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1.TheElementsoftheLutheranConceptionofMarriage
ThebasicdiferencebetweentheLutheranandCatholictheologyof
marriageisinthefactthatforLutherandtheLutherantradition,mar-
riageisnotasacramentinthestrictsense,thatis,itisnotasignbestow-
inggracebuta“secularthing,”meaningsomenaturalrealityconcerning
allpeople.
2
LutheradmitsthattheFathersoftheChurchconceivedof
matrimonyasofasacrament.Initially
,thereformerhimselfseemedtosee
itinthesameway
.3Inthecourseoftime,however,hisviewsofjustifica-
tionledhimtorejectionofthesacramentalcharacterofmarriage.Indeed,
inhispolemicalworkTheBabylonianCaptivityoftheChurch(1520),he
questionedthesacramentalcharacterofmarriageandthecompetencesof
thePopeandChurchconcerningit.4
Ontheonehand,thisfollowedfromthefactthat,accordingto
Luther,marriagewasneitherestablishedbyChristnorgivenapromise
ofgrace(theNewTestamentdoesnotcontainanyclearconfirmationof
thistruth),butitwasestablishedbyGodintheactofcreatingmanand
womanwhoarecalledtomultiplythehumanrace(cf.Gen1:27).At
thesametime,Lutheremphasizedthatthereweretwoessentialelements
constitutingeverysacrament:thewordofGod,thatis,beingestablished
byChrist,andincludingHispromiseofgrace,andthevisiblesign
likewaterinthesacramentofbaptismorbreadandwineintheEucha-
rist.Thisruledoutsomeoftheso-calledsacraments,includingmarriage.5
Thus,thewordsofthemarriagevows,accordingtoLuther,donotcon-
tainanymatterthatcouldtestifytosacramentalcharacterofmarriage.
Tobetrue,marriagewasestablishedbyGod,butinitself,accordingto
thereformer,itdoesnotbestowGod’sgracetothehumanasthelatter
2Lutherdidnotwriteanysystematicstudyonmatrimonyandfamilylife.Hefor-
mulatedhisviewsonthesemattersinthefollowingwritings:ASermonontheEstateof
Marriage(1519),TheBabylonianCaptivityoftheChurch(1520),TheEstateofMarriage
(1522),Commentaryon1Corynthians7(1523),WeddingBook(1529),LargeCatechism
(1530),OnMarriageMatters(1530),AMarriageSermononHebrews13:4(1531).They
arequotedhereafterthecriticalWeimarEdition:MartinLuthersWerke.KritischeGe-
samtausgabe.Weimar1883—1948,theso-calledWeimarerAusgabe(thiseditionisusu-
allyreferredtoasWA).Cf.J.MOtyka:“Luterorodzinieiwrodzinie.”W:Zproblemów
reformacji,t.6.Red.E.OłtaRzewska-WIeja.Bielsko-Biała1993,p.88;C.MaRUccI:Mat-
rimonioedivorzionellateologiadiMartinLutero.In:G.LORIzIO,V.ScIPPa(eds.),Ecclesiae
sacramentum.StudiinonorediP.AlfredoMarranziniS.J.Napoli1986,pp.38—40.
3
Cf.M.LUtHeR:ASermonontheEstateofMarriage.WA2,p.168;C.MaRUccI:
Matrimonioedivorzio…,p.44.
4Cf.M.LUtHeR:TheBabylonianCaptivityoftheChurch.WA6,pp.550,553.
5Cf.Ibidem,p.560;J.PelIkaN:Tradycjachrześcijańska.Historiarozwojudoktryny,
t.4:ReformacjaKościołaidogmatów1300—1700.Kraków2010,p.216.