Sir, From the secular point of view marriage is just a civil contract, but for Christians marriage is more than a legal agreement to live together; it is a sacrament (letters, June 30).

Christians see the celebration of the sacrament by an ordained minister, together with the consent of the couple, as creating the marriage. Marriage in the Christian sense is nurtured and sustained by the couple in collaboration with the Holy Spirit. That the law of the land requires a legal contract to be established at the same time is neither here nor there. It has been a matter of convenience for the State to allow priests ordained in the Church of England to fulfil the role of registrar for the purpose of legal marriage since for many years there was no alternative to marrying in the parish church. For all other denominations a separate civil registration has to take place (usually at the same time as the ceremony in the place of worship) in order for the marriage to be legal.

Removing the right of clergy to fulfil the legal as well as the spiritual function in marriage will not make it less likely that Christians will want to marry in church because for them it has everything to do with the religious ceremony. Neither will it affect the rights of same-sex couples. They cannot “marry” in the same way as heterosexual couples since the marriage sacrament involves the union of a man and a woman.

Ruth Dryden

Aston, Oxon

Explore Letters

• Feedback