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Summary
- The Bible never mentions eloping. It describes betrothals, wedding feasts and witnesses at the town gate, but it sets no ceremony, officiant or vows.
- Catholic canon law makes a marriage valid only before a priest or deacon and two witnesses when at least one party is Catholic (canons 1108, 1117).
- The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America requires a church wedding, and an Orthodox Christian married outside the Church may not receive Holy Communion.
- Luther called weddings “worldly affairs,” and the Church of England blesses couples already married in a civil ceremony.
- Catholic teaching says adult children owe their parents respect rather than obedience, and asks parents not to pressure a child’s choice of spouse (Catechism 2217, 2230).
- The Council of Trent in 1563 and England’s Marriage Act of 1753 both acted against secret marriages; English couples then eloped to Gretna Green in Scotland.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (Genesis 2:24; 24:58, 67; 26:34–35; 29:22; Exodus 20:12; Judges 14:3, 10; Ruth 4:2, 9–11; Malachi 2:14; Matthew 5:24; John 2:1–2). https://www.biblegateway.com/
- Code of Canon Law (1983), canons 1071, 1108, 1117, 1130, 1160 and 1161. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann998-1165_en.html
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1631, 2217 and 2230. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
- Council of Trent, Session 24 (11 November 1563), Decree on the Reformation of Marriage, chapter 1 (Tametsi), trans. J. Waterworth (1848). https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct24.html
- Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to Polycarp, chapter 5, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0110.htm
- Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, “Instructions for Weddings, Divorces, Baptisms, Funerals, and Memorials.” https://www.goarch.org/-/instructions-for-weddings-divorces-baptisms-funerals-and-memorials
- Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, “Marriage Outside the Orthodox Church.” https://www.goholytrinity.org/our-faith/sacraments/your-wedding-at-holy-trinity-cathedral/marriage-outside-the-orthodox-church
- Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (Crete, 2016), “The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments.” https://www.holycouncil.org/-/marriage
- “Pan-Orthodox Council,” Wikipedia, on the churches that did not attend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Orthodox_Council
- Martin Luther, “The Marriage Booklet for Simple Pastors” (1529), trans. Timothy J. Wengert. https://www.immanuelnyc.org/sub/the-small-catechism-martin-luther/a-marriage-booklet-for-simple-pastors/
- Westminster Assembly, The Directory for the Public Worship of God (1644), “Of the Solemnization of Marriage.” https://www.truecovenanter.com/worship/westminster_assembly_directory_for_public_worship_1645.html
- Church of England, “Wedding blessings.” https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/your-church-wedding/planning-your-ceremony/wedding-blessings
- “Clandestine Marriages Act 1753,” “Gretna Green” and “Elopement,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clandestine_Marriages_Act_1753
