What is the Wedding Ceremony?

The wedding ceremony is a sacred act of divine origin in which, through the priest, the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed upon a man and a woman who freely unite in marriage. Marriage begins with a love that synthesizes physical and spiritual attraction—a love in which each partner cherishes the other and, through that love, affirms an unlimited willingness to respect the other as a person and to accept all sacrifices and hardships for the other’s sake. But love is a bond that is realized through actions, with the spiritual aspect taking on an increasingly important role within it. Each of the two partners shows more and more signs of care, understanding, service, and self-sacrifice for the other, and these bind them ever more closely together, leading them to know and cherish one another more and more.

Who performs the sacrament?

In the Orthodox Church, the celebrant of the sacrament is the priest, because through him Christ Himself—invisible to the couple—comes before them and into their midst, sealing the natural bond they form through their mutual consent and keeping them united in Him. Through the priest, the marriage of the two becomes like a living cell of the Church, filled with the grace of Christ within it.

Who are the recipients of the sacrament?

The recipients of the sacrament are two Christian believers of the Church, of different sexes, unmarried, neither of whom has been married in the Church more than three times, and who are not related to each other more closely than the fifth degree.

What conditions must the recipients of the sacrament (the bride and groom) meet?

To this day, several basic conditions for the bride and groom have been preserved, unchanged since the early days of the Church:

• they must be baptized;
• they must be Orthodox Christians;
• they must not have been married before;
• the two young people must not be related by blood, marriage, or spiritual kinship;
• they must not have committed sins that would exclude them from the status of Orthodox Christians.

Godparents. Who are they, and what is their purpose?

Both at the engagement and at the wedding, the bride and groom are assisted by godparents. They serve as witnesses and guarantors of the sincerity of the mutual commitments made by the future spouses and of the permanence of their union. At the engagement, they join hands with the priest to place the rings, and at the wedding, they place the wedding crowns on the heads of the bride and groom, thus participating in the sacred rite being performed. Godparents must be Orthodox Christians, married in the Orthodox tradition, leading exemplary Christian lives, and older than the bride and groom, behaving toward them as parents and mentors.

The Place Where the Service Is Performed

The wedding service is performed in the church. First, because the church is the place where God is always present (especially through the Holy Gifts) and where the other Holy Sacraments are also performed. In the church, the wedding takes place before God Himself and with His blessing, thus acquiring the character of a holy act and a greater guarantee of permanence and durability. Second, because the wedding, being one of the most significant moments in a person’s life, must be celebrated in the midst of the community, the parish, with the participation of the faithful of the parish to which the bride and groom belong. In exceptional circumstances, the wedding may also be celebrated outside the church.

During the wedding ceremony, the following important moments occur:

• The consecration of the bond between man and woman, at the moment when the priest utters the words of the third prayer of blessing: “Send forth Your hand now, O Lord, from Your holy dwelling place and unite Your servant (N) with Your servant (N)”;
• The placing of the wedding crowns. The wedding crowns are modeled after the crowns with which kings and emperors, as well as victors in wars and arena contests, were once crowned. They are symbols of power, dominion, and victory (for men), or of beauty and purity of soul and body (for women). The wedding crowns are placed on the heads of the bride and groom as a reward for their purity and chastity, which they have preserved until their wedding day; they also represent the crown of thorns worn by the Savior on His way to the Passion; therefore, they serve as a warning to the bride and groom that their life must be a constant crucifixion of their own comforts, whims, etc., for the sake of a good union with one another;
• The reading of the Holy Gospel recounting the first miracle performed by the Savior at the Wedding at Cana in Galilee;
• The bride and groom partake of the cup of wine, which the priest blesses. The cup of wine symbolizes the joy and merriment of the wedding, as well as the shared destiny of the future spouses, who will share in the same joys and sorrows;
• The bride and groom, godparents, and attendants circling the table is an expression of the Church’s jubilation and joy at the founding of a new family; it also represents the couple’s departure into life as a family;
• The concluding blessings: “May you be exalted, groom, like Abraham… And you, bride, may you be exalted like Sarah.”

What is required for the service

• The bride and groom’s civil marriage certificate, without which the Holy Sacrament of Marriage cannot be performed;
• Two candles;
• The rings (wedding bands);
• A bottle of sweet red wine;
• Two ladyfingers cookies.

Please note!

All those present at the service must dress modestly and participate in all parts of the service with prayer.

The bride and groom will, in agreement with the officiating priest, attend confession and catechesis regarding the Sacrament of Marriage.