General Information

A Marriage Tribunal is part of the judicial or legal office of a diocese or group of dioceses.

The Interdiocesan Tribunal of Edmonton serves the Alberta dioceses of Edmonton; Calgary; St. Paul; and Grouard-McLennan; as well as the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories.

The Tribunal’s primary function is to review petitions that have been submitted for an ecclesiastical (Church) Declaration of Nullity of marriage. In all civil and religious societies, there is a practice of bringing a disputed issue to a competent authority in the community for resolution. This practice was recorded in the Bible (Ex. 18:13-26; Mt. 18:15-18; Acts 15:5-6), and it is a practice the Church continues to maintain.  

If there is a question whether a specific marriage is valid and binding until the death of one of the spouses, the issue is brought before the Church community through a tribunal office. This process involves an investigation of facts concerning a specific marriage and the rendering of a decision by specially trained personnel, both lay people and clerics.