February 26. On this date in 1986, a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States explained the stipulations for wedding ceremonies "when a Bahá'í is marrying a non-Bahá'í."
"In response to your email of 6 February 1986 we have been instructed by the Universal House of Justice to send you the following clarifications:
--- When two Bahá'ís are marrying, the wedding ceremony should not be held in the place of worship of another religion, nor should the forms of the marriage of other religions be added to the simple Bahá'í ceremony.
--- When a Bahá'í is marrying a non-Bahá'í, and the religious wedding ceremony of the non-Bahá'í partner is to be held in addition to the Bahá'í ceremony, both ceremonies may, if requested, be held in the place of worship of the other religion provided that:
--- Equal respect is accorded to both ceremonies. In other words, the Bahá'í ceremony, which is basically so simple, should not be regarded as a mere formal adjunct to the ceremony of the other religion.
--- The two ceremonies are clearly distinct. In other words, they should not be commingled into one combined ceremony."
(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, February 26, 1986)
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