Priest Efanov explained what threatens the wedding with a second cousin
Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Andrey Efanov told whether marriage between second cousins is allowed and how the Church relates to such marriages.
Church norms prohibit weddings between people who are related to the fifth and sixth degree inclusive. This category includes cousins and second cousins.
Second cousins belong to the sixth degree of kinship. Therefore, the wedding of a man and a woman who are second cousins is considered unacceptable from the point of view of church rules. Such a union the priest characterizes as a grave sin, reports “Thoma”.
Andrey Efanov noted that special circumstances may arise in certain situations. Those who want to find out whether a wedding is possible in a particular case, he recommended to contact their parish and discuss the issue with the priest.
