Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
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What does the church mean by wanting to know if a couple, about to marry, is virgin or not? Who else apart from the father of confession, who is the priest marrying the couple, and the partner should know? Does this get documented somewhere?

It is sufficient that the Confessor Father is made aware of his spiritual child's errors, repentance, and growth. In the case of the loss of virginity, informing the spouse-to-be is recommended to avoid future problems i.e. if a spouse discovers after marriage that his/her spouse is not virgin, he/she may request marriage annulment because this is considered deception. So the priest who marries the couple should make sure that both spouses know and accept each other's virginity status to eliminate the marriage annulment risk. This should be documented and signed by both spouses to avoid any denial in the future. This document will be kept confidential and not to be shared with anybody else. If the priest who marries the couple is the confessor father, then no body else should know about this. When our Lord Jesus Christ showed great compassion on the adulteress who was caught in sin, He assured her that she was not to be condemned by anyone. "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said 'No one, Lord.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more'" (Matthew 8:10,11).
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