatican II express the secular character of
marriage in this terms: " The intimate partnership of life and love which constitutes the married state has been
established by the creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws...All of this have a very important
bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of every
member of the family and of the whole human race". We can distinguish the following elements in order to
highlight the secular character of marriage.


It is rooted in the creative act of God. The image of God in the human person is reflected in the partnership of love which constitutes marriage. The divine is made visible in the human at creation through the partnership of love lived in complementary.

In marriage human sexuality becomes a dynamic symbol of divine creative power.The divine becomes human persons in the loving self-gift of the human persons to each other. "This  is a far cry from mere erotic attraction which is pursued in selfishness and soon fades away into wretchedness ".


Through marriage the creative love of God becomes permanently active in human society.The growth of human society which God wants to effect takes place through human cooperation.The continuation of humanity is dependant on  the exercise of the participation of human beings in the creative act of God through the exercise of their sexual complementary. "Humanity as such does not exist. It exist only as man and woman. It is only in togetherness that human existence can be fulfilled in the fully human sense.


Marriage is the natural sacraments of divine love.Despite the fact that the Bible raises human sexuality and the relationship between man and woman to such a high level , it never deifies sex or erotic love in the way that it was deified in other religions of the ancient Near East. The finite and limited love between man and woman is rather the image of an unconditional limitless love which God has for human beings. We may say that marriage is an earthly reality which prepares human beings to enter into that perfect communion with God. " It is therefore possible to speak, in this sense,of a natural sacrament of marriage, as indeed the Church's tradition does.

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Marriage in the Old Testament

Here we deal with the practice and understanding of marriage in the life of Israelites beginning with Abraham.

Types of marriage.The marriage practice of the Israelites was very much influenced by the neighboring peoples. There are four types of marriage in ancient Israel: Polygamy (David and Solomon)
which seems to have been the privilege  of  the rich,bigamy (Leah and Rachel for Jacob) concubines
(Abraham,Sara and Hagar), which involved  a legal wife and a concubine, and monogamy which received
more existence mainly in the post exilic period.


Marriage celebration.  Marriage was a family affair which required actually no public or religiuos
ceremonies. It became effective by the mere act of bringing the bride into the house of the bridegroom.Though
as an institution it was never in the hands of the priest. It was still celebrated with some religious elements for it was  considered to be sacred.

Theology of Marriage. From the account of the creation it is clear that the essence of complementarity and equity is the way that God intended the relationship between man and woman to be from the beginning (Gen. 1,27). But the story of the fall clearly shows that the inequality of the sexes in the life of the Israelites was a punishment that resulted from the fall and was not intended by God from the very beginning. Obviously marriage was presented as God's plan to increase the human race (Gen. 1,28).
There is a deep sense of complementarity, sense of bonding, sense of unity in the narrative of the creation of Eve. This is manifested in marriage as is evident from Gen. 1,20-24. The genesis account clearly shows that God  intended marriage in terms of monogamy. The other trends entered into marriage practice through the influence of the people in the midst of whom the Israelites lived.In the later periods of the history of Israel,the
concept of fidelity to the covenant between God and Israel becomes a model for marital relationship (Is. 54, 6-70). Marriage  is relationship that should not be taken lightly. In the book of Deuteronomy the indissoluble character of marriage is presented with some exceptions which Jesus would explain as a concession for  human weakness (Deut. 24, 1-4)... But prophet Malachi speaks of a significant change in the matter of indissolubility: "For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel" (Mal. 2, 15-16).

Marriage in the New Testament

Jesus' attitude towards marriage. This is expected most clearly in Mark 10:2-9,  in a controversy with
the Pharisees. Jesus is confronted with the question of divorce. Jesus did not enter into the casuistry,
but raises the whole matter to a higher level. And points to the original order of God's creation. His
conclusion is " what God has joined together,let no man put asunder". It would be wrong to under-
stand the pronouncement of Jesus about marriage as a legal statement.It is above all a prophetic
and messianic proclamation, an affirmation of salvation and grace. In Jesus' proclamation, marriage
 is seen both as part of the original order of creation and as an aspect of the order of salvation of God
in his kingdom of love and faithfulness in future.

The Christological understanding of marriage.There is a change in the
understanding of marriage with the coming of Christ. Marriage which is closely linked to humanity,
as we have seen earlier,will have to be understand in a new way.Paul expresses it by saying that Christians
should marry "in the LORD" (1Cor.7,39). Through Baptism an ontological change or a deep personal transformation takes place in the Christians.They are united with Christ not merely on an ideological plane,
but on a personal level.In marriage the relationship between husband and wife is grafted into the personal
relationship between Christ and the Church established by Christ (Eph.5,25). When Christians enter into marriage relationship the following take place:

The key to unity between husband and wife is in the fact that both are integrated into the self-gift of Christ.
The subjection of the wife to husband should not be understood in a juridical sense,but in a personal and organic sense; in the same way the self-gift of husband to the wife should also be understood. their roles as
husband and wife acquire a mystical dimension through Christian marriage.There is no superiority or inferiority,but only only complementary of function. This expressed very beautifully in 1 Cor. 7,4. "For the
wife does not have authority over her own body,but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have
authority over his own body,but the wife has". thus a new kind of marriage takes place when Christian enter into marriage in Christ. It is not merely a marriage of creation, but a marriage of the new creation which integrates them into the self-giving of Christ.

Marriage in Christian tradition

In the Patristic Period. The early Christian took great care to see that the Christians entered into marriage by choosing partners who were members of the faith community because of the deep meaning that they gave to to Christian understanding of marriage in Christ which we have explained above.Apart from that there were no Christian marriage rituals.They simply got married according to the civil customs and ceremonies of the day.There was little involvement of the clergy and their presence was not required for validity.The only active role of the clergy was the blessing of the spouses, a custom that become widespread without becoming obligatory and without a prescribed formula. In some cases there was a Eucharistic celebration at which the newly wed participated and received the blessing. We have evidence of a nuptial Mass in the Roman Sacraments from 6th century onwards.


In the Middle Ages. From 11th century onwards, due to instability and weakening of civil authority, the Church took over the civil regulations of marriage. Marriage is now conducted in facie ecclesiae
(in the presence of the Church)and the social elements peculiar to earlier secular form were now incorporated
into the marriage liturgy, which had become a liturgical rite conducted by the priest. It is at this time that the Church decides that consent (the Roman juridical element)and the consummation ( the Franco-Germanic personal element) enter  as the constitutive elements of marriage.It is Pope Alexander III who declared consent as the essence of the bond of marriage and that the bond is indissoluble only after consummation.
Hence the concept of marriage ratum et consummatum.


The Council of Trent.The council of Trent in the polemic against the Reformers stressed the sacramental nature of marriage and the power of the Church to regulate marriage. It also sought to combat the evil of clandestene  marriage.It declared that in future the only valid form of marriage for Catholics would be consent declared before a priest and two witnesses. The rite itself become juridical in nature with the focus on consent and ratification of consent by the priest. This form of the rite continued until very recent times.

The teaching of Vatican II.

This represents a change of perspective.Some of the major points are:

There is a shift from the juridical to the more personalistic concept of marriage 'Contract' gives way
to the more biblical 'covenant'. " the intimate partnership (foedus = covenant) of life and the love
which constitutes the married state is rooted in their irrevocable personal consent".

Conjugal love is the concrete essence of Christian marriage,  
 reflecting as it does the covenant love of Christ for his church. " He abides with them in order that by their mutual self-giving spouses will love each other with enduring fidelity, as he loved the Church and delivered
himself for it ".


The terminology of primary and secondary ends is abandoned and the
values of marriage are listed without any hierarchical preference.

The sacramentality of marriage is not something added to the marriage union established through human love. : " Authentic married 
love is taken up into divine love and is ruled and enriched by the redemptive power of Christ and
the salvific action of the Church ".

There is an emphasis on the necessity of faith commitment for the
sacramental of marriage.Marriage is not just between baptized Christians, but between 
Christifideles , faithful Christians.All these elements are reflected in the Introduction to the New Rite of 
Marriage. 

Elements For A Correct Undrestanding Of Christian Marriage. Today

Marriage as part of God's plan.

The religious basis of marriage.. Christian speak of marriage being instituted by God as part of an overall plan
 or design for creation. They are implying that there are some givens which cannot be changed according to human whims of real intention. A religious sense of reality in general insists that people need to be guided in their decisions by the realization of something greater that is present at the heart of the world.They must draw upon the fundamental rhythm of God's creation to keep their sensitivities alive. The human agenda is not the dominant one.


The social basis of marriage.The sense of being part of a greater living whole,the society, is really the background for the Christian insistence that marriage in the Church is not simply an agreement laid down by the mutual consent of the parties involved. The couple chooses to marry in the midst of the community because it is an event that affects the rest of the community as well as their relationship with that community.


The ecclesial basis of marriage. St Paul speaks of Christian marriage as a union between man and woman in Christ. Those who live in Christ through the sacrament of Baptism constitute the Church. Christian social life has its foundation in Baptism. Christian marriage is a special expression of this new life received at Baptism, a sacrament of the Baptismal reality. The self-gift of Christ in his death and resurrection which is sacramentalized in Baptism becomes visible, public and permanent in a personal way in the lives of those who enter into marriage bond. Therefore Christian marry not only in Christ, but in the Church.


Marriage as an authentic expression of love. The underlying principal that becomes permanently operative in every manifestation of Christian life is love. Christians will be known as such by, their love for one another. Christian life consist in translating Divine love into human love. It is necessary to distinguish love from liking.The former is other centered,while the latter is self centered.Since human beings are made according to the image of God, they are complete in their being only when they are related to one another in love by which they reproduce the core of divine life,a life of communion in the diversity of the Three Divine Persons.Every Christian is called to live in communion. Each one responds to his call according to the contribution which they have to make for building up of the kingdom of God.Understood in this  sense marriage is a vocation.The natural attraction which the couples feel towards one another has to be transformed into a response of love. For this it is necessary to free the natural attraction of its  selfish content. Here we have the difference between love and lust.Love is life-giving,while lust is destructive of life. We can distinguish three qualities of love: