Christian views of marriage

Most Christian authorities and bodies view marriage (also called Holy Matrimony) as a state instituted and ordained by God for the lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife. They consider it the most intimate of human relationships, a gift from God, and a sacred institution.Protestants consider it to be sacred, holy, and even central to the community of faith, while Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians consider it a Sacrament. Biblically, it is to be "held in honour among all…."

Jesus maintained the importance and sacredness of lifelong marriage in his own teachings. He quoted from both Genesis 1 and 2, stating in Matthew 19:3-6 that God had created humanity as male and female, and that in marriage "'the two will become one flesh'. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate".

In most states with a traditionally majority Christian population, civil laws recognize marriage as having social and political statuses. Christian theology affirms the secular status of marriage, but additionally views it from a moral and religious perspective that transcends all social interests.

While marriage is honored and affirmed among Christians and throughout the Bible, there is no suggestion that it is necessary for everyone. Single people who either have chosen to remain unmarried or who have lost their spouse for some reason are neither incomplete in Christ nor personal failures.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church is explained that "the intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. God himself is the author of marriage." The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. " By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God."This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they "help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children." Christ is the source of this grace. "Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony. "Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens” “ and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love”

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