Civil Annulment's Effect on Church Marriage?

Q. This concerns a U.S. marriage. If the marriage is civilly annulled, what is the effect upon the Church marriage? Is it also annulled?


-P.

A. Civil procedures have no bearing on the Church. If the state annuls a marriage, that does not have any bearing on the Church marriage. A separate ecclesiastical divorce has to be obtained in order to marry again. There is no concept of an annulment in the Orthodox view.

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Orthodox Awareness

Bartholomew Prays at Iftar

Iftar, refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after sunset.

We report the following unchanged as it was published:

"The leaders of the Armenian, Roman, Jewish and Syrian communities of Turkey sat around the fasting Iftar dinner in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul."

Community leaders met in Mevlevihane (Tekes Mevlevi) of Galata and proclaimed an encouraging message of unity.

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Missions

Holy Mother of God, Charlottesville, Virginia

Maria never thought she would start a Church. However, God creates circumstances which cause people to do things they never planned to do. She had family members that were Old Calendarists and she had even attended services at St. Markella’s Cathedral many years ago. But that all became a memory, as life’s changes brought her to her own marriage, raising children, and living in diverse locations.Charlottesville, Virginia became her and her husband's home a few years ago. They settled in to the comfortable routine of worshiping in the local New Calendar parish.

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Youth

When:
Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-5, 2011)

Where:
Clearwater, Florida

Host:
Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church

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Ask A Priest

Why do we Call Angels “Saint”?

Q. I noticed that we call the angels Michael and Gabriel "Saint." I thought the title "Saint" was only given to humans who have proven themselves Godly. Do you mind clarifying this for me? Is there a deeper meaning to "Saint" that I am not aware of?

-S.L. Read more...