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Marriage, divorce and remarriage

In short
  • S22.1 Era I–II: separation for adultery, no remarriage (Hermas, Athenagoras); Era III divides (Basil tolerates, Augustine forbids) (medium)
  • S22.2 Church-blessed (Tertullian) and a sacramentum of indissolubility (Augustine) from Era II–III; ‘one of seven’ is later (medium)

Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is second-order (tier weight 2). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation

Closeness to Scripture

1 Presbyterian2/2 cells 100% 2/2 q
2 Anabaptist2/2 cells 100% 2/2 q
3 Lutheran⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
4 Reformed Baptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
5 General Baptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
6 Anglican2/2 cells 75% 2/2 q
7 Oriental Orthodox2/2 cells 62% 2/2 q
8 Catholic2/2 cells 50% 2/2 q
9 Orthodox2/2 cells 50% 2/2 q

Closeness to the fathers

1 Catholic2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
2 Anglican2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
3 Oriental Orthodox2/2 cells 75% 2/2 q
4 Orthodox2/2 cells 62% 2/2 q
5 Reformed Baptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 50% 1/2 q
6 General Baptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 50% 1/2 q
7 Presbyterian2/2 cells 37% 2/2 q
8 Anabaptist2/2 cells 37% 2/2 q
9 Lutheran⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 25% 1/2 q
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
Closeness to the fathers, by question (0–4). Hatched = not assessed in the category file. Click a question for its verdict.
01234Catholic · S22.1: 4/4 — Trent XXIV canon 7 anathematizes the claim that the bond can be 'dissolved on account of the adultery of one of the married parties' or that the innocent party may remarry (verified)4Orthodox · S22.1: 2/4 — OCA Holy Synod, 'On Marriage': second and third marriages 'are tolerated as condescension to human frailty and weakness, while fourth marriages are totally forbidden'; the 'Order of Second Marriage' is used (verified); grounds go beyond adultery2Oriental Orthodox · S22.1: 3/4 — Coptic Church: 'no divorce has been permitted within the Coptic community except in cases of adultery' since 1944 (Pope Shenouda III, 2010, Coptic Diocese of Los Angeles report, verified); remarriage of the innocent party was not separately verified3Lutheran · S22.1: 1/4 — Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope: 'Unjust also is the tradition which forbids an innocent person to marry after divorce' (verified)1Anglican · S22.1: 4/4 — Canons of 1604, canon 107: those separated 'shall live chastely and continently, neither shall they, during each other's life, contract matrimony with any other person' (verified as quoted in Hansard, 3 June 1830)4Presbyterian · S22.1: 1/4 — WCF XXIV.5–6: after adultery the innocent party may 'sue out a divorce: and, after the divorce, to marry another'; also 'wilful desertion as can no way be remedied' (verified)1Reformed Baptist · S22.1: not assessedGeneral Baptist · S22.1: not assessedAnabaptist · S22.1: 1/4 — Menno Simons, *Instruction on Excommunication*: 'divorce is not allowed by the Scripture only by reason of adultery' (CCEL, verified); Wismar Resolutions (1554), as quoted in GAMEO 'Divorce and Remarriage': 'In cases of deliberate adultery, the innocent party may be free to remarry after consulting with the congregation' (reputable scholarship)1S22.1conf. mediumCatholic · S22.2: 3/4 — Trent XXIV canon 1: matrimony is 'truly and properly one of the seven sacraments of the evangelic law ... instituted by Christ' and confers grace (verified)3Orthodox · S22.2: 3/4 — Dositheus, decree 15: 'there are in the Church Evangelical Mysteries ... and that they are seven', matrimony among them (verified)3Oriental Orthodox · S22.2: 3/4 — Coptic Church (Bishop Mettaous): the seven sacraments include the 'Sacrament of Matrimony' (verified)3Lutheran · S22.2: not assessedAnglican · S22.2: 3/4 — Art. XXV: Matrimony is among 'those five commonly called Sacraments' that 'are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel', being 'states of life allowed in the Scriptures' (verified)3Presbyterian · S22.2: 2/4 — WCF XXVII.4: 'There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel' (verified)2Reformed Baptist · S22.2: 2/4 — 1689 28.1: only baptism and the Lord's Supper are 'ordinances of positive and sovereign institution' (verified)2General Baptist · S22.2: 2/4 — Orthodox Creed (1679) art. XXVII: 'These two Sacraments, (viz.) Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, are Ordinances of Positive, Sovereign, and holy Institution' (verified, reformedontheweb.com transcription)2Anabaptist · S22.2: 2/4 — Dordrecht XII: 'the state of matrimony', instituted 'in Paradise', without sacramental language (verified)2S22.2conf. medium
CatholicOrthodoxOriental OrthodoxLutheranAnglicanPresbyterianReformed BaptistGeneral BaptistAnabaptistnot assessed
When the cited witnesses spoke (approximate dates) and where later traditions fixed their positions. Filled dot = consensus question; hollow orange = a question on which the fathers varied. Each item links to its source note or post-750 note.
1002003004005006007001000125015001700post-750 (compressed)Shepherd of Hermas (c. 140) · S22.1Shepherd of Hermasc. 140 · S22.1Tertullian (c. 205) · S22.2Tertullianc. 205 · S22.2Origen (c. 240) · S22.1Origenc. 240 · S22.1Basil (c. 370) · S22.1Basilc. 370 · S22.1Augustine (c. 415) · S22.1Augustinec. 415 · S22.1Augustine (c. 415) · S22.2Augustinec. 415 · S22.2Apology of the AC (1531) · LutheranApology of the AC1531 · LutheranWestminster Confession (1646) · PresbyterianWestminster Confession1646 · PresbyterianWestminster Confession (1646) · Reformed BaptistWestminster Confession1646 · Reformed BaptistConfession of Dositheus (1672) · OrthodoxConfession of Dositheus1672 · Orthodox
  1. c. 140 Shepherd of Hermas S22.1
  2. c. 205 Tertullian S22.2
  3. c. 240 Origen S22.1
  4. c. 370 Basil S22.1
  5. c. 415 Augustine S22.1
  6. c. 415 Augustine S22.2
  7. 1531 Apology of the AC Lutheran
  8. 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
  9. 1646 Westminster Confession Reformed Baptist
  10. 1672 Confession of Dositheus Orthodox

S22 · Marriage, divorce and remarriage

May a marriage be dissolved for adultery, with remarriage?

Tier: Second-order (scoring weight 2). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Method: conventions. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.

In short

Jesus said divorce and remarriage is adultery ’except for sexual immorality’ (Matthew 19:9). The earliest Christian writers let a spouse separate after adultery but not remarry. By the 4th century, practice varied: Basil tolerated some remarriages, Augustine did not. Catholic teaching and old Anglican canon law forbid remarriage while the spouse lives; Lutheran and Presbyterian confessions let the innocent party remarry; the Orthodox allow a second marriage as a concession.

Plan

Question: S22.1 may a marriage be dissolved for adultery (or desertion) so that the innocent party may remarry? Scripture: Matt 5:32; 19:3–9; Mark 10:2–12; Luke 16:18; Rom 7:2–3; 1 Cor 7:10–15, 39. Fathers: Hermas, Mandate 4.1; Athenagoras, Plea 33; Origen, Commentary on Matthew XIV.23; Basil, Letter 188 canon 9; Augustine, On the Good of Marriage 24.32. S22.2: is marriage a sacrament? Eph 5:31–32; Tertullian, To His Wife II.8; Augustine, On the Good of Marriage 24.32.

Questions

  • S22.1 Divorce for adultery, and remarriage of the innocent party
  • S22.2 Is marriage a sacrament?

Verdicts and trace

Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father eras I–IV.

S22.1 · Divorce for adultery, and remarriage of the innocent party

QuestionVerdictConfidenceReasoningKey sourcesScripture (benchmark)
S22.1Era I–II: separation for adultery, no remarriage (Hermas, Athenagoras); Era III divides (Basil tolerates, Augustine forbids)MediumS22.1.1 · S22.1.3 weighinghermas-s22-s1 · origen-s22-s1 · basil-s22-s1 · augustine-s22-s1S22.1.4: medium

S22.2 · Is marriage a sacrament?

QuestionVerdictConfidenceReasoningKey sourcesScripture (benchmark)
S22.2Church-blessed (Tertullian) and a sacramentum of indissolubility (Augustine) from Era II–III; ‘one of seven’ is laterMediumS22.2.1 · S22.2.3 weighingtertullian-s22-s1 · augustine-s22-s2S22.2.4: medium

Post-750 development

Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes; exact scores and bases are in the reasoning.

TraditionClosest to the fathers onDeparts or sharpens on
CatholicS22.1, partly S22.2—
OrthodoxS22.1, partly S22.2partly S22.1
Oriental Orthodoxpartly S22.1, partly S22.2—
Lutheran—S22.1
AnglicanS22.1, partly S22.2—
PresbyterianS22.2S22.1, partly S22.2
Reformed BaptistS22.2partly S22.2
General BaptistS22.2partly S22.2
AnabaptistS22.2S22.1, partly S22.2

Overall verdict

S22.1: the earliest fathers allowed separation for adultery but not remarriage; Basil tolerated more and Augustine held the line. Matthew’s exception clause, read in its setting, probably allows the innocent party to remarry, so here Scripture and the early fathers pull in different directions. S22.2: the fathers call marriage church-blessed and a sacramentum of indissolubility, but the seven-sacrament list is later; Protestant confessions treat it as a holy state, closer to Scripture’s creation-ordinance framing.

Verification status

Trent XXIV, the OCA encyclical, the Coptic report, the Treatise, Canon 107 (via Hansard) and WCF XXIV are verified. The Reformed Baptist and General Baptist cells are not addressed (no divorce article); the Anabaptist cell rests on Menno Simons (verified) and the Wismar Resolutions as quoted by GAMEO. Coptic remarriage practice for the innocent party is not verified. S22.2: Trent XXIV canon 1, Dositheus 15, the Coptic list, Art. XXV, WCF XXVII.4, 1689 28.1 and Dordrecht XII are verified; the Lutheran cell is not assessed; the General Baptist cell rests on the Orthodox Creed art. XXVII.