Mystery of Marriage

Social changes in the contemporary era have directly influenced human relationships, especially the meaning of marriage. In light of these contemporary developments, researchers have emphasized the urgent need to deconstruct marriage and re-constitute it, fundamentally altering its traditional characteristics and meaning in the process. Conversely, the Orthodox Church views the essence of marriage with an interminable consistency and continuity characterized by the mysterion of love in Christ and the family as a “little church.” Is it viable to live the meaning of this mysterion in today’s postmodern era? To examine this issue, this study initiates an interdisciplinary dialogue between postmodern perspectives on marriage and family on the one hand, and the vision of Orthodox theology on the other. By returning to first principles and patristic sources it discusses, in a dialogic manner, four relevant antinomic issues of Christian theology and postmodern thought as they relate to marriage: mystery, love, authority, and intimacy. This new and unexplored dialogue endeavors to contribute to the positive engagement of the Orthodox Church with the postmodern world.


Fr. Bassam Nassif is the Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand, Lebanon. His research addresses contemporary pastoral challenges, such as issues related to marriage, gender, priesthood, personhood, and ethics. In addition to teaching and researching pastoral theology and marital counseling, Fr. Bassam has edited three books, and authored more than thirty book chapters and peer reviewed journal articles. His latest book has been translated into Romanian by Basilica Press.