The Fathers on Divorce

By Ronald M. Criss

Protestant churches allow unlimited divorces and re-marriages, the Eastern Orthodox churches, up to two "ecclesiastical" divorces and three marriages. In the following article I seek to prove that these practices are unscriptural as well as contrary to received tradition.


Matt 19:1-10 (New Jerusalem Bible)
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judaea on the far side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. Some Pharisees approached him, and to put him to the test they said, 'Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?' He answered, 'Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh? [Gn 1:17; 2:24] They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.' 
  They said to him, 'Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?' [Dt 24:1.] He said to them, 'It was because you were so hard-hearted, that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: anyone who divorces his wife-I am not speaking of an illicit marriage-and marries another, is guilty of adultery.'
 
Most Protestants and Orthodox argue that Jesus allowed divorce when He granted an exception for the Koine Greek "porneia" (Matt.19:9), what the NJB translates as "an illicit marriage" and most Protestant Bibles translate as its derivative, "fornication", or in newer versions "unfaithfulness" or "unchastity". Good Catholic Bibles generally interpret the word to mean "illegitimate marriages". For example the New American Bible has, "unless the marriage is unlawful".  In other words these are marriages that would be subject to annulment by the contemporary Catholic Church.

As you will see, St. Clement (c.150-211/216), an ancient Greek Father whose first language was Greek, interpreted these verses in the way the Catholic Church does. Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus addresses this same topic:

Matthew 5:31-32
'It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of an illicit marriage, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Divorce for adultery was already legal under Roman law and was accepted by some Jewish authorities. There was some debate on the issue and in this instance the inquisitors were trying to get Jesus to side with one of the parties in the dispute.

For Jesus to have said that it was legitimate to divorce over adultery would have been to concede to them the Roman position. But if we examine the Greek we discover that the interpretation of porneia as "adultery" makes no sense, because the actual Greek word for "adultery" appears together in the same passage. A woman who had an adulterous relationship with a man would have been committing adultery, not "fornication". Jesus says that a man who divorces his wife in effect forces her to commit adultery by putting her into a position where she must re-marry, for financial or other reasons. It would be redundant for Him to suggest that divorcing a woman who commits adultery forces her to commit adultery. Obviously the word "porneia" cannot, then, mean adultery or unchastity, as some Bibles (Even some Catholic ones, sadly. Check yours!) translate the word.

What Jesus actually has in mind here are the Jewish laws concerning illegitimate marriages, such as bigamous marriages, marriage between a sister and brother, or marriage to a brother's wife (for which Herod was criticized by St. John the Baptist). In other words marriages which would be illegitimate or annulled in Catholic practice. St. Clement, a Second Century Greek Church father, held to the Catholic interpretation, as is clear in the following quote:

"Now that the Scripture counsels marriage, and allows no release from the union, is expressly contained in the law, 'Thou shalt not put away thy wife, except for the cause of porneia;' and it regards as porneia, the marriage of those separated while the other is alive....'He that taketh a woman that has been put away,' it is said, 'committeth adultery; and if one puts away his wife, he makes her an adulteress,' that is, compels her to commit adultery. And not only is he who puts her away guilty of this, but he who takes her, by giving to the woman the opportunity of sinning; for did he not take her, she would return to her husband." (Clement of Alexandria,Stromata,2:24, A.D. 202, in ANF,II:379)

Clement states that Scripture "regards as porneia, the marriage of those separated while the other is alive." In other words, as the Catholic Church says, a marriage that is illegal from the start, in this case because it involves the marriage of someone who is already rightfully married to another. Then he says the man who marries a woman who is already married commits adultery and sins "for did he not take her, she would return to her husband." In other words he expects her to return to her husband even after committing adultery. This proves the Protestant/Orthodox interpretation is incorrect and that Clement conforms to the teaching of the Catholic Church and of St. Paul, which he, Paul, claims is from God:

1 Corinthians 7:8-11
To the unmarried and to widows I say: it is good for them to stay as they are, like me. But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry, since it is better to be married than to be burnt up. To the married I give this ruling, and this is not mine but the Lord's: a wife must not be separated from her husband-or if she has already left him, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband -- and a husband must not divorce his wife.

As should be clear by now, the Orthodox and Protestants, relying solely on their inaccurate translation of  Matthew and ignoring the above passage, both violate the Scriptural precepts by allowing divorce and re-marriage. The Catholic Church alone follows the Scriptural and Patristic understanding, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states authoritatively:

1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.