Смешанные браки: актуальный вызов для Церквей
Mixed Marriages: the Present Challenge for the Churches

The Roman Catholic Perspective and the Orthodox Perspective

Summary/Abstract: In the article, I am focusing on the ecumenical dimension of marriage between Catholics and Orthodox Christians. In the course of history, the attitude toward mixed marriages both in the first and in the latter Church tradition has evolved to a considerable degree – from absolutely forbidding this kind of relationships to their limited acceptance and perceiving their ecumenical function. As a result, both these elements can be found side by side in the latest Church documents and in the texts of the Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue. This points to a specific identity of mixed marriages. The process of evolution of the respective stands on a Catholic-Orthodox marriage and the differences in emphasizing either aspect of the complex reality has been closely related to the Churches’ stands on the ecclesial character of other Christian denominations and on the validity of their sacraments.

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