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Questions & Answers

Premarital Disclosure

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Marriage and Family › Premarital Disclosure

The question

I was wondering if any details of past relationships that are not a part of one's life anymore must be disclosed to a girl?one is interested in before engagement or marriage?

How much detail must be disclosed if it is necessary and why? I confessed to my father of confession one year ago about something. He told me I would have to tell the girl I'm going to marry this information. It troubled me because I could see it affecting my relationship with a girl whom I truly love.

I am not in any relationships now but this is something that is bothering me. I do not mean to second guess my father of confession but I can not think of a reason to tell the girl, if by the grace of God the sin is in the past and not a current struggle.

The answer

Depending on the former situation, if your spouse to be is led to believe in an untrue image about you based on erroneous information, then her agreement to marry you would be based on deception, especially if these characteristics carry great value to her and do not meet her expectations. If your former discretions are revealed after marriage, it can be very problematic and cause discord, mistrust, and resentment between you. Feelings of infidelity may stem from that point forward although the sins were from the past. Follow the instructions of your confession father and disclose what you can without much detail.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 1699 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.