How to prove the actual marriage relationship? De facto marital relations: problems of legal regulation De facto marital relations were recognized before.

An amendment to the Family Code has been made to the State Duma for consideration, according to which a man and a woman who have lived together for more than five years will be recognized as husband and wife, even if their marriage is not officially registered. For this, the concept of "actual marriage" will appear in the Family Code.

"Actual marriage relationship is not a duly registered union of a man and a woman living together and leading a common household. The signs of actual marriage are: cohabitation for five years; cohabitation for two years and the presence of a common child (common children)" , - the bill says.

The status of de facto marital relations entails the onset of the rights and obligations of spouses provided for by family and civil legislation. In particular, in order to enter into such a relationship, persons must be of legal age, not in another marriage and not be close relatives.

"Signs of a de facto marital relationship are: living together for five years; living together for two years and having a common child (common children)."

"Our compatriots do not consider a stamp in their passports to be a necessary condition for creating a full-fledged family," the authors of the bill explain. Therefore, he proposes to extend to the property acquired during the period of cohabitation, the "legal regime of the property of the spouses": everything that they acquired during the period of cohabitation will be recognized as joint property.

"Completely unnecessary initiative"

The explanatory note to the document contains a reference to countries where there are similar laws - Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany. However, in Russia, the reaction to such initiatives turned out to be rather restrained.

Oksana Pushkina, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, said that her new bill "is a little scary." "I think it's right not to legally invade this area, because if adults want to get married, they will. And if they don't want to, for any reason, the legislator shouldn't oblige them," Pushkina said in a comment to the iz.ru portal "There is a legal marriage. One should enter into it voluntarily. And automatically considering it a prisoner is a completely unnecessary initiative."

In her opinion, the adoption of such an amendment to the Family Code will lead to numerous legal disputes, where one of the spouses will prove that the cohabitation lasted five years, and the other that four and a half. "Delirium will work out," stated the deputy chairman of the Duma committee on family, women and children.

"There is a legal marriage. One should enter into it voluntarily. And automatically considering it a prisoner is a completely unnecessary initiative."

The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation commented on the new legislative initiative even more harshly. "This law is aimed solely at the division of property, the question should not be like that, the responsibility of the spouses should not be financially motivated," says OP member Elina Zhgutova. "The responsibility of the father, who often leaves the family, is unlikely to increase if he is forced to divide the property. ...

According to Zhgutova, the new amendments to the Family Code will only legitimize "the vicious practice of so-called cohabitation." According to the results of an anonymous poll conducted in the Telegram messenger, 27% of respondents voted for equating cohabitation with marriage, and 73% were against.

An explanatory note to the new bill notes that "according to the Ministry of Labor, in 2016 the minimum number of marriages in the Russian Federation over the past 20 years was officially registered." The new law is likely to help tweak these statistics if it allows officials to equate "civil" marriages with formal ones. But it will not affect the attitude of Russians towards the institution of family and marriage.

According to the VTsIOM polls, 81% of Russians do not consider unregistered marriage something reprehensible, and 60% are sure that the main motive for marriage is having children. 79% of Russians are convinced that it is better to live in marriage than alone. And 12% prefer not to marry, stating something like "family life is not for me, and I simply cannot see the same person every day."

Today, when marriage is no longer an economic and social necessity, many more marriages are performed solely for love.

At the same time, sociologists note that today, when marriage has ceased to be an economic and social necessity, many more marriages are performed solely for love. This is supported by the dynamics of marriages and divorces: according to Rosstat, in 2017, almost 47 thousand more marriages were concluded than in 2016. At the same time, the number of divorces increased by only 3 thousand over the year.

As a result, 505 thousand divorces fell on 905.9 thousand marriages last year. Most often women are filed for divorce, among the most common reasons for divorce are treason, drunkenness and assault. At the same time, as sociologists note, if in the 1960s, after a divorce, 30-40% of women got married again, today it is 70%.

Sologamiya and hikikomori

The statistics of the number of official marriages in Russia is a faint shadow of the family crisis that is now unfolding in the developed countries of the world. It's not even about the spread of same-sex marriage.

By the way, when the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage two years ago, the Israeli newspaper Maariv erupted with a malicious article about the fact that "when the whole world leaves the tiresome institution of marriage, the LGBT community was allowed to marry."

"My dear gays, before you joyfully plunge headlong into a pool called" marriage ", you should know that although only a third of marriages formally break up, this only means that everyone else suffers in silence, - wrote the author of the note, Dror Raphael. got an equal opportunity to be unhappy, and equality is very important. "

Sociologists regard sologamy as "a natural result of the development of narcissism and individualism in modern culture based on social networks." "Marriage to oneself is a natural consequence of modern individualism, which goes far beyond traditional individualism," notes British sociologist John Horvat. "Traditional individualism somehow takes into account the limitations of tradition and custom. Postmodern individualism rests on the idea of \u200b\u200babsolute human autonomy. People are told. that they themselves are the only architects of their freedom and destiny, and the main goal of their life is a delightful pursuit of their own interests. "

The flip side of the spread of these "new forms of the family" is an unprecedented number of single people, which is becoming a huge social problem in developed countries. Last week, Britain even created the post of loneliness minister. Tracey Crouch has become the minister, who will develop the country's first-ever government strategy to combat the problem of loneliness.

Across the globe, in Japan, the largest national newspaper, the Mainichi Shimbun, last week published a long article about hikikomori, people who deliberately isolate themselves from society. For the first time, the media started talking about them about ten years ago, then it was primarily about teenagers.

In 2010, the first nationwide survey was carried out, according to the results of which the number of people "who do not go to school or work for more than six months" amounted to about 700 thousand people. Now their number has decreased to about 540 thousand people. However, at the same time, the number of Japanese people who have been in the hikikomori state for more than seven years increased from 17 to 35%. It was found that this syndrome is becoming protracted, as well as the fact that people of more and more older age groups are now susceptible to it.

In Japan, 45% of women and over 25% of men between the ages of 16 and 24 said they "have no interest in and despise sexual intercourse."

Today, most hikikomori are found among the Japanese over 40. Moreover, the average duration of self-isolation from society in this age group is more than 22 years. But this is not the only problem: in parallel with the problem of hikikomori, the Japanese are discussing a new social phenomenon - the "problem 80-50". The crux of the problem is that more and more parents aged 80-89 continue to financially support their 50-60-year-old sons and daughters.

Last year, the Japanese society was shocked by the results of a sociological survey, which the media called "celibacy syndrome." In the course of a large-scale sociological survey, it turned out that 61% of unmarried men and 49% of women aged 18-34 have never been in any romantic relationship.

45% of women and more than 25% of men between the ages of 16 and 24 stated that they "are not interested in sexual contacts and despise them." Based on these surveys, Japanese demographers have made a forecast according to which the population of the Land of the Rising Sun will decrease by a third by 2060.

The legislation of most states recognizes only a marriage registered in the prescribed manner, i.e. registered with the state or municipal authorities vested with the appropriate powers, or committed according to a certain religious ceremony, if the laws of this country equate a religious marriage with a registered secular one.

One of the basic principles of the current family legislation of the Russian Federation is the recognition of only a marriage concluded in the registry office (clause 2 of article 1, clause 2 of article 10 of the RF IC). As a general rule, only a marriage registered in accordance with the procedure established by law gives rise to the rights and obligations that are provided for by family law for spouses.

An exception is the rule established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 10, 1944 "On the procedure for recognizing actual marriage relations in the event of the death or disappearance of one of the spouses at the front."

There was a period in the history of domestic family law when legal significance was attached to actual marriages. The actual marriage relationship gave rise to legal consequences similar to the consequences of legal marriage during the period of validity of the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship of the RSFSR in 1926 and before the adoption of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 07/08/1944 "On increasing state aid to pregnant women, mothers with many children and single mothers. , strengthening the protection of mothers and children, on the establishment of the highest degree of distinction - the title "Mother Heroine" and the establishment of the Order "Maternal Glory" and the medal "Medal of Maternity" ", which the actual spouses were invited to formalize their relationship by registering a marriage indicating the period of actual life together ... If the actual marriage was not registered, it retained its legal force only until 07/08/1944. If such registration turned out to be impossible due to the fact that one of the actual spouses died or disappeared at the front during the Great Patriotic War. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 10, 1944, another de facto spouse was given the right to apply to the court with an application for recognizing his (her) husband (wife) as deceased or missing on the basis of previously effective legislation.

If initially the possibility of judicial recognition of actual marriage relations was allowed only in relation to persons who died or went missing at the front, then later judicial practice followed the path of an expansive interpretation of the Decree, extending its effect to relations when the death or disappearance of one of the spouses occurred although and after the war, but the actual marriage relationship that arose before 07/08/1944 continued until the death of the spouse, and objective circumstances (serious illness and other circumstances that prevented marriage registration) did not allow the spouses to subsequently register the marriage.

It should be noted that the Decree of 11/10/1944 did not set a time limit for the surviving de facto spouse to apply to the court to recognize him (her) on the basis of the previous legislation as the spouse of a deceased or missing at the front. Therefore, an appeal to Sul with such a statement is possible in our time. And although there are fewer and fewer persons in actual marital relations that arose before 07/08/1944, the need for legal recognition of such relations is not completely removed.

Thus, at present, the actual marriage relationship of persons, one of whom died or disappeared at the front during the Great Patriotic War, can be equated with a registered marriage.

The decree of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of 05.11.1998 No. ^ explains that since, in accordance with the legislation in force before the publication of the Decree of 08.07.1944, an unregistered marriage had the same legal consequences as a registered one on property acquired jointly by persons who were family relations without registration of marriage, before the entry into force of the Decree, the regime of common joint property of spouses applies. Based on paragraph 6 of Art. 169 of the RF IC, when resolving a dispute about the division of such property, it is necessary to be guided by the rules established by Art. 34-37 RF IC.

In other cases, the actual marriage relationship cannot be regulated by family law. The property relations of the actual spouses can be regulated only by the norms of civil legislation on common shared property, which has been repeatedly emphasized in the decisions of the highest judicial authorities.

However, in some cases, the property of the actual spouses may be subject to the regime of common joint property. In accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 244 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the formation of joint ownership of property is possible only in cases provided for by law. In addition to the RF IC, the emergence of joint ownership is provided for by other laws. So, in the original edition of Art. 2 of the Law of the Russian Federation of 04.07.1991 No. 1541-1 "On the privatization of the housing stock in the Russian Federation" residential premises could be transferred to common ownership (joint or shared) or to the ownership of one of the cohabitants, including minors. In accordance with the amendments made to this Law on May 15, 2001, residential premises transferred by way of privatization may belong to persons living in them only on the basis of common shared ownership, with the exception of spouses to whom the residential premises are transferred into joint ownership. Thus, for 10 years, the privatization housing legislation allowed for the possibility of joint ownership also for persons who are not in a registered marriage.

In actual spouses, common joint ownership may also arise on some other types of property if they are part of a peasant (farm) economy or on common property in a horticultural, vegetable gardening or dacha non-profit partnership acquired or created by such a partnership at the expense of targeted contributions by its members if the actual spouses are members of one such partnership. The relationship between the actual spouses regarding such property is subject to regulation not by family law, but by civil law norms on joint ownership.

See: Federal Law No. 74-FZ of 11.06.2003 "On the Peasant (Farm) Economy".
See: Federal Law of 15.04.1998 No. 66-FZ "On horticultural, vegetable gardening and dacha non-profit associations of citizens."

The phrase "civil marriage" has been used very often in recent years, and the one pronouncing it can mean a variety of things: from secular marriage, officially registered family union to actual cohabitation.

Oddly enough, all this is really true, since civil marriage is a multifaceted concept.

Misconceptions about civil marriage

First of all, it should be said that in Russian legislation, a registered marriage between a man and a woman is understood as a civil legal marriage (it is also a secular one). This is due to the fact that the Family Code is the main legal act regulating legal relations related to the family, the procedure for concluding, dissolving the union, the rights and obligations of spouses, parental relations, etc., refers to civil law and any ordinary marriage under the Family Code - civil.

Since the church in the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, is separated from the state, church marriage that arises after the wedding ceremony (or the corresponding rite in other denominations) is not mentioned in the legislation at all.

Thus, a family union registered in the established manner through the registry office is called in the Russian Federation the only “official” marriage (that is, from the point of view of the law, a civil marriage is an official one).

At the same time, very often they are called unregistered. but essentially a family relationship.

Most often, in everyday life, the concept of "civil marriage" denotes actual family relations (cohabitation, housekeeping, support, etc.) of a man and a woman, without official registration (registration). In another way, such a relationship is called cohabitation, less often - de facto or marriage without registration.

Any of these definitions has the right to exist, since it denotes a permanent relationship, although without registration through the registry office. However, it should be remembered that only a registered union is appropriately protected by law, and cohabitation is not regulated in the Family Code.

Civil marriage, marriage without registration, cohabitation, de facto marriage - differences

The ambiguity of the everyday definition of "civil marriage" is explainable historically: before 1917, relations had to be registered in the church, it was almost impossible to dissolve them, in contrast to this, cohabitation without a church ceremony was called "civil".

The official regulation of family relations by religious norms has long since become a thing of the past, but the understanding of a “non-church” union is still associated with the civil union of a man and a woman.

Despite this, in modern conditions, many of us, having heard about a family union, called civil marriage or cohabitation, marriage without registration, understand that we are talking about an unregistered marriage, not formalized in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. From the point of view of a lawyer, given the freedom of citizens to enter or not to enter into family relations, such marriages have a full right to exist, although in this case they are not regulated by the norms of the Family Code as registered.

What does the Civil Code of the Russian Federation say?

Neither the Family Code nor the Civil Code provide a definition of an official marriage, although they understand it as a legally registered union of a man and a woman, entered into voluntarily for the purpose of creating a family, giving rise to the appropriate legal relationship: the rights and obligations of spouses (both personal and property).

The actual relationship (without legal registration) can be quite long-term, with the maintenance of a joint household, the upbringing of children, however, family relations are not considered, and the state is not protected to the extent that official ones (according to the RF IC).

A common-law husband is just one of the partners with an informal couple, as well as a common-law wife.

No matter how unofficial unions are called, actual family relations are not formed in them, and such relations are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The difference in the position of partners in the Family and Civil Codes is great.

In this case, the property is not the joint property of the spouses., but belongs to the person to whom it is issued. To prevent disagreements, it is possible to register it as shared ownership (with the definition of shares).

The division of the property of cohabitants is associated with complex procedures for proving cohabitation, depositing funds for the purchase of property, etc.

The rights of children born in such unions are regulated on a general basis, but it is necessary that the father recognizes the child (this is done immediately upon registration, or later). Otherwise, the mother will have the status of a single mother.

What is an actual marriage

Civil marriage or cohabitation, in the case when it lasts long enough, is often also called a de facto marriage. However, neither the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, nor the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, nor any other regulatory legal act contain the concept of actual marriage relations, therefore, there is no reason to single out this concept as an independent definition.

An actual marriage is a household designation of couples living together, who voluntarily chose the option of life without registering a union with the registry office.

In January 2018, a bill was introduced to the State Duma that would give an official status to this concept and equalize the rights of people who have documented marriage with those who simply cohabit (for more than five years), but this proposal was not supported by either the senators or from the deputies.

Pros and cons of cohabitation

Cohabitation is a very frequent phenomenon: according to various estimates, from 1/3 to 40% of couples prefer not to register officially. This is especially common among young people who prefer to first learn, get on their feet, before starting an official family. In addition, many consider the advantages of a civil union:

Preservation of the status of a free person while actually conducting a joint household and the conveniences of family life;
The property is not joint, being owned by the person who acquired it;
There is an opportunity to form a material base for the future: complete education, devote yourself to building a career, etc .;

In some cases, the reasons for the couple's residence in a civil union are the negative family experience of their parents or loved ones, unwillingness to have and support children, or indifference to the fact of marriage in general.

The family life of unregistered spouses also has negative aspects:

In the eyes of the law, they are not spouses, therefore, misunderstandings in official bodies and institutions are frequent;
Inability to inherit property after a deceased partner, except by will;
The procedure for recognizing paternity for children born in such a union (or the status of a single parent);
Complex division of the acquired property (according to the norms of the Civil Code, not the Family Code);
You cannot enter into a marriage contract (agreement).

De facto family alliances have both supporters and opponents, but in general, society is loyal to such relationships. The civil family is a frequent phenomenon in modern life.

To register or not is a purely personal decision of a man and a woman, but it should be remembered that the resolution of controversial issues, if any, will occur according to the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since civil marriage does not fall under the jurisdiction of family law.

Probably everyone has come across the phrases "civil marriage", "actual marriage" and "cohabitation." When using these terms, people usually mean by them a situation in which a couple in love, living together for a long time, is in no hurry to legalize their relationship.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of situations when people live together, run a common household, give birth and raise children, but for some reason do not officially register their relationship.

Civil marriage

To understand the meaning that is embedded in the term "civil marriage", one must take into account that:

it was used in Russia as an opposition to church marriage, since the conditions for marriage in Russia have been established by the church for centuries;

until December 1917, marriage registration took place in the church according to the established rules;

it was the church marriage that was recognized as the only legal one and had legal consequences (including the fact that the church marriage is indissoluble);

in the process of separation of the church from the state, the state arrogated to itself the right to completely regulate the relationship between spouses with the help of secular legislation, therefore the only form of marriage was civil, that is, secular marriage. That is why marriage began to be called civil, in contrast to the previous marriage - church (religious);

with the adoption of the decrees of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On civil marriage, on children and on keeping books of acts of civil status" of December 18, 1917 and "On divorce" of December 19, 1917, civil marriage became the only form of marriage recognized in Russia. Marriages registered in the departments of registration of marriages and births at the city (district, county or volost zemstvo) government received legal force. The first Russian code - the Code of Laws on Acts of Civil Status, Marriage, Family and Guardianship Law of the RSFSR of 1918 determined: “Only a civil (secular) marriage registered in a civil registry office gives rise to the rights and obligations of spouses set forth in this section. , performed according to religious rites and with the assistance of clergy, does not give rise to any rights and obligations for persons who entered it, if it is not registered in the established order. "

Thus, civil marriage - this is a marriage registered in the relevant government authorities without the participation of the church... In colloquial speech, this term refers to cohabitation and joint households without marriage registration. An unregistered marriage is correctly called a de facto marriage.

Actual marriage relationship

The term "de facto marital relationship" was introduced into use in Russia in 1926 with the adoption of the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship, according to paragraphs 11, 12 of which it was believed that persons are actual marital relationshipif these persons mutually recognize each other as spouses, or if the marriage relationship between them is established by the court on the basis of the actual situation of life.

Evidence of marriage cohabitation, if the marriage was not registered, for the court are: the fact of cohabitation, the presence of a common household in this cohabitation and the identification of marital relations in front of third parties in personal correspondence and other documents, as well as, depending on the circumstances, mutual material support, joint education of children, etc.

So Until 1944, a common household and a common bed were considered sufficient conditions for the recognition of a de facto marriage as "real" - with all the ensuing rights and obligations.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1944, the actual marriage relationship was deprived of legal force. The persons who were in them were given the opportunity to register a marriage, indicating the period of their actual life together. If such registration turned out to be impossible, since one of the de facto spouses died or went missing at the front during the Great Patriotic War, then by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 10, 1944, the other de facto spouse was given the right to apply to the court with an application for recognition his (her) spouse of the deceased or missing person on the basis of previous legislation.

The fact of the state (being) in a de facto marriage relationship could be established by the court in accordance with Article 247 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR only in the presence of the following set of circumstances:

only in the event of the death of one or both spouses;

only if the actual marriage relationship arose in the period from 1926 to July 8, 1944;

only if the actual marriage relationship continued until the death of one of the persons who were in it;

none of the persons who were in a de facto marital relationship were married to another before their death.

Cohabitation

Cohabitation - joint life of several people in the same living room.

Often, a situation in which a couple in love, who has been living together for a long time and does not formalize such a relationship, is called cohabitation by those around them, which offends the lovers, so they call their marital relations a civil marriage, thus trying to distinguish their relationship from a legal marriage registered in Registry Office.

Cohabitation has always existed, but in the modern world it is gaining more and more popularity. The interests of partners in cohabitation are in no way protected by law, but despite this, many couples are in no hurry to formalize their marriage, officially motivating this, including the fact that young people need to live together for some time and look at each other in order to avoid many problems in the future in family life.

Neither the state nor the church supports cohabitation. The Church directly condemns such relationships, calling them fornication, and disapproval from the state is expressed in the absence of a legal framework regulating cohabitation.

Guest and virtual marriage

Guest marriage - this is an officially registered marriage in which each spouse lives separately (in different cities, countries, apartments) a free life and does not lead a common household with the other spouse, but at the same time periodically goes (comes) to visit another to spend leisure time, a holiday or vacation.

Virtual marriage - the newest form of permanent relations carried out via the Internet between users with their registration on specialized sites... A virtual marriage is not legally a marriage and is not recognized by the state, but at the same time it imitates the institutions of marriage, registration, family life, accepted in society.

Legal consequences of unregistered marriage

In contrast to a registered marriage, for persons living together and have not formalized their relationship:

It is not considered possible to marry marriages registered in accordance with state legislation, but not corresponding to canonical norms (for example, if the number of marriages allowed by the church rules is exceeded by one of those wishing to get married, or if there are such in unacceptable degrees of kinship).

The Church blesses the marriages of those persons who consciously begin this sacrament. In modern church documents it is prescribed: “Due to the unchurchedness of the majority of those entering into church marriage, it seems necessary to establish obligatory preparatory conversations before the sacrament of Marriage, during which a clergyman or lay catechist must explain to the marriages the importance and responsibility of the step they are taking, reveal the Christian understanding of love between a man and a woman, explain the meaning and the meaning of family life in the light of Holy Scripture and the Orthodox teaching on salvation ".

We should strive to ensure that the wedding of Orthodox Christians takes place in the parish to which they belong.

The Sacrament of Marriage, like the Sacrament of Baptism, cannot be performed on a person who denies the fundamental truths of the Orthodox faith and Christian morality. People who wish to receive them for superstitious reasons cannot be allowed to participate in these ordinances. In this case, it is recommended to postpone the wedding until the person realizes the true meaning of the sacrament of Marriage.

The Church also does not allow the following persons to be married:

It is inadmissible to perform a wedding in the absence of the free consent of both parties.

In cases where the priest finds it difficult to determine the presence or absence of obstacles to the performance of the sacrament of Marriage, the priest must either independently apply to the diocesan bishop, or invite those wishing to get married to turn to the diocesan authorities for a solution to the perplexity that has arisen and permission to perform the wedding.

Consecration of a marriage committed - by mistake or maliciously - in the presence of obstacles established by church legislation is invalidated. An exception is weddings committed in the presence of such obstacles that can be ignored with the blessing of the bishop (see paragraph b of the list above), or if one of the married does not meet the age limit, if by the time the violation was discovered the legal age had already been reached or if in such a marriage a child has already been born. At the same time, if the marriage is recognized as invalid due to violation of the age limit, the wedding can be performed when the parties reach the legal age.

A marriage may be declared null and void at the request of one of the spouses if the other spouse is incapable of marital cohabitation for natural reasons, if such incapacity began before the marriage was committed and is not due to old age. In accordance with the definition of the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918. an appeal to the diocesan authorities in this regard may be accepted for consideration no earlier than two years after the date of the marriage, and "The specified period is not necessary in cases where the inability of the spouse is beyond doubt and is due to the absence or abnormal anatomical structure of organs".

With regard to Orthodox Christians, whose marriage, which they previously contracted in a legal manner, was not consecrated by the church sacrament of Marriage, parish priests should be guided by the ruling of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of December 28, 1998 on the inadmissibility of the practice of depriving persons of the Communion of persons living in unmarried marriage and such a marriage with fornication. One should have special pastoral care for such people, explaining to them the need for the grace-filled help requested in the sacrament of Marriage, and also that for Orthodox Christians the practice of living in a civil marriage without a wedding is unacceptable.
When blessing spouses who have lived together for many years and have not been married in the Church, use “ Rite of the wedding of spouses, in the summer of all» .

II. Marriage with heterodox and heterodox

The difference in religion between the bride and groom makes it canonically impossible for the consecration of marriages between Orthodox and non-Christians to be consecrated by weddings (IV BC 14; Laod. 10:31; Carthage 30; VI BC 72). Council of Trull (rule 72), under threat of excommunication, prohibits Orthodox Christians from marrying not only pagans, but also heretics.

This is due to the Church's concern for the Christian growth of those who marry: “The community of faith in spouses who are members of the body of Christ is the most important condition for a truly Christian and ecclesiastical marriage. Only a family united in faith can become a “home Church” (Rom. 16: 5; Flm. 1, 2), in which husband and wife, together with their children, grow in spiritual perfection and knowledge of God. Lack of like-mindedness poses a serious threat to the integrity of the marital union. That is why the Church considers it her duty to call upon believers to marry "only in the Lord" (1 Cor. 7:39), that is, with those who share their Christian convictions. ".

At the same time, the Church can show pastoral leniency towards persons married to non-Christians, taking care that they maintain contact with the Orthodox community and can bring up their children in Orthodoxy. The priest, considering each individual case, must remember the words of the apostle Paul: “If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she agrees to live with him, then he must not leave her; and a wife who has an unbelieving husband and he agrees to live with her should not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband " (1 Cor 7, 12-14).

The question of the possibility of blessing marriages of Orthodox Christians with non-Orthodox Christians should be resolved in accordance with the current definitions of the highest church authority. So, in Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church indicated: “Based on considerations of pastoral economy, the Russian Orthodox Church, both in the past and today, finds it possible for Orthodox Christians to marry with Catholics, members of the Ancient Eastern Churches and Protestants professing faith in the Triune God, provided that marriage in the Orthodox Church is blessed and children are raised in Orthodox faith. The same practice has been followed in most Orthodox Churches over the past centuries..

III. Termination of marriage

The marital union must be inviolable according to the word of the Savior: « What God has combined, let man not separate» (Matthew 19: 6).

At the same time, based on the Gospel teaching, the Church recognizes the possibility of termination of marriage during the life of both spouses in the event of adultery of one of them (Matthew 5:32; 19, 9). Divorce is also possible in cases that affect the marriage union as destructively as adultery. In addition, the Church considered a number of reasons for divorce acceptable, which could be likened to the natural death of one of the spouses ending the marriage.

At present, the Russian Orthodox Church, on the basis of the sacred canons, the definition of the Holy Council of the Orthodox Russian Church of 1917-1918 "On the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage union consecrated by the Church" and the Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, considers the following reasons permissible for considering the issue of recognizing a marriage as broken :
- the falling away of one of the spouses from Orthodoxy;
- adultery of one of the spouses (Matt. 19, 9) and unnatural vices;
- the entry of one of the spouses into a new marriage in accordance with civil law;
- monastic tonsure of one of the spouses, performed on condition of mutual consent and fulfillment of all moral obligations in relation to family members; tonsure performed without observing these conditions cannot be considered valid, and its consequences must be regulated by the Regulations on Monasteries and Monasticism;
- the inability of one of the spouses to coexist, resulting from deliberate self-mutilation;
- disease of one of the spouses with leprosy, syphilis, AIDS, as well as medically certified chronic alcoholism or drug addiction of the spouse;
- unknown absence of one of the spouses, if it lasts for at least three years with an official certificate from an authorized state body; the specified period is reduced to two years after the end of hostilities for the spouses of persons missing in connection with them, and up to two years for the spouses of persons missing in connection with other disasters and emergencies;
- malicious abandonment of one spouse to another;
- the wife's committing an abortion with the disagreement of the husband or the husband's forcing the wife to have an abortion;
- an encroachment by one of the spouses on the life or health of the other or children, established in court;
- an incurable serious mental illness of one of the spouses that occurred during the marriage, confirmed by a medical certificate.
If one of the listed reasons exists for one of the spouses, the other may apply to the diocesan authorities with a request to consider the issue of terminating the marriage. At the same time, the presence of the decision of the secular authorities on the dissolution of marriage does not negate the need for the church authorities to independently judge and make their own decisions according to the reason of Holy Scripture, according to church canons and according to the duty of pastoral care.

Before contacting the diocesan bishop, those intending to divorce should meet with their parish priest, who is called to study the situation and, if possible, exhort the spouses to reconcile. If such an admonition is unsuccessful or it is impossible to implement it, the priest issues them an appropriate conclusion for submission to the diocesan administration, or sends such an opinion to the diocesan administration independently.

On the study of the issue, the diocesan bishop issues a certificate on the recognition of this church marriage as broken and on the possibility for the innocent party to marry a second or third marriage. Such an opportunity may be given to the guilty party after repentance and the performance of the penance, about which the guilty spouse may also be given a certificate in case of his appeal.

With the blessing of the diocesan bishop, a commission consisting of elders and, if possible, headed by a vicar bishop, if there is one in the diocese, may actually consider cases and issue the above certificates. Cases are considered by the commission collegially, and, if necessary, with the parties hearing. The decision on divorce is made in the diocese at the place of actual residence of the spouses. If the spouses live in different dioceses, the divorce can be carried out in one or another diocese.

ATTACHMENT
On consanguinity and property

In consanguinity along the lateral line in the degrees, in the presence of which marriage is prohibited without the possibility of exception, are:
- in the second degree - brothers and sisters, including half and uterine ones (hereinafter);
- in the third degree - uncles and aunts with nephews and nieces;
- in the fourth degree -
In consanguinity along the lateral line in degrees, in the presence of which a marriage can be completed with the blessing of the bishop, are (in this and in the following lists all possible family ties of each degree are given, despite the fact that marriages in some cases are impossible even theoretically, given the difference in generations):
- in the fifth degree -
- in the sixth power -
- in the seventh degree -
In the property of two genders (two-kin property) in monogamy of both spouses are:
- in the first degree - the spouse and parents of the other spouse;
- in the second degree -
- in the third degree -
- in the fourth degree -
In a property from two genera (two-kin property) in case of bigamy of one or both spouses are:
- in the first degree - a stepfather and stepmother with stepsons and stepdaughters;
- in the second degree -
- in the third degree -
- in the fourth degree -
In a property of three genera (three-genus property), in the first degree, they consist:
- stepfather and wife of his stepson; stepmother and husband of her stepdaughter;
- the husband and mother-in-law of his wife from her other marriage; wife and father-in-law of her husband from another marriage.
1 - "Such cohabitation is sinful, and their spread in the world is opposed to God's plan for man, is dangerous for the institution of marriage and cannot receive any recognition from the Church" (On the participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, V)

2 - See document « ... II, 2

3 - Cf. document « On religious, educational and catechetical ministry in the Russian Orthodox Church "... II, 1

4 - Parents and their children, grandparents with grandchildren are in direct blood relationship

5 - For explanations of the degrees of consanguinity in the lateral line, see the appendix to this document

6 - Property relationships arise from the marriage union of representatives of two clans: between the spouse and the relatives of the other spouse and between the relatives of the spouses

7 - For explanations of the degrees of property, see the appendix to this document

8 - By the decree of the Holy Synod dated December 31, 1837, the relationship between the recipient and the recipient was recognized as non-existent

9 - See also section III of this document

10 - Definitions of the Sacred Council of the Orthodox Russian Church 1917-1918. "On the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage, consecrated by the Church", paragraph 10

12 - Fundamentals of the social concept, X.2

13 - Fundamentals of the social concept, X.2

14 - "Observing the canonical order and church discipline, the diocesan bishop ... in accordance with the canons decides questions that arise during the conclusion of church marriages and divorces" ( Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, chapter XV, 19 (d))