ORTHODOX DIVORCE

The Orthodox Church firmly believes in the sanctity of the marriage bond. Our Lord defended the sanctity of marriage and St. Paul refers to marriage as a “great mystery”, likening the relationship of husband and wife to that of Christ and the Church. Due to this deep concern for the ongoing relationship of the married couple the Church always seeks to first attempt a sincere reconciliation of differences between husband and wife before initiating the divorce process.

Even though the Orthodox Church has such a strong stance regarding the eternal nature of marriage, She acknowledges that some marriages cease to be viable preventing the couple from working out (their) salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). With deep sadness, the Church recognizes that some marriages die spiritually, and that broken and seriously dysfunctional relationships are destructive to the well-being of the spouses and children involved. In these cases, the church permits its faithful to exit an inherently destructive situation.

Conditions for Petitioning for Ecclesiastical Divorce

Although a civil decree of divorce legally dissolves a marriage in the eyes of the civil authorities, it does not dissolve a marriage in the eyes of the Church if the marriage was blessed in the Orthodox Church. While the Church is under no obligation to grant a divorce just because a civil court granted a civil divorce there is a process within Church Canon Law in which an Ecclesiastical Divorce can be granted.

  • when a marriage is entered into by force, blackmail or false reasons.
  • one or both parties is guilty of adultery.
  • one party is proven to be mad, insane or suffers from a social disease that was not disclosed to the spouse prior to the marriage.
  • one party has conspired against the life of the spouse.
  • one party is imprisoned for more than seven years.
  • one party abandons the other for more than three years without approval.
  • one partner should be absent from home without the other’s approval, except in instances when the latter is assured that such absence is due to psycho-neurotic illness.
  • one partner forces the other to engage in illicit affairs with others.
  • one partner does not fulfill the responsibilities of marriage, or when it is medically proven that one party is physically impotent or as the result of a social venereal disease.
  • one partner is an addict, thereby creating undue economic hardship.
Irreconcilable Differences

This phrase has become a very common reason for modern cases of divorce. It refers to a situation in which two married people discover at some point along the road that they are “not compatible,” which means, they don’t get along emotionally, spiritually, or physically.

The Eastern Orthodox Church does not permit divorce on the grounds of “irreconcilable
differences.”

This is due to the Church’s rejection of the underlying secular assumption behind the concept of “irreconcilable differences.” Our culture tends to think of a successful marriage as one in which husband and wife are soulmates who match each other perfectly.

The Christian understanding of marriage takes a very different view. The union of the two genders in one relationship speaks of the one Person of Christ in whom two natures are united. And this union, St. Paul says, is a “great mystery.” In the Church males and female possess distinct roles and add to that our imperfections arising from life in a fallen world, rather than complementary beings, each partner is unique and different.

Couples living the secular myth of “soulmates” eventually encounter the fallen state of their partner and discover that they really are two different people as they are seeking happiness without regard for the sacrificial nature of marriage. When this happens, the result may well be divorce because they can’t or won’t reconcile the dissimilarities. On the other hand, couples who understand Jesus’ commandment to “love one another as I have loved you”, understand that irreconcilable differences in a relationship are not the end, but the very beginning of their calling to show forth the mystery of Christ in their marriage.

Initiating the Ecclesiastical Divorce Process

If such grounds exist, after one year of the issuance of the civil decree of divorce, a petition may be filed with the priest for the ecclesiastical dissolution of the marriage. At that time, the petitioner, who must be current with his/her Stewardship Pledge, needs to submit the following:

  • The Orthodox Church Marriage Certificate
  • A certified copy of the civil decree of divorce
  • A signed petition to the Ecclesiastical Court stating the grounds of divorce
  • A money order or cashier check for $350 made out to the “Greek Orthodox Diocese of Detroit” for the processing of the Ecclesiastical Divorce.

These four items, along with the priest’s report as to the results of his efforts to reconcile the couple, are then submitted to the Metropolitan. The Metropolitan reviews the file, and if there are valid grounds for an Ecclesiastical Divorce a date is set for the Ecclesiastical Court to be held. If the Ecclesiastical Court finds sufficient grounds for divorce, the Metropolitan will issue the official decree.

For more information concerning Ecclesiastical Divorce, please contact one of our priests.