Folia Canonica 11. (2008)
STUDIES - George Gallardo-Dimitri Salachas: The "ritus sacer" of the Sacrament of Marriage in the Byzantine Churches
136 GEORGE D. GALLARO-DIMITRI SALACHAS § 2. The person who assists at a marriage is understood to be only that person who is present, asks for the manifestation of the consent of the contracting parties, and receives it in the name of the Church.”4 Furthermore, Latin canon 1112, § 1 establishes that: “Where there is lack of priests and deacons, the diocesan bishop can delegate laypersons to assist at marriages, with the previous favorable vote of the conference of bishops and after he has obtained the permission of the Holy See.”5 As corroboration of this delegation to the deacon, the canon refers to Lumen gentium 29: “...To the extent that a deacon has been authorized by competent authority, he is.. .to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church.. ,”6 This different canonical discipline between the Eastern Churches and the Church of Rome reflects their diverse theological perspective on the sacrament of matrimony. Their terminology on the matter also differs; for instance, where the Latin code has “matrimonia quae contrahuntur, matrimoniis assistere”, the Eastern code has “matrimonia quae celebrantur, matrimonia benedicere”.7 Eastern Theology on Marriage and Sacred Rite In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul reflecting on Genesis, Chapter Two — .that is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body ” — affirms that “this is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Saint Paul sees in the text of Genesis a prophetic image of the union of Christ and his Church, a mystery hidden throughout the centuries and revealed now, as the mystery of salvation of the nations. This Pauline teaching has affected the theology, polity, and liturgy of the sacrament of marriage of the Christian East. The rites and symbols of marriage in the tradition of the various Eastern Churches are to be understood in the mystical and pneumatological perspective that characterizes Eastern theology on the sacraments. “Through the sacraments, which the Church is bound to dispense in order to communicate the mysteries of Christ under visible signs, our Lord Jesus Christ sanctifies people by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that they may become in a unique way true worshipers of God the Father and be inserted into Christ and the Church, His Body; therefore, all Christian faithful, but especially the sacred ministen, are to observe diligently the prescripts of the Church in the conscientious celebration and reception of the sacraments.”8 4 CLSA, Code of Cation Law, Latin-English Edition Washington (DC) 1998. 5 See 1983 Code, c. 1112; see also X. Ochoa (ed.), Leges Ecclesiae, Romæ 1980, 5: 6954—6956. 6 Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, N. TANNER (ed.), 2 vols., Washington (DC) 1990, 2: 874. 7 See 1983 Code, cc. 1058 and 1108; CCEO, cc. 781, 785, and 828. 8 CCEO, c. 667.
