DIGAMY, practice of remarriage after the death of one's spouse.
In the event of the dissolution of a Christian marriage through
the death of either spouse, the surviving partner may, if
desired, be married again in the church. Nevertheless, it is not
strongly recommended by the church, in harmony with the Apostle
Paul's teaching. The early church fathers expressed their
qualified approval of digamy and maintained the superiority of
widowhood over second marriage. Within this general framework,
they had varying degrees of reservation. Tertullian (c. 160-220)
addressed An Exhortation to Chastity to a friend who had been
recently widowed, discouraging him from remarriage and
explaining that, although second marriage was tolerated by the
church, it was merely an objectionable expedient to safeguard
the weak against temptation. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (c.
315-386), however, shows more leniency towards digamists: "Those
who are once married, let them not hold in contempt those who
have accommodated themselves to a