Do Eastern Orthodox Churches issue annulments? Are these annulments considered valid by the Catholic Church?
The Eastern Orthodox have a different understanding of marriage and divorce than Catholics do. For starters, Eastern Orthodox Churches do not issue “annulments.” Instead, they issue “ecclesiastical divorces.” In practice these are very similar to annulments, and require an investigation of the relationship. Ecclesiastical divorces, unlike annulments, acknowledge that a marriage was actually present, and then fell apart. Annulments, in contrast, decree that a marriage was never truly present. An ecclesiastical divorce is only granted for very good reason, after thorough investigation. Interestingly enough, this is a difference that predates the schism of 1054 by many, many centuries. The reason for this difference is because of the Eastern theology of marriage. In the West, the sacrament of Marriage is administered by the couple, with the priest serving as a witness. In the East, the sacrament of Marriage is conferred by the priest onto the couple. Hence, in Eastern theology, every marr
