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Q: is it true that chinese are getting married in churches bribing the priests?
I have heard that lastly it is getting more fashionable in china to marry in churches, because most of chinese are not christians or catholics are bribing the priests in order to get it?. I cant believe it if thats true, have you heard about it.
If it is true then the shame is on the priests. Selling their soul to the devil for some gold coins.
Do they pay a bribe or a fee?
It's not free to get married in Church.
Scandinavian:
it is in my home country, one party just has to be a regular contributor
ScotsAlan:
A quick Bing:
The Church of England has a standard charge of £451. Seems there is no need to be a regular in the church where you want to get wed.
Prices start at $199 in Vegas:
http://www.littlechurchlv.com/reserve-your-wedding/
Churches are businesses. These are fees, charged by the church. They are not bribes.
$2500 is you want to get married in St Louis Cathedral.
http://www.stlouiscathedral.org/Wedding%20guidelines%2008.pdf
Wow, with fees like that the priest must be driving an Aston Martin. Or maybe it's just that a Cathedral is more expensive to maintain. Personally, I suspect the latter.
as far as i understand, you can not get married in a Christian Church unless either one or both of the couple are part of the denomination or congregation of the Church.
for example, you can only get married in a Catholic Church if one or both of the couple is catholic - and they would ask for proof such as a baptism cert. before.
Churches are not venues 'to rent' because they are 'fashionable'
And yes - there would be a fee involved.
Hotwater:
Suppose that depends on where you live and the views of the priest. When my Mother re-married she did it in the local parish church (Protestant). She'd not been a regular church goer since she took me to Sunday School when I was a kid. Her husband also wasn't a regular. Don't know the fee involved (if any) but the vicar was quite happy to marry them (this was in the UK).
Couple of years back an English friend of mine got married in Guangzhou to a local lady. Wedding meal was in one of the most expensive hotels in Guangzhou....we went along expecting a typical Chinese wedding...but lo and behold a Chinese Christian priest turned up and they actually carried out the normal Christian wedding ceremony/sharing of vows. Okay it wasn't in a church in Guangzhou but I assumed at the time that they must have paid the priest a fee for his services...and neither of them was nominally Christian (the only praying this guy normally did was over the toilet bowl after too many beers!)
sorrel:
it must depend on the denomination and country
Where i am from use of churches (all branches) is quite strict.
Are you aware that churches in China were setup by the government and are under the direct control of the CCP, that priests are chosen by officials and that the Vatican does not recognize any Catholic church in China.
In summary Chinese churches are as fake as everything else in this country.
There are lots of less honest priest in China that promises all sorts of things if people will contribute to the church. These contributions probably end up at an Audi dealership eventually.
DrMonkey:
The ways of The Lord are loving, but best rode with a shiny new Audi.
You are naive, in the states it's called a donation. It is actually standard for non members or even members to give a donation for the use of the church and for the use of the priests' time.
Hehe, the church is more corrupt than the government! The Catholic church used to allow you to buy your way to heaven by purchasing forgiveness.
Who says they are bribing priests? First of all, I've heard of many stories about Chinese paying foreigners (regular ESL teachers, students and the like) to act as a priest for a marriage ceremony. It seems not uncommon at all. Second, if a real priest decides to marry a non church attending couple who says he is doing it just for money? And if he did who says he would use it for something unethical or something that wouldn't better the congregation/society? If someone wants to marry in a church and set their vows before God, why should the priests automatically reject just because they arent currenty a member of his church?
mike695ca:
in 2010 i was a "priest" for a chinese wedding. I took some common blessings and the like from the net and translated it to chinese and gave them a chinese "western" wedding. I didnt get paid. It was an aquaintence, and I had never been to a wedding in china. Flights and hotel was included of course and i took it as a travel/ new experience. Looking back now, i was setting myself up for a miserable weekend and have become far too jaded to even consider such a thing. But i was lucky, everyone was nice and I wasnt paraded around at all. Overall a pleasant experience.
Bribery is born and bred into every Chinese baby at conception. Corruption is just part of life here. Get over it.
