Marriage In The Western Church

Marriage in the Western Church examines how marriage acquired a specifically Christian identity in the Western Church from the patristic through Carolingian periods. It shows how theologians came to regard marriage as an ecclesiastical institution and how they developed a Christian theology of marriage. The first part of the book deals with marriage and divorce in Roman and Germanic law. Other parts deal with marriage and divorce in ecclesiastical law, with the Latin Fathers' distinction between the divine and human laws of marriage, and with the customary stages by which persons became married. Several chapters are devoted to Augustine's views on marriage and sexuality. The author shows how the doctrine of indissolubility became the West's chief means of christianizing marriage, and how theologians found here their preferred arguments for affirming the holiness and the 'sacramentality' of marriage. The author argues that the Western regime of indissolubility was the product of a fourth century reform movement. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

From the establishment of a coherent doctrine on sacramental marriage to the eve of the Reformation, late medieval church courts were used for marriage cases in a variety of ways. Ranging widely across Western Europe, including the Upper and Lower Rhine regions, England, Italy, Catalonia, and Castile, this study explores the stark discrepancies in practice between the North of Europe and the South. Wolfgang P. Müller draws attention to the existence of public penitential proceedings in the North and their absence in the South, and explains the difference in demand, as well as highlighting variations in how individuals obtained written documentation of their marital status. Integrating legal and theological perspectives on marriage with late medieval social history, Müller addresses critical questions around the relationship between the church and medieval marriage, and what this reveals about both institutions.

An indispensable guide to how marriage acquired the status of a sacrament. This book analyzes in detail how medieval theologians explained the place of matrimony in the church and her law, and how the bitter debates of the sixteenth century elevated the doctrine to a dogma of the Catholic faith.

Just when the clamor over "traditional" marriage couldn't get any louder, along comes this groundbreaking book to ask, "What tradition?" In Marriage, a History, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes readers from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the torments of Victorian lovers to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is - and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was when marriage moved into the emotional sphere in the nineteenth century, she argues, that it suffered as an institution just as it began to thrive as a personal relationship. This enlightening and hugely entertaining book brings intelligence, perspective, and wit to today's marital debate.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

Catholic Marriage: A Pastoral and Liturgical Commentary is a collection of essays by scholars and practitioners on the rites, spirituality, history, theology, and pastoral practice surrounding the Sacrament of Matrimony in the Roman Catholic Church. Those who minister to engaged couples and teach the sacrament will appreciate the accessible approach to the meaning of Christian marriage and how it has been expressed in the rites of the Church and cultural customs. James and Evelyn Whitehead, longtime partners in marriage and in the exploration of Christian spirituality, open the book with their essay “Promises to Keep: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage.” The collection then focuses on the marriage rites themselves from a variety of perspectives. Kimberly Hope Belcher, assistant professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, wife and mother, offers “A Theology of Marriage.” Anne McGowan, assistant professor at Catholic Theological Union (CTU), also married with children, presents “Committed in Christ: A Historical Overview of Christian Marriage Rites.” Gilbert Ostdiek, OFM, professor of liturgy at CTU whose long career includes work on the translation of the rites of the Catholic Church, discusses the “Evolution and Translation of the 2016 Marriage Rite.” CTU professors Edward Foley and Richard Fragomeni focus on the adaptations that other bishops' conferences in the Western world have made in “The Marriage Rites: an International Perspective." Turning toward the pastoral aspects of the celebration of marriage, Paul Covino, husband, father, grandfather, deacon, campus minister, and expert in advising soon-to-be married couples, shares his wisdom in “Preparing the Wedding, Preparing for Marriage.” Diana Macalintal, who with her husband is cofounder of TeamRCIA, explores a crucial and often overlooked aspect of any sacramental celebration in “Mystagogy of Marriage.” Timone Davis, assistant professor at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, teams with Ed Foley to reflect on “Preaching at Weddings.” Conductor, composer, teacher, pastoral musician, wife, and mother Jennifer Kerr Budziak joins Richard Fragomeni in considering “Music in the Celebration of Marriage: Reflections on Best Practices." Finally, Patrick R. Lagges, who served for many years in the canonical offices of the Archdiocese of Chicago, presents “Canonical Reflections on the Order of Celebrating Matrimony.”

This newly revised and enlarged edition of John Witte's authoritative historical study explores the interplay of law, theology, and marriage in the Western tradition. Witte uncovers the core beliefs that formed the theological genetic code of Western marriage and family law. He explores the systematic models of marriage developed by Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and Enlightenment thinkers, and the transformative influence of each model on Western marriage law. In addition, he traces the millennium-long reduction of marriage from a complex spiritual, social, contractual, and natural institution into a simple private contract with freedom of entrance, exercise, and exit for husband and wife alike. This second edition updates and expands each chapter and the bibliography. It also includes three new chapters on classical, biblical, and patristic sources.

This important volume examines the Catholic Church’s doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage as taught by the 16th century Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563). In the Council’s reply to Reformation challenges on the sacraments, it took up the ques

Analyzes the interplay between Christian theological norms and Western legal principles concerning marriage, examining the theology and law of marriage in the Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, and Enlightenment traditions.

Examines how late medieval church courts were used for marriage cases, and how this varied dramatically across Europe.