Greek Marriages Act 1884

The Greek Marriages Act 1884 is an act of the British Parliament which allowed courts to declare the validity of Greek Orthodox marriages made between 1836 and 1857. The marriages were celebrated either in their homes or at the Greek Church in London, which by this time had become St Sophia's Cathedral.

Greek Marriages Act 1884

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of certain Marriages of Members of the Greek Church in England
Citation	47 & 48 Vict. c. 20
Introduced by	John Lubbock (Commons)
Dates
Royal assent	3 July 1884
Other legislation
Repealed by	Family Law Act 1986
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Marriage Act 1836 made marriage the business of multiple religious organisations, and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 made it the business of the state. But there was concern among the Greek community that Greek Orthodoxy had not been one of the religious organisations. If this was so, their marriages would be invalid.

The Act laid out a procedure for a court to declare such a marriage valid, and the requirements for doing so.

The first case brought under the Act was Zarafi v Attorney General, in August 1885.

External links

• Bill presented in the Commons