For the first time, perhaps, the Holy Synod and the Ministry of Education and Church Affairs of Greece have given us some definite information on whether our mixed marriages--that is, marriages between Greeks and members of other nationalities here in America--are valid and legal according to the Greek Church and state.

Because numerous and repeated inquiries on this important subject have been addressed by young men and women of marriageable age to the Greek church and consular authorities of Chicago, as well as to the various responsible ministries in Greece, the following bulletin has been published and distributed by the Greek Ministry on Education and Church Affairs, with the consent of the Greek Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, for the benefit of those who are interested.

We recommend that this important announcement be read and carefully explained 2to the Greek people of Chicago by our priests, consular officials, and professional men, because it should interest all of us. The official bulletin of the Ministry on Church Affairs, as it has been communicated to our consulate and to the heads of our churches through the Greek Ministry on Foreign Affairs, follows:

The Ministries on Church and Foreign Affairs inform all Greek citizens living in America that a mixed marriage, that is, the marriage of a Greek citizen to a citizen of any other nationality belonging to a faith other than the Greek Orthodox faith, has, according to Greek law, the dual character of a civil contract and a religious sanction, because the marriage is consummated only with the blessing of the Greek Church authorities. Consequently, a marriage is not valid and legal without the blessing of the church and the necessary religious ceremony.

According to the law on mixed marriages, Christians of the Eastern Orthodox faith are allowed to contract a marriage with Christians belonging to some 3other creed provided that certain practices and principles of the Greek Church are preserved and maintained.

Consequently, if the marriage of a Greek citizen of the Greek Orthodox faith with a Christian of another faith is to be valid in Greece, a religious ceremony must be performed by a functionary or priest of the Eastern Greek Orthodox church. Because the church sanction, however, does not satisfy all the requirements of a valid and legal marriage, a certificate from the local consulate must be obtained, specifying that according to the provisions of civil law there is no legal hindrance to the marriage. Two witnesses must testify before the consul before such a certificate can be issued. These witnesses must be Greek citizens, and must certify under oath that the future husband and wife are not related. On the basis of this certificate the bishopric issues the marriage permit.

Accordingly, any marriage of a Greek citizen performed according to the American civil law is considered invalid as far as the Greek law is concerned.

According to the text of the Greek Civil Law of 1856,"....the marriage of a Greek citizen in foreign lands is subject to the provisions of the laws of Greece". It is also specified that any foreign subject marrying in Greece must conform to the laws of his country in that regard.

So, first, a Greek priest must perform the wedding ceremony; second, a certificate issued by the consular authorities must be obtained, certifying that there is no legal obstacle in the way; and third, a permit must be obtained from the office of the Greek bishop. In this way, the children that are to come will be legitimate and will enjoy the civil and religious privileges of the Greek State.

But, the Greek people of Chicago will immediately ask: Where is the bishop of the Greek Church in Chicago, or, as far as that goes, in the United States? The answer is that we have no Greek bishop in Chicago or America. For that reason, the permission of the bishop in the particular province in Greece from which the prospective groom emigrated must be secured. So here is a 5very important problem which remains unsolved because of the absence of a Greek bishop or archbishop in Chicago and in America generally. The Greek Holy Synod at Athens should provide for the spiritual needs of twenty-five thousand of its children in Chicago and three hundred thousand in the United States. The Synod should appoint a bishop in the principal cities of America, where there are large Greek colonies. At least, it should recognize a few of our more than seventy priests in America who would assume the routine duties of a bishop and would be, let us say, acting bishops.

When the regularly appointed bishop arrives in America, his first task must be the blessing of more than ten thousand marriages of Greeks who have married outside our own group. According to the letter of the bulletin of the Ministry on Church Affairs, and according to the regulations of the Holy Synod, these marriages are not recognized.

The question is a most serious one. Hence, the governing boards of our church communities and our priests must make a report to the Holy Synod of the 6Orthodox Church in Greece with the request that an archbishop of the Greek Church in America be appointed as soon as possible.

We hope that this suggestion of Saloniki will be given serious consideration. We shall be more than happy to publish any announcement or opinion of our church organizations on this question.