PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE IN THE WORKS OF C.S. LEWIS.

The article deals with the interpretation of the essence and functions of Christian marriage by the British writer and thinker Clive Staples Lewis. It is emphasized that reflections on marriage are one of the components of Lewis's general Christian worldview and reflections on Christian behavior. Reflections on marriage are correlated with the definition of the essence of morality in general and, in particular, Christian morality. The Christian idea of marriage is based on the words of Christ that a man and a woman should be considered as a single organism, male and female created to be united in pairs.According to the Christian idea, marriage is a union that should be comprehensive, encompassing all aspects of a person's being, not reduced solely to the sphere of sexual relations, and certainly not a simple business alliance. Sexual relations are only one aspect of life in marriage; their ugliness outside of marriage lies in the desire to separate and isolate this aspect from all others. The Christian vision of marriage insists on the inseparability of all aspects of life, the connection of a person's existence in marriage with three types of morality, which together serve as a guarantee of a complete and perfect union. That is why marriage is interpreted as a “living organism,” a union of two people that should last a lifetime, and the church mostly prohibits divorce or allows it only as an exception. Divorce is compared to amputation, the loss of vital organs and the possibility of a full life. Lewis's reasoning also leads to the consideration of the issue in the political and social plane: the Christian concept of marriage should not be imposed by Christian politicians on the rest of society, for example, in divorce laws.It is determined that in the Christian philosophical reflections of Clive Lewis, marriage acquires a certain metaphysical significance. Its value from the point of view of the Christian worldview lies in the opportunities it provides to a man and a woman, namely, to realize the desire for a moral, meaningful, fulfilling life.