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The Church of England is the mother Church of the Anglican Communion. The head of the Church of England is the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom. Though the Apostolic Succession of the Church of England goes back to the first centuries when Christianity was first brought to England, the arrangement with the British Crown began with the reign of King Henry VIII. The teaching of the Church with regard to marriage and divorce played a large part in the relationship of the Church and Crown, and has continued to be at the center of controversy between the Crown and Parliament. King Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509 and soon married Catherine of Aragon. After twenty years of marriage, Catherine had only one child who lived, Mary. She had other children but none of them survived. King Henry tired of Catherine, and also was displeased that she had not produced a male heir to the throne. King Henry was a devout member of the Church and had been given the title, "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope, a title which is still used by the monarchs of England. King Henry asked the Pope to annul his marriage with Catherine so he could marry again. The Pope refused. A member of the court and advisor to the King, Thomas Cromwell, suggested that the King have parliament declare him to be the head of the Church of England. This Thomas Cromwell was the same person who advised the King to abolish all of the monasteries and confiscate their property. It is interesting to note that the King finally had him beheaded. King Henry followed the advice of Cromwell and had Archbishop Thomas Cranmer annul the marriage with Catherine, while at the same time parliament declared the King to be the Head of the Church. The second wife of King Henry was Anne Boleyn who bore one child, Elizabeth. The King tired of Anne and had her beheaded. He then married another lady of the court, Jane Seymour. She died in childbirth. Her child was Edward VI. The King then married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves from Germany, to cement ties with that country. He never liked her and soon had this marriage annulled by Archbishop Cranmer. His fifth wife was Katherine Howard. After a few years King Henry tired of Katherine and had her beheaded. His sixth and final wife was Katherine Parr. She had the good fortune to outlive King Henry. Throughout all of King Henry's many marriages he attempted to keep the marriage canons of the Church. He took the pains to have his marriages annulled by the Church, which meant they had never really taken place, or he waited until his wife was dead before marrying again. He hastened this process a bit by beheading two of his wives, and by declaring that he was the Head of the Church. In more recent times, King Edward VIII came to the throne of England in January 1936. He had a relationship with Wallace Warfield Simpson, a twice divorced American. He indicated to the Prime Minister and to the Archbishop of Canterbury that he intended to marry her. Despite the pressures of King Henry VIII, the Church of England never changed the historic marriage canons of the Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury told King Edward VIII that marrying a divorced woman was not permitted by the Church, and that he could not be married in the Church, and could not be crowned King if he went ahead with the marriage. In December 1936 King Edward VIII made a radio broadcast to his people in which he announced his abdication. He left England and married his twice divorced love. He did not, as had his predecessor King Henry VIII, attempt to have the Church and Parliament put aside the teachings of the Church. And in very recent English history, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and they were the parents of two children. In 1996 Prince Charles divorced Princess Diana. Tragically, the Princess died in a car crash the following year. Meanwhile, Prince Charles had been keeping company with a lady of the court, Camilla Parker Bowles. Their love affair had started well before Prince Charles married Diana and was largely responsible for the break up of their marriage. Camilla tired of waiting for Charles after his marriage to Diana and married an army officer by the name of Bowles. She later divorced him. Now, Prince Charles, after having his marriage with Diana dissolved by her death, has indicated that he would like to marry Camilla. However, the Church of England still does not approve of the marriage of a divorced person. The problem which caused King Henry VIII to declare himself to be the Head of the Church is still a problem for the British Royal Family. It is comforting to those of us in the Anglican Communion to know that the Church of England adheres to the traditional canons governing marriage and divorce. Here in the United States the part of the Anglican Communion known as the Episcopal Church has solved the marriage of divorced persons by having the Bishop grant permission for divorced persons to marry. This arrangement permits people to participate in serial marriages while former spouses are still living. As a result of this policy, now permitted by changes in the marriage canons of the Episcopal Church, serial marriages are common among the laity, and many priests and bishops have multiple wives. When the Rt. Rev. James Pike, Bishop of California, died, he had the distinction of being the first bishop in the 1900+ year history of the Church to have three of his wives present at his requiem. More recently the former Bishop of Iowa, the Rt. Rev. Walter Righter, was tried in the Church for ordaining men who practiced Sodomy, in violation of Church Canons. He should have been tried for Adultery, because he had three wives, all living. However, he could not be tried for Adultery because the Episcopal Church had already changed the historic marriage canons and it was now permissible to have three or more wives. If the canons of the Episcopal Church had been in place in England, King Henry VIII could have had all of his wives without having to make himself Head of the Church, and without beheading two of his wives. King Edward VIII could have married "Wally" and have had a long and enjoyable reign, and Prince Charles could marry Camilla and several other attendants at court and still hope one day to be crowned King. There are many clergy and laity in the Episcopal Church,
who do not believe in the serial marriages
and divorces which have become a part of modern culture
and of the Church in the United States. They
believe in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ regarding marriage,
preserved for us in the written Word of God, the writings
of the Church Fathers, and the liturgy of the Church. Dear Parishioners, Glances that over cocktails seemed so sweet are much less thrilling over shredded wheat. Today, let us reflect on some of the issues that face the American family. A number of years ago, Alvin Toffler wrote a book entitled “Future Shock.” He talked about the reality of “temporary marriages.” As human relationships grow more and more transient, the pursuit of love becomes - if anything - more frenzied. He suggested that as conventional marriage proves itself less and less capable of delivering on the promise of life long love, we can anticipate open and public acceptance of temporary marriage. Instead of wedding until “death do us part”, couples will enter marriage knowing the relationship is to be short lived. He also talked about the phenomenon of “serial marriages” - a pattern of successive temporary marriages - which would be made to order for this age of transience - when all relationships seem to shrink in duration. It was his insight that these kinds of relationships would be the natural and inevitable outgrowth of a social order in which everything - including relationships seems to be disposable. As one sociologist has pointed out, “plural marriage is already more extensive in our society than in societies which permit polygamy. The difference is that in our society, people enter marriage one after the other - rather than at the same time.” (I remember seeing a cartoon showing a young man proposing and saying to his beloved, “Will you be my first wife?”) However much truth there is in Toffler’s projections - made 20 years ago - temporary marriages and serial marriages are not what Jesus had in mind. Christian marriage is a very different thing but it demands flying in the face of American culture and “without God, it’s impossible.” With God, all things are possible.
Full text available as: Adobe PDF Abstract Keywords: serial marriages, AIDS, Masaka District, sub-Saharan
Africa, HIV, marriage patterns, sexual behaviour, marital mobility
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