Orthodox wedding ceremony

Since ancient times, the wedding in the church was considered mandatory for newlyweds. A wedding strengthens bonds between young people not only before the priest, but also before God. Such a union is considered blessed from above. Today, the wedding is perceived by young people and their loved ones as an important event as marriage. During the wedding, the newlyweds make a promise of marital fidelity.

Before choosing a date for the wedding, many couples come to church to talk with a priest, from whom you can find out all the details of the upcoming ceremony. The priest will definitely recommend fasting for a week before the ceremony and communion on the day of the wedding.

For a wedding, you must have an icon of the Savior and the Mother of God, wedding rings and candles. During the wedding, the newlyweds tie their hands with a white towel, which symbolizes the purity of intentions. All items from the wedding should be kept for life.

The duration of the wedding is from half an hour to an hour. Before the event, you should make sure that the witnesses are baptized, since it is they who hold the crowns over the heads of the newlyweds.

It is very important how the newlyweds look. The image of the bride and groom should be restrained. The bride’s dress should be light colors, not bright, with covered shoulders and back. Even if the back is bare or there is a neckline, the bride should cover her shoulders with a cape. The head should be covered with a veil, and the face should not be covered.

How is the wedding ceremony?

The priest goes to the newlyweds through the Royal Gates. The bride and groom are blessed three times by the priest, who holds the cross and the Gospel in his hands. The newlyweds hold candles in their hands while their rings are on the altar. After completing the prayer, the priest puts on the rings for the newlyweds, who move to the center of the Temple and stand on a white towel in front of the lectern. Here they agree before God and the church to be together. The witnesses hold the crowns over the heads of the young, while the priest leads them three times around the lectern. The wedding ceremony ends with the kiss of the bride and groom, who have become spiritually closer to each other.

Unions between relatives are not crowned in the church, with too great a difference in age, if one of the newlyweds is already married or not baptized. There are also a number of dates when not a single priest will hold a wedding: on the eve of divine holidays and temple days, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, during fasts and Christmas time.
Wedding, Wedding ceremony – one of the family rituals that formalizes marriage. Its social significance comes down to creating a new family for the purpose of procreation, establishing kinship, changing the family and age status and publicly recognizing the status of the spouses. It belongs to the most complex organized rituals. It combines linguistic, folklore-poetic, ritual, musical, visual and other plans.