The Place of Marriage in the Case of Marriage Between a Catholic and an Unbaptised Person - Draft Criteria

The first Christians celebrated marriage according to the laws and customs of the nation that they belonged to, only without the elements that may have been part of a pagan cult. They soon began to think about marriage in a theological way as well and began to add liturgical elements to the celebration of marriage. Gradually, norms emerged that prescribed Catholic Christians to marry in church. Entering into a marriage outside the sacred space was considered a rather undesirable exception. Today, however, more and more Catholic Christians wish, for various reasons, to celebrate marriage outside the sacred space. The article deals with this issue and attempts to outline the criteria for the appropriateness of such a chose.