Separation A Mensa Et Thoro

A partial dissolution of the marriage relation. By the ecclesiastical or canon law of England, which had exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce, marriage was regarded as a sacrament, and indissoluble. This doctrine originated with the Church of Rome, and became established in England while that country was Catholic; and though, after the Reformation, it ceased to be the doctrine of the Church of England, yet the law remained unchanged until the recent statute of 20 & 21 Vict. (1857) c. 85. Bish. Mar. & Div. §§ 274, 278. Hence, as has been seen in the article on divorce, a valid marriage could not be dissolved in England except by what has been termed the "omnipotent power of parliament." This gave rise, in the ecclesiastical courts, to the practice of granting divorces "from bed and board," as they used to be called, or "judicial separation," as they are called in 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85, § 7. Bish. Mar. & Div. §§ 277, 278. From England this practice was introduced into this country; and though in some of the states it has entirely given way to the divorce a vinculo matrimonii, in others it is still in use, being generally granted for causes which are not sufficient to authorize the latter. See "Divorce."

A partial dissolution of the marriage relation.

Defined under Separation in Black's Law Dictionary.