From pagans to Bolsheviks: How families were created in Russia, who were refused marriage and when they were allowed to divorce

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Today, in order to get married, a couple in love only needs to apply to the registry office. Everything is very simple and accessible. People easily tie themselves by marriage and divorce just as often. And it is even difficult to imagine that once the creation of a family was associated with many rituals, and there were only a few (and very compelling) reasons for divorce.

How marriages were contracted in pagan Russia and after the adoption of Christianity

In pagan Russia, customs played a huge role, and family relations were regulated by them. In order for the marriage to be considered concluded, the bride was abducted (“kidnapped”), received a ransom for her, which was based on oral agreements between the parties - the parents of the young couple agreed on this with the groom or his relatives. There were both monogamous and polygamous families.

After Christianity was adopted in Russia, the church began to manage marriage relations, using the model of Byzantine marriage and family legislation. Marriage was considered a religious sacrament, and the church required that a number of conditions be met for its conclusion. According to the Book of Helms, one marriage was allowed in life, before the wedding, an engagement rite was necessarily carried out, which was confirmed by the so-called conspiracy record. If one of the parties did not fulfill its promise, then it was obliged to pay a forfeit.

For the marriage to take place, the parents of the young, and the couple themselves, had to give consent. The age of potential spouses could not be less than 13 years for females and less than 15 for men.

There were also some other reasons for the refusal of marriage: physical infirmity, kinship between the bride and groom, priesthood, monasticism, as well as proven guilt in the collapse of a previous marriage. The main reason for the refusal was non-Christian denomination. It became possible to dissolve marriages since 1551, when it was prescribed in the Collection of Decrees of the Church Council, and the betrayal of one of the spouses had a special weight for divorce.

Not all of the rules were strictly followed. Very often, the parents did not ask the consent of the young people, since according to the custom that came from pagan times, marriage was considered exclusively as a property transaction. However, the opinion of the parents had their weight in noble circles. Commoners were more likely to marry based on mutual affection for each other.

In medieval Russia, Domostroy was used as the basis for regulating family relations, its rules were mandatory. The monogamous patriarchal family was considered the ideal model. Domostroy declared the family to be the highest value, which should be protected and not allowed to disintegrate.

Innovations of Peter I

After Peter I came to power, family law began to develop as an important element of the legal structure. The first decree, which was issued by the king, delighted many, since according to it the closest relatives of the young were obliged to swear that the marriage was voluntary and was carried out with the full consent of the parties. It became possible to dissolve the engagement, the penalty for refusing to marry was no longer charged. Parental authority has been reduced and the role of women in the family has been strengthened.

It was possible to dissolve the marriage only if there were good reasons, namely: the disappearance of a spouse and absence for three years, a link to eternal hard labor, betrayal of the husband in the house of the spouses and the assumption of betrayal of his wife, a serious incurable disease, sexual impotence, an attempt to encroach on the life of a spouse, as well as concealment of information about the planned crimes against the king.

Since 1722, the responsibility of registering marriages has been entrusted to parish priests. And in 1775 it was possible to conclude a marriage only in the church, to which one of the spouses belonged by residence. The minimum age for legal marriage was raised to 16 for the bride and 18 for the groom. But the grown-up young also had to obtain parental consent.

In the forties of the 18th century, the Synod, taking care of the birth rate, issues a decree prohibiting persons who have turned 80 years old to marry. Documents related to marriage began to be included in the code of civil laws. Much attention is paid to the regulation of family relations, for example, it is said that the husband is obliged to protect and love his wife, help her, forgive her shortcomings, and the wife should be the mistress of the house, obey her husband unquestioningly and love him. The spouses must live in the husband's house.

Conclusion of marriages in pre-revolutionary Russia

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, no special changes were made to the rules for contracting marriage. The young, striving to unite their destinies, had to seek blessings from the priest of their parish. If they wanted to get married in another parish, this could not be done without the permission of the priest of the church to which they were assigned. Officials and the military in order to marry, had to have the written consent of the chief. The bride and groom received the so-called premarital certificate, which was then presented in the church in order for the wedding to take place.

Special rules existed for the military, since they did not belong to any particular parish, they were crowned where they lived. The permission of the authorities was still required, but this did not mean that without him the wedding would not have been perfect. But in this case, the military man received a severe reprimand.

The marriage was not concluded if the previous one did not end. The term “termination” meant that one of the spouses died or the marriage was dissolved. Separately, it should be said about the divorce. It was quite difficult to formalize them officially, and the divorce rate was negligible. There is an opinion of historians that a large number of illegitimate children appeared in Russia precisely because of the complexity of the divorce procedure.

Thus, marriage could only be obtained by obtaining permission from the church and the secular authorities. Ecclesiastical admission was given by the Spiritual consistory, based on the testimony of the priest of the church to which those wishing to marry belonged. The secular authorities clarified the points related to state jurisdiction, for example, whether the groom will have military service in the near future.

Weddings in Russia have always been associated with interesting rituals. Torturing the bride, warming the wedding bed and other traditions of the Russian wedding still arouse great interest today.