Indissoluble and Valid Marriage in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Church of Southern Africa: A Canonical Review

Abstract

This article is based on a master’s research undertaken at St Augustine College of South Africa, Johannesburg from 2017 to 2019. The study sought to compare and contrast the concept of marriage indissolubility in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA). Canon law is well established as a field of study in the Roman Catholic Church and is documented in the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Latin Church (Codex Iuris Canonici-CIC/83). However, there has been limited study of canon law in the Anglican Church. The study of canon law in the Anglican Church has developed over the years since it was banned at the English Reformation in the 16th century. The article seeks to demonstrate similarities and differences in the nature of marriage indissolubility and validity in the Roman Catholic Church and the ACSA. It will focus on the jurisprudence of the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Latin Church and canon 34 of the ACSA.