church annulment
Sacred union dissolved
A church annulment is a formal declaration by a religious authority that a marriage was never valid from the start—distinct from divorce, which ends a valid marriage.
In Catholic practice, an annulment means the union lacked something essential (proper consent, intention, capacity) and therefore no sacramental marriage existed: She sought a church annulment so she could remarry in the faith.
The process involves a tribunal review and can take months or years.
- marriageFormal union between partners
- dissolutionBreaking up completely
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- VaticanPapal city-state
- tribunalJudicial decision-making body
decree · invalid · sacrament · vows · nullity · petition · grounds · dispensation · diocese · canon law · wedding · priest · bishop · spouse · testimony · witnesses · fraud · consent
- marriage annulmentannulment, nullity, invalid marriage, dispensation, lack of consent
church annulmentmarriage blessing
Sacred approval of union
church wedding · holy matrimony · wedding ceremony · exchange of vows · nuptial mass
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