Editing Christian views on marriage (section)

=== Catholicism ===
{{Main|Catholic marriage}}
[[File:Crowning in Syro-Malabar Nasrani Wedding by Mar Gregory Karotemprel.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Mystery of Crowning]] during Holy Matrimony in the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]]]]
[[File:Pinacoteca Querini Stampalia - I sette sacramenti, 1755-57, (05 matrimonio) - Pietro longhi.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Catholic couple at their Holy Matrimony or marriage. In the [[Latin liturgical rites]] of the Catholic Church, during the celebration the [[priesthood (Catholic Church)|priest]] imposes his [[stole (vestment)|liturgical stole]] upon the couple's hands, as a sign to confirm the marriage bond.]]

Today all [[Christians|Christian]] denominations regard marriage as a sacred institution, a covenant. Roman Catholics consider it to be a [[sacrament]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ritesrituals/weddings_1.shtml |title=Religions – Christianity: Marriage and weddings |publisher=BBC }}</ref> Marriage was officially recognized as a sacrament at the 1184 Council of Verona.<ref name="FiorenzaGalvin">{{cite book|editor1=Francis Schüssler Fiorenza|editor2=John P. Galvin|title=Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tp7KLNb3xcC&q=Fiorenza+%22Innocent+III+required&pg=PA320|access-date=7 October 2014|volume=2|year=1991|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-1-4514-0795-2|page=320}}</ref><ref name=monger/> Before then, no specific ritual was prescribed for celebrating a marriage: "Marriage vows did not have to be exchanged in a church, nor was a priest's presence required. A couple could exchange consent anywhere, anytime."<ref name=monger/><ref>{{cite book |title = Marriage, sex, and civic culture in late medieval London|last = McSheffrey|first = Shannon|year = 2006|publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn = 978-0-8122-3938-6|page = 21|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dJX_Nr2fdzAC|access-date = April 16, 2012}}</ref>

In the decrees on marriage of the [[Council of Trent]] (twenty-fourth session from 1563), the validity of marriage was made dependent upon the wedding taking place before a priest and two witnesses,<ref name=monger/><ref name=omalley/> although the lack of a requirement for parental consent ended a debate that had proceeded from the 12th century.<ref name=omalley/> In the case of a divorce, the right of the innocent party to marry again was denied so long as the other party was alive, even if the other party had committed adultery.<ref name=omalley>
* {{cite book|first=John W.|last=O'Malley|editor-first1=Marcia B.|editor-last1=Hall|editor1-link=Marcia Hall|editor-first2=Tracy E.|editor-last2=Cooper|title=The Sensuous in the Counter-Reformation Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-AnYifgRz7QC&pg=PA31|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-01323-0|page=31}}{{failed verification|date=December 2019}}
* {{cite book|first=John W.|last=O'Malley|title=Trent: What Happened at the Council|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-wH546BIsUC&pg=PA225|date=15 January 2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-06760-8|page=225}}
* {{cite book|last=O’Malley|first=John|title=The Council of Trent. Myths, Misunderstandings and Unintended Consequences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3FFCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|date=22 May 2013|publisher=Gregorian Biblical BookShop|isbn=978-88-7839-255-7|page=6}}</ref>

The Catholic Church allowed marriages to take place inside churches only starting with the 16th century, beforehand religious marriages happened on the porch of the church.<ref name=monger>{{cite book|last1=Monger|first1=George P.|year=2004|chapter=Christian Weddings|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o8JlWxBYs40C&q=marriage+ceremony+%22early+christianity%22&pg=PA70|title=Marriage Customs of the World: From Henna to Honeymoons|location=Santa Barbara, CA|publisher=ABC CLIO|pages=[https://archive.org/details/marriagecustomso0000mong/page/70 70–71]|isbn=9781576079874|oclc=469368346|url=https://archive.org/details/marriagecustomso0000mong/page/70}}</ref>

The [[Roman Catholic Church]] teaches that God himself is the author of the sacred institution of marriage, which is His way of showing love for those He created. Marriage is an eternal sacred institution that can never ever be broken, even if the husband or wife lived separately due to compilcated issues but always bound to solved eventually together no matter how challenging it is; as long as they are both alive, the Church considers them bound together by God. Holy Matrimony is another name for sacramental marriage. Marriage is intended to be a faithful, exclusive, lifelong and eternal union of a man and a woman. Committing themselves completely to each other, a Catholic husband and wife strive to sanctify each other, bring children into the world, and educate them in the Catholic way of life. Man and woman, although created differently from each other, complement each other. This complementarity draws them together in a mutually loving union.<ref>{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|editor=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|editor-link=Vatican Publishing House|access-date=2009-07-22|pages=1602–1605|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P51.HTM}}</ref>

The valid marriage of baptized Christians is one of the seven [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|Roman Catholic sacraments]]. The sacrament of marriage is the only sacrament that a priest does not administer directly; a priest, however, is the chief witness of the husband and wife's administration of the sacrament to each other at the wedding ceremony in a Catholic church.

The Roman Catholic Church views that Christ himself established the sacrament of marriage at the [[Wedding at Cana|wedding feast of Cana]]; therefore, since it is a divine institution, neither the Church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage. Husband and wife give themselves totally to each other in a union that lasts until death.<ref>{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|editor=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|editor-link=Vatican Publishing House|access-date=2009-07-22|page=1643|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P55.HTM}}</ref>

[[File:Arberesh Byzantine Catholic wedding.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Arbëreshë people|Arbëreshë]] [[Albanians|Albanian]] couple during marriage in an [[Italo-Greek Catholic Church]] rite.]]

[[Priest]]s are instructed that marriage is part of God's natural law and to support the couple if they do choose to marry. Today it is common for Roman Catholics to enter into a "mixed marriage" between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic. Couples entering into a mixed marriage are usually allowed to marry in a Catholic church provided their decision is of their own accord and they intend to remain together for life, to be faithful to each other, and to have children which are brought up in the Catholic faith.<ref>{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|editor=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|editor-link=Vatican Publishing House|access-date=2009-07-22|pages=1633–1637|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P53.HTM}}</ref>

[[File:Lokajski - Ślub powstańczej pary (1944).jpg|thumb|left|160px|During the [[Warsaw Uprising]] (1944), a [[Polish people|Polish]] couple, members of an [[Armia Krajowa]] resistance group, are married in a secret Catholic chapel in a street in [[Warsaw]].]]

In Roman Catholic teaching, marriage has two objectives: the good of the spouses themselves,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church |url=http://archeparchy.ca/wcm-docs/docs/catechism-of-the-catholic-church.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410024805/http://archeparchy.ca/wcm-docs/docs/catechism-of-the-catholic-church.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-10 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the procreation and education of children (1983 code of canon law, c.1055; 1994 catechism, par.2363). Hence "entering marriage with the intention of never having children is a grave wrong and more than likely grounds for an [[Annulment (Catholic Church)|annulment]]."<ref>McLachlan, P. "Sacrament of Holy Matrimony."</ref> It is normal procedure for a priest to ask the prospective bride and groom about their plans to have children before officiating at their wedding. The Roman Catholic Church may refuse to marry anyone unwilling to have children, since procreation by "the marriage act" is a fundamental part of marriage.<ref name="humanae_vitae">[[Pope Paul VI]]."Humanæ Vitæ." 1968-7-25. Accessed: 2009-7-22</ref> Thus usage of any form of [[contraception]], [[in vitro fertilization]], or [[birth control]] besides [[natural family planning]] is a grave offense against the sanctity of marriage and ultimately against God.<ref name="humanae_vitae" />