Folia Canonica 11. (2008)

STUDIES - George D. Gallaro: Oikonomia and Marriage Dissolution in the Christian East

OIKONOMIA AND MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION 115 Christ forbids the dissolution of marriage by the free will of one or both spouses, although granting that the sacrament is destroyed by the act of adul­tery. This is the correct interpretation of the ancient Fathers; and it could not be otherwise. It is an altogether different question to admit a second marriage, once the illegal breakdown of the first has taken place. For the West it seems a logical consequence; not so for the East, as we have seen by examining the marriage of widowers. Before dealing with the subject of the second marriage of divorced persons, we should ask ourselves another question. Did the influence of the civil laws lead the Fathers to be tolerant towards divorces? This is the opinion of not few scholars. We think that this view has no foundation in the writings of the Fathers. Events developed quite differently. The Church of the first three centuries punished with severity adultery and the dissolution of the marriage bond, even to the point of refusing Holy Communion for life. Divorce was considered a sin against the belief in the Word Incarnate. Therefore, it was an act of aposta­sy and punishable as such. By a careful examination of the facts we realize that the punishment was gradually mitigated as Christianity spread out. The penalty became eighteen years of exclusion from Holy Communion, then sixteen, later on twelve and finally ten. In the sixth century, the Ecumenical Patriarch John the Faster established six years and eventually three.44 The Church was rigid towards second marriages until the fourth century because it would seem that such cases were very rare and therefore she could maintain her severity. The situation changed around the middle of the fourth century, precisely at the time of St. Basil, since many nations accepted Christianity en masse after the peace of Constantine. The dilemma was then whether to shut the door to these new people or to be lenient with a less perfect membership. Can the Church which is supposed to bring redemption to mankind refuse to welcome the less perfect who very often are so due to countless unpropitious situations? Tolerance of the ordinary is taught by the example of the Lord and his Apostles. Despite the severity of the first three centuries, the Church always maintained her principle, while tolerating existential situations. Along with the assertion of akribeia (— strict interpretation of the law), the Church also applied her oikonomia (setting aside some law or discipline for the greater good of the Church). The book of the Didaché, after listing the virtues Christian believers should cultivate and the vices to be avoided, in chapter six adds: “Therefore, if you are able to carry on your shoulders the Lord’s yoke, you will be perfect; if you cannot, do what is possible to you.”45 44 PG 88: 1887fF. Also see P. Rodopoulos, An Overview of Orthodox Canon Law, Rollinsford (NH) 2007, 55fF. 45 A. MlLAVEC, The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary, Collegeville (Mi), 2003, 18f.

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