Until 1992, the Family Act regulated only the civil form of marriage. Whilst there existed the possibility of undergoing a religious ceremony after the conclusion of a civil marriage, so that believing spouses could receive the sacrament of marriage, such a religious ceremony was not associated with any legal consequences under our legal order.
At present, a church marriage has the same legal consequences and the same legal weight as a civil marriage. The spouses may therefore freely choose between its civil and church form. If both spouses are non-believers, they will most probably decide on a civil marriage, which usually takes the form of a ceremonial act at the town hall. If one or even both spouses are believers, it is likely that they will be interested in concluding a marriage in church form.
When concluding a church marriage, it is necessary to satisfy not only the requirements laid down by the Family Act, but also the requirements of the matrimonial regulations of the particular church. By far the greatest number of church marriages in our country are concluded before the Roman Catholic Church. The matrimonial law of the Roman Catholic Church is regulated by the Codex Iuris Canonici (CIC) of 1983 in its canons 1055 to 1165.
The date of the church wedding must be arranged at the parish office at least two or three months in advance, so that there is sufficient time for preparatory meetings with the priest. Although these preparatory meetings are not mentioned in the Family Act, they are usually one of the conditions for concluding a church marriage according to the matrimonial regulations of individual churches and religious societies. Canon 1063 CIC provides that Christians are afforded assistance by which the married state is perfected and preserved in the Christian spirit. According to this canon, assistance is provided, inter alia, precisely through personal preparation for the conclusion of marriage, in which the spouses prepare for the sacredness of their new state and for its tasks.
According to the Family Act, a man and woman who have decided that they wish to conclude a church marriage must first undergo so-called pre-marital proceedings (předoddavkové řízení). This obligation arises from the provision of Section 4b(2) of the Family Act. The purpose of these pre-marital proceedings is to ascertain whether all the conditions for concluding a valid marriage required by “secular” regulations are satisfied. The pre-marital proceedings commence when the spouses complete a questionnaire for the conclusion of marriage and an application for the issue of a certificate for church marriage and submit these documents to the registry office in whose administrative district the marriage is to be concluded. Together with these documents, the spouses shall submit to the registry office the following documents: birth certificate, proof of citizenship, certificate of permanent residence (issued by the population register), certificate of personal status (issued by the population register), final judgment on the dissolution of a previous marriage or death certificate of the deceased spouse (if either of the spouses was previously in the bond of matrimony). With the exception of the birth certificate, the spouses are not obliged to submit the said documents if they prove the facts stated therein by their identity cards. If the relevant registry office finds that everything is in order, it shall issue the spouses with a certificate that they have satisfied all the statutory requirements for concluding a valid marriage. The provision of Section 4b(2) of the Family Act provides that a church marriage may be concluded only after the spouses have submitted this certificate to the person performing the marriage ceremony. The certificate must not be older than three months. After three months, the certificate loses validity and it is necessary to apply for the issue of a new certificate. If a church marriage were concluded without prior pre-marital proceedings before the relevant registry office or if the certificate submitted to the person performing the marriage ceremony were older than three months, the marriage would not arise at all; it would merely be an apparent marriage and the wedding ceremony would have no legal consequences whatsoever.
According to the Codex Iuris Canonici, before concluding a marriage it is necessary to ascertain that nothing prevents its valid conclusion according to canon law. More detailed rules for this ascertainment of possible impediments to the conclusion of marriage by the spouses (so-called banns) are regulated in the regulations of individual bishops’ conferences.
A complication arises if one of the spouses is baptised and the other is not. According to canon 1086 CIC, a marriage concluded between two persons, one of whom is baptised in the Catholic Church or received into it and has not departed from it by a formal act, and the other person is unbaptised, is invalid. A dispensation (exception) may be granted from this impediment if the following conditions are satisfied: (a) the Catholic party declares that he or she is prepared to protect himself or herself from the danger of lapsing from the faith and shall provide a sincere promise that he or she will endeavour to the best of his or her ability to have all children baptised and raised in the Catholic Church; (b) the other party shall be informed in good time of these promises of the Catholic party so that it will be known that he or she is truly aware of the promises and obligations of the Catholic party; (c) both spouses shall be instructed about the purpose and essential properties of marriage, which neither of them may exclude. The manner in which these declarations and these promises are made is regulated in the regulations of individual bishops’ conferences.
The Family Act provides that marriage is concluded by a free and complete consensual declaration of a man and woman that they are entering into marriage made before the competent authority of a church or religious society. These must be churches and religious societies that are registered pursuant to Act No. 308/1991 Coll., on the Freedom of Religious Faith and the Position of Churches and Religious Societies. This declaration shall be made by the spouses before a person authorised by a competent church or religious society. Who such a person is follows from the internal regulations of the church or religious society before whose authority the marriage is concluded. According to the Codex Iuris Canonici, this authorised person is the local ordinary or parish priest or a priest or deacon who have authorisation to this end from the local ordinary or parish priest.
The declaration of entry into marriage is made publicly and in a solemn manner in the presence of two witnesses. The presence of two witnesses is required not only by the Family Act, but also by the Codex Iuris Canonici. The publicity of the declaration of entry into marriage is ensured by the fact that the marriage is concluded in a place designated by the regulations of the church or religious society for religious ceremonies or religious acts. The place where the marriage is concluded is usually addressed by the internal regulations of the particular church. According to canon 1118 CIC, marriage between baptised persons is concluded in the parish church. With the permission of the local ordinary, marriage may also be concluded in another church or chapel or also in another suitable place. In any case, however, the marriage must be concluded before a person authorised by a church that is registered pursuant to Act No. 308/1991 Coll.
The church authority before which the marriage was concluded is obliged to deliver the protocol on the conclusion of marriage to the relevant registry office in whose district the marriage was concluded within three working days after the conclusion of the marriage. Only after the protocol is delivered to the relevant registry office may the newly-weds receive the marriage certificate. The conclusion of a church marriage is recorded by the church authority in the register of married persons and, for baptised newly-weds, it is also noted in the register of baptised persons.
If both spouses are baptised, according to canon 1055 CIC the marriage between them is elevated by Jesus Christ to a sacrament. By this sacrament, the spouses are to be strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and dignity of the married state.
Believing spouses may also conclude a civil marriage and thereafter undergo a religious ceremony by which they confirm their marriage before God and, if they are baptised, the sacrament of marriage will also be conferred upon them. If the spouses decide that they wish to conclude a civil marriage first and thereafter also undergo a religious wedding ceremony, the Family Act in no way prevents them from doing so. The Family Act merely provides that if a civil marriage has been concluded, subsequent religious ceremonies have no legal consequences. It is then a matter for the particular church or religious society whether it will allow the undergoing of such a religious ceremony. The advantage of this alternative is that all legal formalities associated with marriage are carried out by an office that has extensive experience with the conclusion of marriage, will assist the spouses with the completion of the relevant forms, will check all documents and there is no risk that any error would occur.
The opposite procedure, i.e. that a church marriage would be concluded first and thereafter a civil marriage, is not possible. Such a procedure would have no logical justification and the Family Act expressly prohibits it.
This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.