Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches Canon 776 states §1. The matrimonial covenant, established by the Creator and ordered by His laws, by which a man and woman by an irrevocable personal consent establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the generation and education of the offspring.
§3. The essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility, which in a marriage between baptized persons obtain a special firmness in virtue of the sacrament.
Realizing that strong families begin with strong marriages, engaged couples need to be well prepared to embark on this journey of long life commitment. All parishes need to offer marriage preparation to help couples develop a better understanding of the sacrament , of the importance of their vocation to married life and its significance for the community and for their eternal life.While marriage preparation programs can take different forms from one parish to another, the Office of Family and Sanctity of Life under the leadership of Bishop Gregory Mansour seeks to provide guidelines for marriage preparation. Please be aware that there are ongoing efforts to come up with unified marriage preparation program to be used in our Maronite parishes.