Wedding as a Prerequisite for the Partaking of Holy Communion.

 In some churches traditions , wedding solemnization is treated as a prerequisite for receiving Holy Communion, creating the impression that marital status determines spiritual eligibility. This raises an important biblical question; Did Christ make marriage a condition for participation in the Breaking of Bread, or is Communion intended for all believers who have received Him by faith?

In certain settings within the Catholic Church, some believers particularly older couples, sometimes rush into mass weddings primarily to qualify for Holy Communion, since solemnized couples are considered canonically “regularized” and therefore eligible to partake.

 While marriage is honorable and sacred, this practice can unintentionally suggest that matrimony functions as a spiritual gateway to grace. The critical issue, however, is whether Scripture presents marriage as a requirement for Communion.

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He addressed His disciples, people who had already believed in Him, and instructed them to “do this in remembrance of Me.” The emphasis was remembrance, faith, and fellowship among believers, not marital qualification (see 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). 

Nowhere in Scripture is marriage presented as the gate through which one must pass before partaking in Communion. The essential biblical qualification is faith in Christ accompanied by a repentant and discerning heart.

Marriage remains a covenantal commitment publicly declared before God and witnesses, but it is not a spiritual license that grants access to God’s grace. Salvation and acceptance before God do not depend on ceremonies. 

The Gospel consistently invites people to come to God as they are; broken, imperfect, and in need of mercy, trusting that transformation follows faith. As Jesus declared in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The invitation is not “come after fulfilling ceremonial conditions,” but “come in faith.”

Therefore, presenting a wedding ceremony as a prerequisite for Holy Communion risks shifting the focus from Christ’s finished work to institutional requirements that Scripture does not explicitly command. Communion is a remembrance for believers; marriage is a covenant for life. One is not the gateway to the other.

Faith brings a believer into the Kingdom of God. Ceremonies, however honorable, do not.