Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969

6 Solemnization of marriages in shared or other interdenominational buildings

(1) A church building to which a sharing agreement relates (including a building in the sole ownership of the Church of England) may be certified under the [1855 c. 81.] Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 as a place of religious worship of any Church sharing the building other than the Church of England, and the provisions of the [1949 c. 76.] Marriage Act 1949 relating to the registration of buildings shall apply for and in relation to the registration of any such church building certified as aforesaid, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1 to this Act.

(2) The provisions of the Marriage Act 1949 relating to the publication of banns and the solemnization of marriages according to the rites of the Church of England shall apply to a church building shared by the Church of England under a sharing agreement, and shall so apply notwithstanding that the building is registered under Part III of the Act, and accordingly—

(a) if the building is a parish church or parish centre of worship, the said provisions shall apply as they apply to other parish churches and parish centres of worship; and

(b) in any other case, section 20 of the said Act (which provides for the licensing of chapels for such publication and solemnization) shall apply.

(3) The proviso to section 26(2) of the said Act shall not apply to a church building to which a sharing agreement relates, except in respect of marriages to be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England.

(4) Where a chapel of any university, college, school, hospital or other public or charitable institution, or a building held on trust for purposes of public worship but not a church building to which a sharing agreement relates, is used for the purposes of public worship in accordance with the forms of service and practice of two or more Churches to which this Act applies, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply thereto in like manner as they apply to church buildings to which a sharing agreement relates, except that—

(a) the provisions of Schedule 1 other than paragraph 1 thereof shall not apply;

(b) in subsection (2)(b) of this section the reference to section 20 of the [1949 c. 76.] Marriage Act 1949 shall include a reference to section 21 of that Act.

(5) This section (except where it refers to parish centres of worship) shall apply to the Church in Wales in like manner as it applies to the Church of England.