Q&A Home > D > Divorce

• Does the Church oppose divorce because of the verse that says, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6)?
• Does the Coptic Orthodox Church allow divorce? For example, if one of the couple has an affair, does the Church divorce the two?
• How is the Coptic Orthodox church different from all other Christianities in terms of doctrine and dogma related to marriage and divorce?
• I am in the midst of getting a divorce. I was an Evangelical Christian, but then lost my faith in God about one year and a half ago as my husband seemed like two different people and hurt me. I have been talking with Coptic Christians for a while and have visited churches. As my faith is regained, I wonder about these things. Will I be accepted into the Church, seeing as I am broken and will be divorced? I am not yet thirty years old. Will I have to stay single for the rest of my life because of a bad choice I made when I did not know any better? I really feel this is my path, but some of the consequences of my failure scare me.
• I realize that the Coptic Church does not generally allow divorce. But I have a question that was asked by a friend of mine a few days ago. If there is a situation in which a husband beats his wife and this happened shortly after marriage (within a year or so), and the wife did take all the necessary precautions before marriage to examine the other individual and is innocent of getting into a marriage too quickly (she introduced the individual to their father of confession etc...), what would be the Church's stance on divorce in this situation? The main issues for me are: How can the Church justify not allowing someone to remarry even though he/she was put in an extremely bad situation which he/she could not foresee? Why should they be denied companionship for not being able to see into the future? I realize separation is a possibility but how can the church deny remarriage in a situation like this? The second issue is I realize that there is one Bishop who makes the decision. I am not in any way personally criticizing a Bishop in his wisdom and authority, but the question that came from my friend was should there not be a panel rather than one person who decides the fate of an individual? Can that Bishop make a mistake in his judgment? Are there Church Father writings that indicate what should be done? I looked at St. John Chrysostom's writings but unfortunately did not find much, just simply that divorce is not allowed and the justification for it not being allowed.
• If a couple hate each other and fight every day and abuse each other, is it not better to divorce than to stay in a relationship were they sin every day?
• If our Church’s view on divorce is biblically based, how come it is not consistent in its application?
• Two parents are having a problem. The church tried to solve the problem but one of the parents has refused any solution and filed for divorce in the court. What if there is no adultery involved? Can a precept be issued that no Christian takes his brother to court?