Section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act, 1869 has inherited the tradition of the
ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England.
(27) We begin by considering and rejecting one of the most frequently invoked theories of the exception, the claim that it derives from the inability of the federal courts to entertain matters that were grist for the
ecclesiastical courts in England.
In keeping with the tradition of continental civil law, English
ecclesiastical courts possessed an advanced vertical appellate system long before one appeared in English common law.
Even if Justice Daniel were correct that in England, cases involving marriage, divorce, and alimony belonged exclusively to the
ecclesiastical courts, (207) the early American colonies did not have
ecclesiastical courts, so the ordinary colonial law and equity courts absorbed that jurisdiction.
ecclesiastical courts' extensive use of a powerful oath that
At times the church accommodated in order to disadvantage the alternative, as by accepting the testimony of ("God fearing") Muslim witnesses in
ecclesiastical courts in order to insure their use.
But where
ecclesiastical courts feared to tread, Whig politicians rushed in to drag marriage out of the mystical realm and into the secular.
The embeddedness of these groups is underscored as their negotiated relationships with other overlapping and nearby communities, feudal lords,
ecclesiastical courts, and state institutions are considered.
Tradition and memory of the past must help us to have the courage to open up new areas to God." If having the courage to open up ' new areas' to God includes, as Vatican Insider reports, new
ecclesiastical courts that would handle sex abuse cases -- finally acknowledging and attacking the scandals -- even the most obdurate non- believer would have to say that Pope Francis' arrival might end up doing some good for humanity.
"The state courts of Florida are not
ecclesiastical courts, and the entanglement of religious doctrine in a criminal trial is the kind of breach of church-state separation that not only prejudices the defendant but also injures the interests of the diverse religious communities that thrive in our society in part by virtue of their independence from the operations of the state."
It will not intervene in cases awaiting decisions from civil or
ecclesiastical courts," the notice said.