question about marriage...

[sarotara]

I thought someone here might know about this... I'm having an argument with someone over the length of time that the the Roman Catholic allows to pass between a legal state wedding and a church wedding? Anyone has any ideas of what it is, or whether there is even a time limit set by the church between the two? Thanks!

 

[Chryso]

Could you please rephrase the question?

 

[Jon855]

HUh the min you get wed == MARRIED, and no more waiting or BS...

 

[Linflas]

This is probably the absolute worst place you could pick to ask this question. If the answer is even provided you will have a tough time finding it among all the Catholic and Christian bashing sure to take place in this thread.

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: sarotara
I thought someone here might know about this... I'm having an argument with someone over the length of time that the the Roman Catholic allows to pass between a legal state wedding and a church wedding? Anyone has any ideas of what it is, or whether there is even a time limit set by the church between the two? Thanks!

So you mean you'd like to get legally married, then have an "official church ceremony" at a later date and you want to know if there is a limit as to how far these two events can be?

Anyway, I don't know the answer.

 

[sarotara]

Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

 

[Chryso]

I have never heard of them having any rules like you are talking about as long as neither of you is divorced.
Pick up a phone book and call a local church.

 

[sarotara]

Originally posted by: Linflas
This is probably the absolute worst place you could pick to ask this question. If the answer is even provided you will have a tough time finding it among all the Catholic and Christian bashing sure to take place in this thread.

I'm not trying to start an argument here over religion or anything and I don't think the question induces any religious bashing anyway. It's a question, and not my opinion about religion.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: sarotara

Originally posted by: Linflas
This is probably the absolute worst place you could pick to ask this question. If the answer is even provided you will have a tough time finding it among all the Catholic and Christian bashing sure to take place in this thread.

I'm not trying to start an argument here over religion or anything and I don't think the question induces any religious bashing anyway. It's a question, and not my opinion about religion.

You'll learn it doesn't generally take much more than a mention of religion in ATOT to get a flame-fest started.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

that sounds about right. Or the church simply doesn't recognize your marriage at all.

 

[thirtythree]

The LDS church suggests that you wait a year, I believe. Not that that helps you.

 

[Hammer]

as far as i know, there is no length of time because even if you are married legally, as far the church is concerned, you are not married.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

The church does not recognize civil marriages at all. Whether or not a couple is civilly married doesn't bear at all on whether or not the church will marry them. They can get married in the church the day after, or twenty years after, their civil wedding.

 

[Kyteland]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ne_Temere

I couldn't find anything about a time limit.

Getting married? :Q

 

[sarotara]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

The church does not recognize civil marriages at all. Whether or not a couple is civilly married doesn't bear at all on whether or not the church will marry them. They can get married in the church the day after, or twenty years after, their civil wedding.

Ahh, thank you I thought that was the case.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
The church does not recognize civil marriages at all. Whether or not a couple is civilly married doesn't bear at all on whether or not the church will marry them. They can get married in the church the day after, or twenty years after, their civil wedding.

Of course this means the church will consider that you have been "living in sin" and committing adultery for all of that time since you were not married.

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

This might vary from one particular state/locality to another ... but

I believe that a legal and binding marriage must be recognized/sanctioned by the government. This is why you most often have to get a marriage license. You can have a Catholic priest officiate over your marriage and it will be legally binding and recognized by the Church.

If you are only married by a govenrment official, the event is recognized as legal and binding by the state/locality. At this point, you are already married according to the rule of law. If you choose to go further and have the Catholic Church recognize the marriage, I am certainly not an authority, but I am not aware of any restriction that would prevent the priest from recognizing the existance of the prior marriage event and further asking for God's blessing on the marriage.

As far as officiating over another marriage, I'm not sure that would be technically feesible from a point of law perspective. You are already married...

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: boggsie

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

This might vary from one particular state/locality to another ... but

I believe that a legal and binding marriage must be recognized/sanctioned by the government. This is why you most often have to get a marriage license. You can have a Catholic priest officiate over your marriage and it will be legally binding and recognized by the Church.

If you are only married by a govenrment official, the event is recognized as legal and binding by the state/locality. At this point, you are already married according to the rule of law. If you choose to go further and have the Catholic Church recognize the marriage, I am certainly not an authority, but I am not aware of any restriction that would prevent the priest from recognizing the existance of the prior marriage event and further asking for God's blessing on the marriage.

As far as officiating over another marriage, I'm not sure that would be technically feesible from a point of law perspective. You are already married...

Marriage in the Catholic church is far, far more than just "God's blessing on the marriage." (The Catholics are funny that way; all these wierd rules and stuff.) There is no ceremony to get the Catholic church to "recognize the marriage" that was done in a civil ceremony short of a full marriage in the church.

The Catholic Church only recognizes marriages that were performed by the church (or another church that has fundamentally the same beliefs as Catholicism; I'm not sure about the details.) If a couple that was married in a civil ceremony came to the church, the church could marry them so that the church would recognize their union. This would have no effect on the legal marriage; which of course would still be valid from the original civil ceremony.

My brother and his wife were married in a civil ceremony a couple of years before they were married by the church. While a full mass isn't needed, the church does perform the sacrament of marriage for these couples just as any other couple getting married by the church.

CLIFF NOTES:
The law recognizes marriages performed by the church. (The church complies with legal requirements.)
The church does not recognize marriages performed in a civil ceremony.

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink

Originally posted by: boggsie

Originally posted by: sarotara
Ok... My question is whether the Roman Catholic church imposes a time limit on the amount of time that is allowed to pass between a non-religious, legal, state wedding, and a religious (in the church) wedding. So, for example, if you marry someone legally in the state that you live in but you don't have a wedding in the church (assuming the Roman Catholic faith) can you go back any time that you want to and have a church wedding? Or does the Roman Catholic church say something along the lines of "you need to marry in a church an X amount of days after your legal state wedding or we will not allow you to have a church wedding after that time passes."

This might vary from one particular state/locality to another ... but

I believe that a legal and binding marriage must be recognized/sanctioned by the government. This is why you most often have to get a marriage license. You can have a Catholic priest officiate over your marriage and it will be legally binding and recognized by the Church.

If you are only married by a govenrment official, the event is recognized as legal and binding by the state/locality. At this point, you are already married according to the rule of law. If you choose to go further and have the Catholic Church recognize the marriage, I am certainly not an authority, but I am not aware of any restriction that would prevent the priest from recognizing the existance of the prior marriage event and further asking for God's blessing on the marriage.

As far as officiating over another marriage, I'm not sure that would be technically feesible from a point of law perspective. You are already married...

Marriage in the Catholic church is far, far more than just "God's blessing on the marriage." (The Catholics are funny that way; all these wierd rules and stuff.) There is no ceremony to get the Catholic church to "recognize the marriage" that was done in a civil ceremony short of a full marriage in the church.

The Catholic Church only recognizes marriages that were performed by the church (or another church that has fundamentally the same beliefs as Catholicism; I'm not sure about the details.) If a couple that was married in a civil ceremony came to the church, the church could marry them so that the church would recognize their union. This would have no effect on the legal marriage; which of course would still be valid from the original civil ceremony.

My brother and his wife were married in a civil ceremony a couple of years before they were married by the church. While a full mass isn't needed, the church does perform the sacrament of marriage for these couples just as any other couple getting married by the church.

CLIFF NOTES:
The law recognizes marriages performed by the church. (The church complies with legal requirements.)
The church does not recognize marriages performed in a civil ceremony.

This is not entirely correct. The term is properly refered to as "convalidation" whereby a prior marriage is formally recognized by the Catholic Church.