A New Start before God; the Rt Rev Mark Santer, Bishop of Birmingham, Looks at the Church's Latest Discussions on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage

Santer, Rt Rev Mark, The Birmingham Post (England)

"Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder." Those familiar words were first spoken by Jesus himself. For hundreds of years they have been spoken and heard in every marriage in the Church of England. Marriage for life "till death us do part": this is and remains the Church's teaching an expectation for every couple who come and ask for God's blessing on their future life together.

Marriage is indeed for life. It involves unreserved promises between a man and a woman who are free to make them. It involves openness to the gift of children. It involves the solemn promise to be faithful to each other.

Those who marry in church take one another "for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part." This is the Church's teaching, enshrined in the marriage service. None of this has changed or will change.

Every marriage, every relationship, goes through …

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Publication information: Article title: A New Start before God; the Rt Rev Mark Santer, Bishop of Birmingham, Looks at the Church's Latest Discussions on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage. Contributors: Santer, Rt Rev Mark - Author. Newspaper title: The Birmingham Post (England). Publication date: January 26, 2000. Page number: 13. © 2009 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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