Marriage in Catholic teaching is understood as a sacramental covenant between one baptized man and one woman that establishes a permanent, exclusive partnership of life and love, ordered to the good of the spouses and to the generation and education of children. For marriage to be valid, neither party should have any canonical impediments, and both must express consent legitimately. To ensure the validity of a Catholic marriage, canonical form must be strictly observed. Through such a valid marital bond, the couple enters family life.

In today’s changing social situations, there often arises an urgent need for a marriage certificate, for example, to obtain a family visa to foreign countries. Because proper arrangements for the sacramental celebration of marriage may not always be possible within the required time, many choose to first register their marriage civilly in order to obtain the necessary documents. Considering these situations, the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church, which met from 21 to 26 August 2023, decided to revise the Particular Law of the Church. Accordingly, the Major Archbishop issued new regulations (Prot. No. 1007/2023) for the Syro-Malabar faithful.

According to the revised law, for serious reasons such as obtaining a family visa abroad, if there arises a situation requiring civil registration of marriage before the sacramental solemnization, the parties may approach their own local hierarch for obtaining permission. This permission does not imply approval to live together as husband and wife or to begin family life before the sacramental celebration. It merely allows them to obtain the required legal documents, taking into account their particular circumstances. 

The party who approaches the local hierarch for permission shall present a written request to that effect which shall carry the undertaking that they will not live together, being aware of the sinfulness of cohabitation before the sacramental marriage and that they will get marriage sacramentally solemnized at the earliest possibility. In addition, the request shall also carry the signatures of both the bride and the bridegroom. The testimonial letter shall indicate whether the applicant/s belong to the parishes indicated in the application and whether the facts mentioned are true. Ordinarily the request is to be addressed to the local hierarch of the bridegroom. However, when the local hierarch of the bridegroom cannot be accessed, then the local hierarch of the bride may be approached. 

After the civil registration of the marriage a copy of the certificate of registration shall be given to both parish priests and the information about the marriage shall be entered in a special section of the marriage registers of both the parishes. If at least one of the parties requests for betrothal and publication of banns before the solemnization of the sacramental marriage, the request shall be granted by the parish priests. To do so, no permission from the local hierarch is required. The date of marriage to be entered in the marriage register after the sacramental marriage is the date of the sacramental marriage. In the remark column, however, the date of the civil marriage is to be mentioned.

While issuing marriage certificates the parish priests shall indicate the date of sacramental solemnization. At the time of the sacramental marriage celebration, it is proper for the couple to remind the parish priests about their civil registration. Likewise, if the sacramental celebration of marriage is conducted in a parish other than their own, the parish priest may indicate the civil marriage in Desakkuri.

Rev. Dr. Mathew Souriamkuzhi