Divorce and remarriage in Orthodoxy

What follows was written as a response to a comment from Katherine to the post directly below.  My response was too long for the comment field, so I'm posting it here as a separate post.  I believe the question it seeks to address - the differences between Catholicism's and Orthodoxy's respective views of marriage and divorce - are interesting in their own right.

In the topic below about the upcoming Synod, there has been some conversation about the Catholic church relaxing its restrictions about admitting to communion those Catholics who are divorced and then remarried without having obtained an annulment.  Katherine asked, "how do the Orthodox do it? I don't think they do annulments."

This article seems like a good backgrounder on Orthodox views of marriage:

https://www.saintjohnchurch.org/remarriage-after-divorce/

Both traditions (Catholicism and Orthodoxy) seem to agree that marriage should be indissoluble.  But please note this passage from the article:

In the Orthodox Church, marriage is a mystery or sacrament (Eph. 5:31-32). Sealed through the Church, a healthy Christian marriage is thus indissoluble. That said, we must remember something important: the covenant of marriage, just like any other covenant with God, requires the exertion of our free will. In other words, marriage only remains unbreakable if we choose to make and keep it so.

Christ tells us, “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Mark 10:9; Matt. 19:6). Sounds rather straightforward. This is a divine request, much like “do not kill”. However, note that Christ’s teaching that marriage may not be dissolved does not mean He’s saying it cannot occur. Mankind has always been free to obey or disobey God’s commandments. Man can dissolve his marriage if he chooses to. He can kill his fellow man, if he chooses to. In either case, he commits grievous sin and must seek repentance. Put another way, this command from Christ is not a magical glue that holds the marriage together despite the unwillingness of one or both spouses.

By contrast, Catholicism believes the command (not request) of Jesus really is straightforward: a marriage bond cannot be dissolved.  "Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."

Based on the article, I would note the following about Orthodoxy's views about marriage:

• Marriages are meant to last a lifetime
• Orthodoxy attempts to acknowledge the reality that marriages fail - sometimes right away; sometimes much later.
• Orthodoxy's approach has tried to strike a balance between obeying Jesus's words, and responding mercifully to the reality that some marriages just aren't working - and in fact, it may ultimately be healthier for one or both spouses for the marriage to be dissolved.  Orthodoxy discerns permission in scripture for it to take this compassionate approach.

In Orthodoxy, who dissolves a marriage that isn't working?  From what I see in the article, there is a sense that sin at work in the marriage is what 'dissolves' the reality of the marriage; and I think the Orthodox church may choose to formally recognize that reality.  (I think that is right, but am certainly open to correction.)  

That is not the same as an annulment in Catholicism.  First of all, the Catholic church wouldn't agree that a valid marriage may be dissolved by anyone except God (er, with certain biblically-authorized exceptions, cf. the Pauline Privilege and the Petrine Privilege).  

The Catholic idea of annulment is: the couple confer their marriage consent upon one another; the official church has no role in the consent, except to provide a holy and/or sacramental setting and liturgical text for the conferral of consent to take place.  (Thus it would be incorrect to say that Fr. Jones "married" my wife and me on our wedding day; she and I married one another when we gave our consensual vows.)  That consent may or may not be defective; it depends on the state of mind and intentions of the two spouses at the time the consent was conferred.  If the consent was defective, then it isn't considered binding.  

That is what the annulment process consists of: investigating the state of mind and intentions of the two spouses at that moment in time, and then reaching a judgment as to whether there were any defects in the consent.

By contrast, when an Orthodox church is inquiring whether a marriage has ended, the church seems to consider, not only what was happening at the time the marriage was made, but also what has happened in the marriage in the ensuing months/years/decades.

I daresay one can see the pastoral appeal in Orthodoxy's approach.