Marriages of persons after divorce in which the former spouse(s) is still living are permitted only for couples in which at least one member is a communicant in good standing of the congregation where the wedding is to take place.

• When one or both intended partners have been divorced once, the following must be observed:
• All provisions of Canons I.18 and I.19 must be satisfied.
• The priest intending to officiate at the marriage will have personally examined the divorce decree(s) of the previous marriage(s).
• The date of the proposed marriage shall be not less than 183 days after the date of the final, relevant divorce decree.

If there has been more than one divorce from a previous marriage of either intended partner and any of the former spouse(s) is still living, the aforementioned procedure conditions apply, and in addition:

 The priest who intends to officiate at the marriage is required to send:

• a completed Application for a Judgment of Marital Status request to the Bishop, and In addition to this form and
• a letter stating why they believe that the proposed marriage will be a lifelong union.

The bishop will review these documents and notify the priest whether permission is granted to him/her to officiate at the proposed marriage.

Under any circumstances, when a priest officiates at the marriage of a person previously divorced, he/she will submit to the bishop the completed form for the Report of a Marriage After Divorce within 10 days of the marriage.

All requests for exceptions to the above must be submitted in writing to the Bishop and reviewed at least sixty days before the proposed wedding.

Updates

• 07-28-2021. Original text moved from main website. Amended ‘he/she believed’ to ‘they believe’ second bullet point in the second list.