This thesis is based on the research that has been carried out on marital counselling within the context of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Diocese of Kigali (EAR/DK). Marriage plays an important role in the Rwandan society, and the traditional Rwandan wedding customs are highly valued. Usually three legal paths are followed: the civil wedding before the government officials, the religious ceremony in the Church (where God‟s blessing is invoked over the couple) and the traditional wedding ceremonies before and after the other ceremonies. On one hand a strong resistance to question or change to these ceremonies was observed, including in the case of a clash between traditional and modern culture. On the other hand a lack of knowledge of Church members and pastors on the Biblical principles of marriage was observed. The purpose of this research was to study the continuity and discontinuity of traditional Rwandan marriage customs in the Church in order to be able to make a contribution to the pastoral counselling in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. Thus the following questions were raised: What is the view and attitude of the Anglican Church in Rwanda on marriage? What is the view and attitude of the Church towards traditional wedding ceremonies? Does the Church offer (pre)marital counselling? One hindrance was that here was hardly any material available, mainly due to the emphasis on oral culture and the impact of the genocide on the country and the Church.

thesis_Marital-Counselling-E-H-Verwijs-Vogel