The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1

This article is an interdisciplinary study. The authors (a canon lawyer and a biblical theologian) endeavour to examine the text of the Book of Deuteronomy 24:1 through both canonical and exegetical lenses. They look at whether and to what extent it is aligned with the contemporary Catholic teaching...

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Main Authors: Grzegorz Bzdyrak, Przemysław Kubisiak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/3/292
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author Grzegorz Bzdyrak
Przemysław Kubisiak
author_facet Grzegorz Bzdyrak
Przemysław Kubisiak
author_sort Grzegorz Bzdyrak
collection DOAJ
description This article is an interdisciplinary study. The authors (a canon lawyer and a biblical theologian) endeavour to examine the text of the Book of Deuteronomy 24:1 through both canonical and exegetical lenses. They look at whether and to what extent it is aligned with the contemporary Catholic teaching on the permanence and indissolubility of marriage. They frame the research problem through a series of questions: Is the analysed text contrary to the Catholic Church’s position on the inadmissibility of divorce? Does it imply consent to divorce? Or does it permit marital separation but solely under specific conditions? First, the authors discuss the Catholic teaching on the permanence and indissolubility of marriage. They highlight a distinction between the two terms. They seek to expose the process of evolution of the institution of marriage from the Creation, i.e., God’s original intention in relation to marriage, through the Old Testament period of “hardness of heart”, i.e., from the original sin to the time of Jesus, to the third stage since Jesus, who restored the original order destroyed by sin and elevated the conjugal bond of two baptized people to the dignity of a sacrament. The authors then examine the concept of marital separation. By its very nature, it does not sever the marital bond. The authors explain the legal grounds for separation, among them adultery and failure to maintain marital fidelity. Next, they conduct an in-depth semantic analysis of the studied text and discuss divorce proceedings in the light of Deuteronomy 24:1. They close the discussion with conclusions. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the work, the authors relied on the literature from the domains of biblical studies and canon law.
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spelling doaj-art-a23e63b2b7414e779c5125df7e4f02b72025-08-20T03:43:40ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-02-0116329210.3390/rel16030292The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1Grzegorz Bzdyrak0Przemysław Kubisiak1Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, PolandIndependent Researcher, 20-950 Lublin, PolandThis article is an interdisciplinary study. The authors (a canon lawyer and a biblical theologian) endeavour to examine the text of the Book of Deuteronomy 24:1 through both canonical and exegetical lenses. They look at whether and to what extent it is aligned with the contemporary Catholic teaching on the permanence and indissolubility of marriage. They frame the research problem through a series of questions: Is the analysed text contrary to the Catholic Church’s position on the inadmissibility of divorce? Does it imply consent to divorce? Or does it permit marital separation but solely under specific conditions? First, the authors discuss the Catholic teaching on the permanence and indissolubility of marriage. They highlight a distinction between the two terms. They seek to expose the process of evolution of the institution of marriage from the Creation, i.e., God’s original intention in relation to marriage, through the Old Testament period of “hardness of heart”, i.e., from the original sin to the time of Jesus, to the third stage since Jesus, who restored the original order destroyed by sin and elevated the conjugal bond of two baptized people to the dignity of a sacrament. The authors then examine the concept of marital separation. By its very nature, it does not sever the marital bond. The authors explain the legal grounds for separation, among them adultery and failure to maintain marital fidelity. Next, they conduct an in-depth semantic analysis of the studied text and discuss divorce proceedings in the light of Deuteronomy 24:1. They close the discussion with conclusions. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the work, the authors relied on the literature from the domains of biblical studies and canon law.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/3/292permanence of marriageindissolubility of marriagedivorceseparation
spellingShingle Grzegorz Bzdyrak
Przemysław Kubisiak
The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
Religions
permanence of marriage
indissolubility of marriage
divorce
separation
title The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
title_full The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
title_fullStr The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
title_full_unstemmed The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
title_short The Permanence and Indissolubility of Marriage Against the Background of Deuteronomy 24:1
title_sort permanence and indissolubility of marriage against the background of deuteronomy 24 1
topic permanence of marriage
indissolubility of marriage
divorce
separation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/3/292
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