I am married but we did only church marriage in Anglican communion as well as traditional marriage. I also got a sworn affidavit of marriage. However, I've always wondered if these are sufficient. I actually asked a court registrar who told me that since I wedded in the Anglican church, there was no need for court wedding. But I hear the laws governing church and registry marriages are different. Pls family lawyers in the house, what do you think? Should I do a registry marriage or not? Am I fully protected with chuch marriage certificate? If not, what are the advantages of one over the other? Thank you as you respond.

Once you are wedded in any of the Orthodox Churches particularly Anglican, Catholic, Methodist and so on you are issued a certificate of marriage which is same as that issued by the Court registry so you do not need to do a marriage in the Registry unless you wish to. The Orthodox churches are licensed places of worship. Your marriage certificate will be that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pursuant to the Marriage Act, not that of the name of a church.

Thanks @ kenny. I have some questions, though. The certificate stated "according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion". Why not according to the marriage laws in Nigeria? Also, I've seen some Catholic and Anglican churches who make it compulsory for a couple to do a registry marriage before doing a church marriage. Why is that necessary? Does the Court certificate confer a certain protection that other forms of marriage don't, or is it just fashionable to do both?

For purposes of international travel and having to present valid proof of marriage at embassies, it is advised to have a Registry marriage. However, the courts in Nigeria will usually honour any marriage certificate from a recognised and licensed place of worship. So, if you're gonna travel out or have any int'l dealings that will require a valid proof of marriage, then you must procure a certificate from a court Registry.

Thanks,Kenny. Pls indulge me further. I actually started thinking about this due to something that happened at work. A colleague's daughter was sent home from school for inablity to pay school fees. She was then explaining to us that her husband divorced her(she married according to Islamic rites) and left her 4 children for her to fend fully for them. Hence her inability to cope. Another colleague then commented that if she had done registry marriage, she could have taken her husband to court and forced him to cater for his children. My question is this. Couldn't she have taken him to court based on her certificate according to Islamic rites?

am not yet a lawyer. but presently am a law student. a church marriage certificate is not sufficient until it follows the order of form e as stipulated by the Marriage Act. so a church wedding become sufficient if the
place of worship is a licensed place. most orthodox churches have their own way of marriage and certificate which is not in the pattern of the form e. the question is were you given a registrar 's certificate along with the church certificate? if no, then there is still need for a marriage in the registrar 's office.

Thanks@Bimcious. No,I was not given a registry certificate along with the church certificate.

I had a registry wedding 3yrs after church wedding, wedded in a Catholic church. It takes nothing, just do it instead of speculating.

Thanks, @beevan. I'd do just that.

Chioma134, it's not enough to wed in a licensed place of worship, you must be given a certificate of marriage which must be in FORM E.
From what you stated here,

chioma134: The certificate stated "according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion".

it is clear that your marriage certificate is NOT in the prescribed form.
My advice is that you should register your marriage and obtain a marriage certificate in the prescribed form. Without being issued with the FORM E, your marriage is as good as a customary marriage.
Happy Married Life.

It depends on the church.

I got married in an Anglican Church and my marriage certificate is exactly like the one given in the registry. But I was instructed to go to the registry before the wedding.... And also after the wedding you take the certificate to the registry.

But if you don't have the Nigeria republic marriage certificate, please go to the registry.

Note: Your colleague can still go to court no matter the type of wedding she had.

@purplesummer, thanks for explaining it clearly. I didn't even know I have to register a certificate after marriage.@jokespearl, thanks for your contribution. I will do as you suggested. And I will suggest to my colleague the possibilty of taking her husband to court.

@op: Your friend married under Islamic rights has no recourse before any of the courts of superior record(High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court). She can only approach the Sharia Courts and show proof of her marriage under islamic rights. The courts of superior record only entertain petitions regarding marriages conducted under the Marriage Act.

@kenny,does it also apply to church marriages not done under the marriage Act?

kenny987: @op: Your friend married under Islamic rights has no recourse before any of the courts of superior record(High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court). She can only approach the Sharia Courts and show proof of her marriage under islamic rights. The courts of superior record only entertain petitions regarding marriages conducted under the Marriage Act.

Do you have to be married to get child support in Nigeria? Even if you can't go to court for divorce or Alimony, what about child support?

Did the church send you to the the registry before your wedding? And does your certificate bear "Republic of Nigeria Marriage Certificate"? If no, you will have to do a registry wedding.

Had mine in Anglican Church and i went through the registry to obtain my certificate which the church used to wed us.

Islamic marriage is covered for as well. So to desolve such you can approach the customary court

Phema:
Did the church send you to the the Registery before your wedding? And does your certificate bear the "Republic of Nigeria Marriage Certificate"? If no, you will have to do a Registery wedding.

Had mine in Anglican Church and i went through the Registery to obtain my certificate which the church used to wed us.

yes....you are correct. That's how it works

OP I got married in an Anglican church but before then I was asked to go to registry and give them 21 days notice then I was given 3months to complete my wedding so my wedding certificate is from the federal republic of Nigeria also after my white wedding I was given one of the marriage certificates to take to the registry, if yours didn't go through this process then you need registry.

But where is lalasticlala sef

You better go to registry so you can have mouth legally

Blade21:
OP I got married in an Anglican church but before then I was asked to go to registry and give them 21 days notice then I was given 3months to complete my wedding so my wedding certificate is from the federal republic of Nigeria also after my white wedding I was given one of the marriage certificates to take to the registry, if yours didn't go through this process then you need registry.

Good morning blade and happy new year. I was just reading these posts and thought to ask my own questions. Am an Anglican and am not married yet but soon to be on April this year, I was given the requirement list for marrying in the church(money for bands, choir, endowment fund, officiating ministers and so on), was given an affidavit form to go to the court and sign up for that. My question is, after signing the affidavit form and registering will there be any need doing court marriage before the wedding? Or what is the necessity for giving 21 days notice? Tho my pastor gave us dates to be coming to church for announcements, he never mentioned marriage classes. Please I just need a full breakdown of things that should be done before and after the marriage.

HolySteph:

Good morning blade and happy new year. I was just reading these posts and thought to ask my own questions. Am an Anglican and am not married yet but soon to be on April this year, I was given the requirement list for marrying in the church(money for bands, choir, endowment fund, officiating ministers and so on), was given an affidavit form to go to the court and sign up for that. My question is, after signing the affidavit form and registering will there be any need doing court marriage before the wedding? Or what is the necessity for giving 21 days notice? Tho my pastor gave us dates to be coming to church for announcements, he never mentioned marriage classes. Please I just need a full breakdown of things that should be done before and after the marriage.

hello dear congratulations well after the 21days notice you will be given a slip then when you complete your wedding you will go back to the registry and give them a copy of your marriage certificate its usually 3copies church will hold one, you will hold the other then the 3 one goes to the registry to keep a record of your marriage. the court marriage is not necessary because your marriage certificate has the federal republic of Nigeria logo as for marriage course you can do it in two weeks so no biggy it depends on the priest

Blade21:
hello dear congratulations well after the 21days notice you will be given a slip then when you complete your wedding you will go back to the registry and give them a copy of your marriage certificate its usually 3copies church will hold one, you will hold the other then the 3 one goes to the registry to keep a record of your marriage. the court marriage is not necessary because your marriage certificate has the federal republic of Nigeria logo as for marriage course you can do it in two weeks so no biggy it depends on the priest

Thank you so much Blade. I'm so grateful for the explanations.

It's happening to me now, I wedded in a Catholic church, and one of there requirement was to obtain a registration of marriage Form from the L.G marriage Registry (Form E or so). But after the wedding, I was given the church marriage certificate ( don't carry any FG logo, just the church) and one for that matter. Going to do a change of name, and to register the certificate
I was told it's not the right one. So am now going to do court marriage to obtain the right one, for my marriage to be registered. Not all the Branch of the license church have the Right F G marriage certificate.

You probably should open another thread before Nigerian Catholics and Anglicans start fighting.

The OP said she's Anglican.

chioma134:
I am married but we did only church marriage in Anglican communion as well as traditional marriage. I also got a sworn affidavit of marriage. However, I've always wondered if these are sufficient. I actually asked a court registrar who told me that since I wedded in the Anglican church, there was no need for court wedding. But I hear the laws governing church and registry marriages are different. Pls family lawyers in the house, what do you think? Should I do a registry marriage or not? Am I fully protected with chuch marriage certificate? If not, what are the advantages of one over the other? Thank you as you respond.

Please lodge a copy of the marriage certificate in the nearest Federal registry and you are good to go.

ojulet:
It's happening to me now, I wedded in a Catholic church, and one of there requirement was to obtain a registration of marriage Form from the L.G marriage Registry (Form E or so). But after the wedding, I was given the church marriage certificate ( don't carry any FG logo, just the church) and one for that matter. Going to do a change of name, and to register the certificate
I was told it's not the right one. So am now going to do court marriage to obtain the right one, for my marriage to be registered. Not all the Branch of the license church have the Right F G marriage certificate.

The normal process is to go to your preferred registry and inform them that you are getting married in a registered church. They will give you the forms and some other processes. You take it to the church and they witness and sign it for you (during your wedding ceremony). Then you take a copy back to the registry. The first part is very important and churches who know what they are doing will ensure you don't bypass it.

If it's a bigger branch, they will collect from the registry on your behalf and then you drop the copy with the registry.

Hello. Like you said, a bigger church can collect the form from the registry on your behalf and you will drop a copy off at the registry at end of the wedding ceremony.

Please what happens, if the couple do not drop off the copy at registry office at the end of the wedding ceremony. Will the marriage still be a valid one legally?

blank:


The normal process is to go to your preferred registry and inform them that you are getting married in a registered church. They will give you the forms and some other processes. You take it to the church and they witness and sign it for you (during your wedding ceremony). Then you take a copy back to the registry. The first part is very important and churches who know what they are doing will ensure you don't bypass it.

If it's a bigger branch, they will collect from the registry on your behalf and then you drop the copy with the registry.

chioma134:
Thanks,Kenny. Pls indulge me further. I actually started thinking about this due to something that happened at work. A colleague's daughter was sent home from school for inablity to pay school fees. She was then explaining to us that her husband divorced her(she married according to Islamic rites) and left her 4 children for her to fend fully for them. Hence her inability to cope. Another colleague then commented that if she had done registry marriage, she could have taken her husband to court and forced him to cater for his children. My question is this. Couldn't she have taken him to court based on her certificate according to Islamic rites?

Yes. She vould have

chioma134:
Thanks,Kenny. Pls indulge me further. I actually started thinking about this due to something that happened at work. A colleague's daughter was sent home from school for inablity to pay school fees. She was then explaining to us that her husband divorced her(she married according to Islamic rites) and left her 4 children for her to fend fully for them. Hence her inability to cope. Another colleague then commented that if she had done registry marriage, she could have taken her husband to court and forced him to cater for his children. My question is this. Couldn't she have taken him to court based on her certificate according to Islamic rites?

She can and it will be judged based on what Islamic religion permits.

cerpvad:
Hello. Like you said, a bigger church can collect the form from the registry on your behalf and you will drop a copy off at the registry at end of the wedding ceremony.

Please what happens, if the couple do not drop off the copy at registry office at the end of the wedding ceremony. Will the marriage still be a valid one legally?

It's valid just that the registry won't have any record of it. I would suggest the person goes to the nearest registry and make inquiries on how to drop the copy.