defender of the bond

noun

, Roman Catholic Church.

1. an official appointed in each diocese to uphold marriages of disputed validity.

Example Sentences

The Vatican’s yearbook lists Punderson as the “defender of the bond,” the official who seeks to uphold a marriage’s validity in annulment cases.

From Seattle Times

A canon lawyer called the defender of the bond will be tasked with arguing that I should still be married.

From Wall Street Journal

So when a Catholic has a civil divorce and wants to remarry in the church, he or she may pursue an annulment, which is a Catholically legal way — complete with a tribunal, judge and “defender of the bond” who always argues to keep the marriage together — of saying the marriage wasn’t ever valid.

From Washington Post

To ensure just that, the Vatican added in the 18th century a "Defender of the Bond" as a figure in every marriage trial, to argue �regardless of the facts of the case �that the marriage be found valid.

From Time Magazine Archive