Interconfessional (Mixed) Marriage: The Theological Dimension of the “Person” and Pastoral Care in the History of the Holy and Great Council of Crete and Related Documents

In the last century, under the influence of the theological personalism (theology of the Person), the Orthodox Church felt the need of a universal and uniform approach to different pastoral questions. Among those we find also the question of inter-confessional (mixed) marriage. This question was approached during the preparation of the Holy and Great Council of Crete. In 2016 the Great Council of the Orthodox Church, finally convened, specified and confessed that inter-confessional marriages are forbidden according to the traditional canon-law (akriveia), but the salvation of the person must be kept in mind and permission could be given in the spirit of pastoral discernment (oikonomia). The history of the Council shows the struggle for finding a balance between canon law and pastoral care, regarding many pastoral issues nowadays, including inter-confessional marriage.