can i get marred in a lutheran church if im catholic?

Answer 1

Yes, but you need to do marriage prep through the Catholic Church...and have your priest help you get permission to marry outside the Church.

Just a caveat. If your faith means a shred of anything to you, a mixed religion marriage is difficult, especially once children come along.

Answer 2

Hello -

The so-called "mixed marriage" is a tricky issue. It is covered under topics 1633-1637 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here are the central points:

Marriage to a Lutheran (or any non-Catholic):

"Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they ... learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated" (1634). For such a marriage to validly exist in the Church, it requires "the express permission of the ecclesiastical authority" (1635) -- that is, you would need a special dispensation from the ordinary of your diocese, the bishop.

The Sacrament of Marriage

More relevant to your question, the Catholic approach to marriage is sacramental, and by necessity involves the rite central to faith, which is the Eucharist, or Mass ("Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act," 1631) -- this Eucharist must be validly given by a priest. Spouses having given the sacrament of matrimony to one another, the priest serves as a witness to receive the marriage into the Church (1623, 1630).

Though it would be possible to be married _in_ a Lutheran church _building_ (using a Catholic rite), a marriage conducted exclusively by ministers of the Lutheran Church would not be considered, of itself, valid to the Catholic Church. This is because the Church does not recognize Lutheran ministers as possessing proper Holy Orders (817-819), and therefore sees them as incapable of conferring the Sacrament.

In brief, no; another Catholic matrimonial ceremony would have to precede or succeed the Lutheran one. You _could_ be married in a Lutheran church, but the Catholic Church would not consider it valid. This invalidity might pose an obstacle to the later baptism of your children and your own participation in Catholic liturgical life.

I hope this helps. The first person to speak to regarding this issue, of course, would be your parish priest.

Answer 3

(wondering whether that misspelling of married/marred is a Freudian slip...)

If I remember correctly, Catholic doctrine considers Holy Matrimony a sacrament, so the Catholic ceremony is appropriate for active members of the Catholic faith. If you are already a baptized/confirmed Catholic and you choose to marry in another church system, it may be interpreted as non-marital sex by the Catholic church, in which case you're committing a mortal sin.

Since I'm not Catholic, I can't tell you what penance would set that right, but the premeditated nature of planning a Lutheran wedding ceremony would not work in your favor.

Answer 4

Not if you're going to be extremely strict with your faith. Catholic religion will not recognize marriages or deaths if it goes outside the course of typical Catholic terms. For example, if a catholic gets married to a mormon the couple cannot be buried in a Catholic cemetary.

Answer 5

Get this senario..my husband married his first wife in the Lutheran Church and his Catholic churh did not recognize the marriage.. when he went to divorce her he was told he needed an annulment...WTF.
Not quite sure where they get their ideas from but that makes no sense to me at all.

Answer 6

Legally, you can get married in any church (or no church) that you want, so long as you meet the legal requirements of your region.

Or are you asking if you will be allowed to remain a Catholic if you choose to do so. You should speak to your parish priest about that.

Answer 7

Yes, you can, but I was once told that the Catholic Church wouldn't recognize the marriage.

Answer 8

You might want to consult your priest on that one. If I recall, you cannot get married outside the church unless you have special permission. If you go ahead without it, I believe the church will not recognize your marriage and you will be denied the ability to go to confession and communion.

This may be outdated information, so consult your priest if your Catholic faith is important to you.

Answer 9

If you plan on remaining Catholic, I think you have to have a Catholic priest present.

Answer 10

Yes