QUESTION:

6/6/2010: Neither my husband nor I are Orthodox; we are Protestant. However, we are leaning toward wanting to learn more. Our question has to do with our marriage. We were both married before: I was married in a civil ceremony, and he was married in a Protestant ceremony. After our divorces, we married each other in a Protestant ceremony. Our question is, if we were to become members of the Orthodox Church, would our current marriage be considered valid, or would we have to annul our previous marriages?

ANSWER:

There is - generally speaking - no concept of annulment in the Orthodox tradition. Indeed, the concept of "validity" is arguable a Latin, not Eastern concept as well.

In your case, it does not seem that an Orthodox wedding ceremony would be required or even suggested. However, and as always, it is your diocesan bishop who has the responsibility and authority to determine what is best for your salvation, the focus being "assurance" (that we are acting according to the will and mind of Christ) rather than "validity."

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