Marriage in the Eastern Orthodox Church is a holy mystery (sacrament) in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which a priest officiates a marriage between a man and a woman. The typical Byzantine Rite liturgy for marriage is called the Mystery of Crowning, where the couple is crowned.
There are a handful of different steps that come into play for a marriage ceremony in the Eastern Orthodox denomination, although the main two pieces include the betrothal (engagement) and the crowning (marriage). [1]
Weddings in the Orthodox tradition have a sponsor present, known as a Koumbaro. [2] [3]
The couple will exchange rings first, as a voluntary pledge to enter into eventual marriage.
Prayer of Betrothal
The priest will bless the bride and groom three times each. The rings are placed on the ring finger of the right hand. The priest will mention the Prodigal Son in his prayer.
The Psalm
The priest will recite Psalm 128.
The second stage (crowning) is the more official part of the wedding.
The liturgy of the Mystery of Crowning involves the placement of crowns on both heads of the couple in a lengthy ceremony, which is preceded by a betrothal ceremony. [4]
Candles
The bride and groom are both given candles.
The Joining of Hands
After some more prayers by the priest, the priest will join the right hands of both the bride and groom. He will recite "O' Sovereign Lord, stretch forth Your hand from Your holy dwelling place and join together Your servant (Groom) and Your handmaiden (Bride), for by You is a wife joined to her husband. Join them together in oneness of mind; crown them with wedlock into one flesh; grant to them the fruit of the womb and the gain of well-favored children."
The Crowning
After a blessing, the priest will crown the couple. He will say three times, the priest says, “The servant of God (GROOM) is crowned for the handmaiden of God (BRIDE) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The brief hymn, “Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor” is sung. The couple will exchange the crowns three times. If the bride wears a veil, the crown is simply placed atop her veil.
Scripture Readings
There are two readings from the New Testament. The first is from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians (5:20-33), where the priest exhorts married couples “to be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The second reading is from the Gospel of John (2:1-11).
Common Cup
After a recitation of the Lord's Prayer, the couple will drink from a common cup, three times each. Traditional practice involves wine, although some may opt to replace it with grape juice.
The Procession
The priest, holding the Book of the Gospels, will lead the couple around the table three times, singing three hymns.
Final Blessing, Removal of Crowns
The priest removes the crowns, saying “Accept their crowns in Your kingdom unsoiled and undefiled, and preserve them without offense to the ages of ages.” He tells them to “Go forth in peace”.
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, denominations, countries, social classes, and sexual orientations. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift, and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs.
A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding originating in Great Britain.
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself. During this period, a couple is said to be fiancés, 'betrothed', 'intended', 'affianced', 'engaged to be married', or simply 'engaged'. Future brides and grooms may be called fiancée (feminine) or fiancé (masculine), 'the betrothed', a 'wife-to-be' or 'husband-to-be', respectively. The duration of the courtship varies vastly, and is largely dependent on cultural norms or upon the agreement of the parties involved.
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent in different forms in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The practice of veiling is especially associated with women and sacred objects, though in some cultures, it is men, rather than women, who are expected to wear a veil. Besides its enduring religious significance, veiling continues to play a role in some modern secular contexts, such as wedding customs.
A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage.
The epiclesis refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in religious contexts. The term was borrowed into the Christian tradition, where it designates the part of the Anaphora by which the priest invokes the Holy Spirit upon the Eucharistic bread and wine in some Christian churches. In most Eastern Christian traditions, the Epiclesis comes after the Anamnesis ; in the Western Rite it usually precedes. In the historic practice of the Western Christian Churches, the consecration is effected at the Words of Institution though during the rise of the Liturgical Movement, many denominations introduced an explicit epiclesis in their liturgies.
Marriage vows are promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony based upon Western Christian norms. They are not universal to marriage and not necessary in most legal jurisdictions. They are not even universal within Christian marriage, as Eastern Christians do not have marriage vows in their traditional wedding ceremonies.
The ring finger, third finger, fourth finger, leech finger, or annulary is the fourth digit of the human hand, located between the middle finger and the little finger.
The Liturgy of Preparation, also Prothesis or Proskomedia, is the name given in the Eastern Orthodox Church to the act of preparing the bread and wine for the Eucharist.
A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha, Marathi: Lagna (लग्न), Bengali: Bibaho (বিবাহ), Kalyanam, Kannada script: ಮದುವೆ (Maduve), Tamil: திருமணம் (Tirumanam), or Pelli, is the traditional wedding ceremony for Hindus. The wedding ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days and usually a large number of people attend the wedding functions. The bride's and groom's home—entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof—are sometimes decorated with colors, flowers, and other decorations.
A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection of a corpse, and practiced inhumation almost exclusively. Today this opposition has all but vanished among Protestants and Catholics alike, and this is rapidly becoming more common, although Eastern Orthodox Churches still mostly forbid cremation.
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish laws and traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketubah that is signed by two witnesses, a chuppah or huppah, a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a glass.
The Euchologion is one of the chief liturgical books of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, containing the portions of the services which are said by the bishop, priest, or deacon. The Euchologion roughly corresponds to a combination of the missal, ritual, and pontifical as they are used in Latin liturgical rites. There are several different volumes of the book in use.
Marriage in Pakistan pertains to wedding traditions established and adhered by Pakistani men and women. Despite their local and regional variations, marriages in Pakistan generally follow Islamic marital jurisprudence. Marriages are not only seen as a union between a husband and a wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. These traditions extend to other countries around in the world where Overseas Pakistani communities exist.
A Zoroastrian wedding is a religious ceremony in Zoroastrianism in which two individuals, a man and a woman, are united. In Zoroastrianism, marriage within the community is encouraged, and is greatly favored in religious texts. The following information will detail ceremony procedures and traditional processes for a Zoroastrian wedding.
Russian weddings held great importance in their culture and tradition, evolving differently according the region, but maintaining common points. They can last between two days and one week usually involving activities like dancing, singing, toasting, and banqueting. The best man and bridesmaid are called "Witnesses" or "Свидетели" in Russian. The ceremony and the ring exchange take place on the first day of the wedding. Russian weddings ceremonies have undertaken a certain amount of Western traditions, including incorporating maids of honour into the wedding party.
Ukrainian wedding is the traditional marriage ceremony in Ukrainian culture, both in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. The traditional Ukrainian wedding featured a rich assortment of folk music and singing, dancing, and visual art, with rituals dating back to the pre-Christian era. Over time, the ancient pagan traditions and symbols were integrated into Christian ones.
Traditional marriage customs in the Philippines and Filipino wedding practices pertain to the characteristics of marriage and wedding traditions established and adhered by them Filipino men and women in the Philippines after a period of adoption courtship and engagement. These traditions extend to other countries around the world where Filipino communities exist. Kasalan is the Filipino word for "wedding", while its root word – kasal – means "marriage". The present-day character of marriages and weddings in the Philippines were primarily influenced by the permutation of Christian, both Catholic and Protestant, Hindu, Islam, Chinese, Spanish, and American models.
The traditional wedding cord, also known as the "wedding lasso", is a piece of paraphernalia used in some Catholic wedding ceremonies. It is actually a representation of a loop of rosary beads made out of white satin or silk. During the wedding proper, this is traditionally formed into a figure-of-eight shape, and then placed around the neck areas of the bride and the groom after they have made their wedding vows, and are already kneeling on pillows for the pronouncement of a wedding prayer. This cord symbolizes lifetime unity or the everlasting union of the bride and groom when they officially become husband and wife, as well as a symbol of marital protection; while the loops formed signifies their love for one another. After the wedding, this marital twine is typically kept by the bride as a wedding souvenir. Use of the traditional wedding cord for weddings is common in Hispanic countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, and Spain.
The Mystery of Crowning is a ritual component of the sacrament of marriage in Eastern Christianity. Variations of the crowning ceremony exist in multiple liturgical rites, including the Byzantine, Coptic, West Syriac, and East Syriac Rites of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. The crowning ceremony typically features a crown being placed upon the head of both the bride and bridegroom, crowning them as the queen and king of a new family.
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