defender of the bond

American  

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

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

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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 The 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