The bride wore white. There were bridesmaids, groomsmen, and family. But Alessandro Calcioli and Louisa Hodkin’s wedding was anything but ordinary. In fact, it made history this weekend.
A Scientology couple who won a long, five-year battle with Britain’s Supreme Court was allowed to have their wedding in one of the group’s chapels this Sunday. A 1970 High Court ruled that Scientology services did not count as acts of worship because they involved no “veneration of God or of a supreme being.” The ruling was overturned as a result of Calciolo and Hodkin’s legal challenge.
“They have paved the way for other Scientologist couples,” the Scientology Church said in a statement. “We extend our congratulations to the happy couple and wish them well in their future life together. This is an historic day for religious equality and freedom for all in the UK.”
The ceremony was led by a woman minister, who asked guests to say a prayer for “total freedom” to the “author of the Universe”.
The couple were asked: “Is your reality of the love you have such as you will be constantly creating through sickness and adversity as well as good fortune?”
The minister told the pair they had completed “the only true marriage” after they performed an act representing “time and space without ending” — exchanging rings.
