July 23. On this date in 1984, the Universal House of Justice wrote
"withdrawal of consent by one or more of the parents prior to a Bahá'í
marriage...the marriage cannot take place...parents consent to the
marriage of the man to the woman concerned. It does not require that
they consent to the performance of any particular ceremony. Obviously,
where the parents are Bahá'ís, it is taken for granted that the marriage
of a Bahá'í couple will be by the performance of the Bahá'í ceremony."
"1. Your understanding about withdrawal of consent by one or more of the parents prior to a Bahá'í marriage is correct; namely, if such withdrawal occurs, the marriage cannot take place.
"2. The principle of the Bahá'í law requiring parental consent to marriage is that the parents consent to the marriage of the man to the woman concerned. It does not require that they consent to the performance of any particular ceremony. Obviously, where the parents are Bahá'ís, it is taken for granted that the marriage of a Bahá'í couple will be by the performance of the Bahá'í ceremony. In some cases, however, it would be difficult for non-Bahá'í parents to give consent to the participation of their son or daughter in a Bahá'í religious ceremony, and in these cases the distinction of principle is important. In other words, if the non-Bahá'í parents consent to the marriage of the couple, the Bahá'í ceremony can be held unless they expressly object to the holding of the Bahá'í ceremony, in which case the marriage cannot take place."
(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, July 23, 1984)
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