Spiritual marriage comes from the idea of "love without sex." It is a practice in which a man and women live intimately without having any sexual relationship. It is been known throughout all cultures as a bond of a man and a woman with its only reason being the spiritual connection between the two and nothing more.

Spiritual marriage in Catholicism

Spiritual marriage is a concept that has a long history in Catholicism, and is also known as a "Josephite marriage" after the marriage between Joseph and the virgin Mary. A feature of Catholic spirtual marriage, or Josephite marriage, that the agreement to abstain from sex is a free mutual decision rather than resulting from impotence or of the view of one party. This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ...

In senses beyond spirtual marriage, in catholocism chastity is a key concept of Church doctrine that demands celibacy of priests, monks, nuns and certain other officials in the Church. The doctrine established a "spiritual marriage" of church officials to their church; in order to better serve God, one had to disavow the demands and temptations of traditional marriage. Celibacy may refer either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ...

The ultimate emulation of this piety by the laypersons of the church was for a married couple to practice a "spiritual marriage" as well. This practice is thought to be most common in medieval times. At times in Catholic history, a spiritual marriage was considered to be a more devout expression of love than a traditional marriage. Marriage is a relationship between individuals which has formed the foundation of the family for most societies. ...

Examples of spirtual (josephite) marriage in history include Edward the Confessor, who married but refused to consummate his marriage for religious reasons, resulting in the lack of clear heir. Such was the case with the wife of Boleslaus V of Poland. Saint Thérèse de Lisieux also professed to enter a spirtual marriage, but a year later a child was born demonstrating the vow was not kept. Spirtual marriages may also be entered later in life, with the renunciation of sexual relations after raising a family to fully dedicate oneself to God. In October 2001 John Paul II beatified the first married couple ever, Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, who lived 1880-1951 and 1880-1965 respectively . Although this couple bore four children, later in life they lived separately and committed to a spiritual (josephite) marriage in order to better serve God. 1 2. Edward the Confessor or Eadweard III (c. ... As a verb, consummate means to bring something to its completion, such as a transaction, concept, plan or action. ... BolesÅ‚aw Wstydliwy Boleslaus the Chaste or the Shy (Polish: BolesÅ‚aw Wstydliwy) (21 June 1226 O.S. – 7 December 1279 O.S.) was the son of Leszek the White. ... Saint Thérèse de Lisieux (January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897), or more properly Sainte Thérèse de lEnfant-Jésus et de la Sainte Face (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face), born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin...

At times, spiritual marriage assumed a particularly scandalous form, in which a priest or monk would take a nun or laywoman as a wife, but claim to remain celibate, and claim that they slept in the same bed but did not engage in sexual relations as a sign of their own willpower. Most, however, doubted that they were in fact as strong in chastity as they claimed, and such claims were judged heretical. Chastity, in many religious and cultural contexts, is a virtue concerning the state of the mind and body. ...

See also:

• Peijainen
• Yogic marriage
• Asexuality
• Romantic friendship
• Sexual abstinence
• Platonic love