HOSPITAL/HEALTH CARE CHAPLAINCY
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Information Sheet
Emergency Marriages in Hospital
MAY 2007

The instructions below are relevant for England and Wales which share a common marriage law, and are the limit of the Archbishop's jurisdiction to grant Special Marriage Licences.

In Scotland religious marriages can take place anywhere, ministers having the power to marry couples wherever they see fit (including in hospitals, although presumably consent from the hospital authority should be arranged, and subsequent registration of the marriage). Civil weddings in Scotland must take place on registered premises. The General Register Office for Scotland should be able to advise.

The General Register Office of Northern Ireland can advise on the situation in Northern Ireland.

PART ONE

1. In speaking of emergency marriages in hospital, the distinction needs to be drawn between:-

(a) cases where a patient is not expected to recover or to be able to leave hospital, but is not in immediate danger of dying; and

(b) cases where there is an expectation or risk of death within a short time.

2. So far as category (a) is concerned, it is possible for an Anglican hospital chaplain to solemnise a marriage in the hospital according to the rites of the Church of England on the authority of a Superintendent Registrar's Certificate (Marriage Act 1983). However, the statutory requirements for the marriage of a "house-bound" person will need to be complied with, including the normal requirement that the certificate cannot be issued until 7 days after notice has been given to the Superintendent Registrar. This procedure is therefore not appropriate for cases in category (b). If it is possible to obtain an SRC this should be done in preference to an Archbishop’s Special Licence, on the basis that the SRC is the more statutorily normal preliminary intended for this circumstance.

3. The only way in which a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England can be arranged at short notice in cases within category (b) is by applying for an Archbishop's Special Marriage Licence. For a civil ceremony a Registrar General's Licence must be applied for, which again allows a marriage to take place without the usual notice period, but which cannot be used to authorise a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England. For a Register General’s Licence the patient must have little chance of recovery, which is not a condition of the Archbishop’s Special Licence. A couple may wish to have a civil wedding using the expeditious Register General’s licence, and then have a service of blessings with an Anglican minister. It is also possible to have read the marriage rite after a civil wedding is properly contracted (Canon B36), but no record of such a service shall be entered into the register books, nor any banns published nor licence or certificate authorising a marriage issued.

4. Superintendent Registrar’s Certificates and Registrar General’s Licences are obtained from local Register Offices, and chaplains should of course ensure that they have the relevant contact details to hand.

5. Archbishop's Special Licences are issued from:

The Faculty Office 1 The Sanctuary London SW1P 3JT
Tel:	020 7222 5381
Fax:	020 7222 7502
Email:	faculty.office@1Thesanctuary.com

Emergency marriages in hospital by the Archbishop’s Special Licence should be brought to the Faculty Office’s attention by telephone. The Office is open Monday to Friday during normal office hours, except on public holidays.

An Archbishop's Special Licence is a privilege to which certain conditions are attached:

(a)                The couple should genuinely desire a wedding according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England;

(b)        there must be a need for the wedding to take place in hospital;

(c)                the families of the couple should support the intended marriage and the marriage should not be the cause of scandal ;

(d)        both parties to the marriage must be of sound mind, and not mentally incapacitated because of his/her/their illness

(e)        persons divorced with a former spouse still living must comply with House of Bishops' Advice to Clergy (see part B)

Applications should be submitted on the prescribed application form, copies of which are available from the Faculty Office.

6. In connection with applications for Special Marriage Licences certain documentation is required:

(a)                A letter from the doctor in attendance which states that "the patient is seriously ill, is unlikely to recover, cannot/or should not be moved to a place registered for a marriage and understands the nature of marriage". The exact wording of this documentation is important and you may like to use the enclosed example as a model (Annex A),

(b)             A note of authorisation from the hospital management. (Annex B).

(c)    A letter from the member of the clergy setting out the circumstances of the application.

7. The Special Licence application has two stages. The first is the completion of the prescribed application form with the couple and the sending of this and the documents listed above to the Registrar. If the application is approved, the second stage is for an affidavit and commission to be sent out and sworn either by the bride and bridegroom. On receipt of these papers the Licence can be granted and issued. If the patient is in an unstable condition the Licence can be drawn up for the marriage to take place ‘AT ANY TIME’ including outside the canonical hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

8. Please consider the need to have marriage registers available for the ceremony, which should be the marriage registers of the parish in which the hospital or hospice is situated, and you should be in touch with the incumbent to gain loan of these.

9. Finally, I am sure you will be very much aware that one of the reasons why a couple sometimes request marriage in such circumstances is to ensure that the survivor inherits the property of the person who is not expected to recover. Whether a chaplain thinks the case is an appropriate one for an "emergency" marriage is of course a matter of his or her own discretion, but it is clear that in some cases the couple's concerns could be met by a will made on the basis of proper legal advice. Even where the marriage does take place that it is not a substitute for making a satisfactory will.

PART TWO: Divorcees with a spouse still living

10. In the light of the decisions of General Synod, in particular the rescission of the marriage resolutions of the Canterbury and York Convocations and the issuing of the Advice to the Clergy by the House of Bishops in November 2002, the Archbishop of Canterbury has reviewed his policy on the issue of Special Licences in such cases. In line with the decision of the Synod and the teaching of the Church (contained in Canon B.30) Licences may be available only in exceptional circumstances and in particular, there must be evidence that the couple have been interviewed as recommended in the House of Bishops' Advice to the Clergy (GS1449B), available from Church House bookshop, and available (at the time this advice is given) through the Internet at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/papers/mcad.

11. Chaplains should be aware that applications for Special Licence from divorcees who have a former spouse still living are treated with some care and are not necessarily guaranteed of success. Some chaplains have expressed a difficulty to confront applicants with the House of Bishops' Advice and to ask the difficult questions, especially if the applicant is seriously ill.

12. Applications of divorced persons who wish to remarry in the lifetime of their former spouse should be accompanied with the questionnaire in Annex C.

13. It is important that, at the outset, chaplains talk through the choices available to the couple. It might be appropriate to explain the choice between Anglican marriage by an Archbishop’s Special Licence and civil marriage by Registrar General’s Licence (with or without a service of blessings). Generally, chaplains must be careful (although not unsympathetic) in the way they approach (re-) marriage in hospital, especially because of the implications to wills, inheritance, family harmony and the possibility, in some circumstances, that the patient will have a diminished mental capacity for rational decision making because of illness.

14. This Office is willing to send and receive copies of the above documentation by facsimile and email to expedite matters, on the understanding that the hard copies will be sent on afterward. Additionally this Office is willing to give permission over the telephone, if necessary, for the chaplain to solemnise the marriage, once the affidavit has been sworn.

Part Three: Marriages in Hospital of Relatives of the Sick

15. You may be asked whether it is possible for a marriage in hospital to take place of persons who are not confined to the hospital, but who wish to marry in the sight of a close relative from his or her deathbed. This is only possible by Archbishop’s Licence, and requests of this nature should be made with the Faculty Office directly.

Ian S. Blaney
Assistant Clerk
Office of the Court of Faculties
020 7222 5381
www.facultyoffice.org.uk

ANNEX A
EMERGENCY MARRIAGES IN HOSPITAL

Hospital Headed Paper

Patient's full name:

Hospital:

I certify that:

I am in attendance on the above named patient

that the patient is seriously ill [and is not expected to recover]

the patient cannot be moved from the hospital to a place registered for marriage

the patient understands the nature and purport of marriage.

Doctor's signature:

Doctor's qualifications:

Date:

ANNEX B
EMERGENCY MARRIAGES IN HOSPITAL

Hospital Headed Paper

Patient's full name:

Hospital:

I confirm that permission is given for the above named patient to be married in hospital.

Name and position:

Hospital:

Date:

ANNEX C

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS – Divorcees wishing to remarry in the lifetime of a previous spouse

1. Has a Decree Absolute been issued in respect of the first marriage? If so, please attach the original or a Court issued copy bearing the coloured Court stamp.

...............................................................................................

2. Have you interviewed the couple as recommended in Sections 4.5 and 4.6 of the House of Bishops' Advice to the Clergy?

...............................................................................................

3. Please attach a copy of the completed application form attached to the House of Bishops' leaflet on Marriage in Church after Divorce.

..............................................................................................

4. Have you sought the advice of the Diocesan Bishop (or Area Bishop in an Area Scheme) in this case? If so, what is your Bishop's view?

Please note: If you have not sought the advice of your Bishop, then the Archbishop will do so, because when a Special Licence is being applied for, he considers it helpful to seek the view of the Bishop concerned.

..............................................................................................

Signed.................................................

Date....................................................

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This page was updated on 6 June 2007