§ 183. The Prenuptial Examination

To the betrothal of which we have now spoken, only the significance of a church rite to be performed before the wedding is generally attributed today. But in order that certain persons may be admitted to that rite, and in order that assurance may be obtained that all the preconditions required for a lawful marriage exist and that there are no marital impediments—in other words, in order to obtain the conviction that the parties concerned may in every respect lawfully enter into marriage—a prenuptial examination (examen sponsorum) has been introduced in the Church. This examination consists of two parts: the first concerns the aforementioned marital preconditions (§ 181), and the second, knowledge of the Christian faith. The first part is regularly performed by the parish priest in the presence of the parents or guardians of the young couple and the witnesses concerned, and the second is performed by the parish priest alone with the young couple.

Of the first, Symeon of Thessalonica speaks,[1] and afterward the Slavonic Krmčija.[2] At this first examination the parish priest must hear from the young couple that they are willing to enter into marriage, that they are compelled to it by no one, that they stand in no kinship with one another, and in general that there is no impediment standing in the way of the marriage. Having heard from them all that is needed for a proper marriage to be contracted, the priest takes care to obtain assurance of this also from the parents or guardians of the young couple, and likewise from the witnesses concerned, and if nothing of this sort comes to light that could hinder the marriage, a corresponding protocol is drawn up, which all present at the examination sign, and this protocol is kept in the parish archive; or else all this is entered into a book specially kept for this purpose in the parish, in which all present sign at the appropriate place. If the young couple are not of one parish, then this examination is performed by each parish priest separately, in his own parish, with the party concerned, and the priests concerned then communicate the result of the examination to one another in writing. If the examination shows that nothing stands in the way of the marriage being contracted, the priest may then proceed to the banns; if something of this sort appears, he turns to the diocesan bishop for the necessary clarification, or for dispensation from whatever impediment exists.[3]

The second examination consists in the priest obtaining assurance that the young couple know the foundations of the Christian faith and know the principal prayers. This is done so that the young couple may know the essence of the sacrament of marriage and the sanctity of the bond into which they are entering, and so that they may also be capable of teaching their own children the faith and piety. If the priest notices that the young couple do not have sufficient knowledge of the faith and do not know the principal prayers, he is obliged to instruct them in these, and by no means to marry them before they satisfy this requirement.[4]