The Origin of the Pauline Privilege

Abstract

The indissolubility of marriage is a distinctive trait of the Catholic doctrine on marriage, also compared to the other Christian denominations. According to the doctrine, this indissolubility is characteristic not only for the Christian marriage, but for every marriage. As a matter of fact, in some cases the Church acknowledges itself the power of dissolution of non-sacramental marriages. Traditionally, the historical and doctrinal origin of this power is traced back to the so-called « Pauline privilege ». This article deals with the study of the historical origins of the above-mentioned privilege, first through the exegetical study of 1Cor 7,15, that represents the scriptural basis of the privilege, and then analysing the history of interpretation of this passage, up to the Decretum Gratiani (xii century). For this purpose, not only canonical, but also exegetical and theological sources will be taken into consideration.