Canon 1378

1. Personal separation of spouses, unless otherwise legally

provided for in particular places, can be decided by a decree of

a eparchial bishop, or by a sentence of a judge. 2. Where an

ecclesiastical decision has no civil effects, or if it is foreseen that a civil sentence is not contrary to divine law, the

eparchial bishop of the eparchy of residence of the spouses can

give them permission to approach the civil forum, having considered the particular circumstances. 3. Also, if a case is concerned only with the merely civil effects of marriage, the judge

can determine if is sufficient, with the permission of the eparchial bishop, that the case be deferred to the civil forum from

the start.