About why a married marriage can fall apart.... Church and canonical obstacles to marriage. does not sanctify the union between or with...

Marriage, family, wedding - these are issues that today are actively considered from various points of view, not only in the church media. Adding urgency to these discussions is the practice, which has already become common for many, of frequently changing so-called “partners”, without consolidating the relationship within the framework of the family and without any obligations to each other. Of course, this applies primarily to people who are far from the Church, but let’s be honest, even church marriages do not always stand the test of time and circumstances. This is why perhaps one of the main topics around which the discussion centered was remarriage. How possible is it to enter into a second and third marriage with the blessing of the Church, that is, into a marriage consecrated by the Church Sacrament? We are talking about this with the famous confessor, rector of the Church of the Intercession Holy Mother of God in Akulovo.

- Father Valerian, is it possible in principle to perform a second wedding while your spouse is alive?

With a living spouse, according to the Holy Gospel, only under one condition: if the previous marriage broke up due to adultery. For example, she got married for the second time while her husband was alive (with the blessing of Metropolitan Philaret). Of course, this was an exceptional case, but anything can happen. The Church follows the path of mercy, the path of love.

There are three provisions in the Church: “impossible”, “not allowed” and “not accepted”. “You can’t” means you can’t. “It’s not allowed” - for example, bows are not allowed according to the charter, there are some other circumstances when something is not supposed. And there are some things that are customary to do in a certain way - or not customary.

There are only two rites for performing the sacrament of marriage. Moreover, the second rank is for those entering into a second marriage (if one of the spouses is widowed). And with a living spouse - a special case. If the other half leaves the family and does not want to live with the former spouse, then - as the Lord said: “he will give a book of licentiousness...” But, He adds, “for your hardness of heart.” In general, except because of adultery, a spouse should not let his other half go. But it happens that, as a human being, one of the spouses cannot stand, for example, the drinking of the other or something else.

And now the big disaster is that now everything is transferred to money. Reproaches from spouses are often heard: “You don’t earn money!” or “You don’t earn enough!” You never know how much someone earns! But today the world is ruled by capital, money, they modern world are at the forefront.

Of course, there is no third wedding. But today everything is so confused with us that it is difficult to understand: did they get married? How to count the next time: the third, fourth or fifth? They got married, the marriage is considered... And now the so-called “civil marriage” (GB) has appeared. “Civil fornication” in abbreviation, aka - . This, of course, is the problem of our time...

In these cases, there is only one way out: to pray and ask for admonition from God. It is difficult to figure out who is right and who is wrong: in any story there is the fault of each person. Of course, the one who is smarter is more to blame. And how the Lord judges is His holy will.

When a priest is ordained, he takes off his wedding ring, places him on the throne, thereby symbolizing that he is getting engaged to God...

This is his special ministry. A priest can only get married once.

However, the draft of the new document brings up for discussion the question of the possibility of a second wedding, including for the priest. We all know situations where a young priest, after the sudden or tragic death of his wife, is left alone with a large family in his arms. In addition to his church service, he is also bound by everyday responsibilities, and often these priests can barely make ends meet - we have many poor parishes.

In fact, the history of the Church knows such examples, but there has never been any talk of any “second wedding.” For example, he became a widower and was left with his family in his arms. We all know his life path...

The fact is that here it is important to discern the ways of God’s Providence - it is impossible to speak abstractly. This means that this is the will of God.

You see what the matter is: if we take some actions, choose some workarounds for ourselves, it means that we are not honest with God and ourselves. An example from the military: if you chose a military career, you know: either you will remain crippled after the war, or you will die altogether! But you chose this path and are ready for it. Or have you chosen a career as a sailor: they often don’t see their family at all for six months - and you have to accept this state of affairs. This is the choice of each individual person! Another thing is that not everyone is seriously aware of this.

I once told my father about my desire to go on a long voyage, and he replied: “While you are young, you are drawn to travel. And when you have a family and you’re hanging out somewhere far from her, you’ll howl like a beluga!” He just said this figuratively, but there was also a hint in his words: who can stand it? And not everyone can be a doctor, and not everyone can work in a morgue. These are the characteristics of each ministry.

Many people often raise questions about the connection between the Church and the modern state. After all, today the Church considers marriage valid and performs a wedding only if there is a civil registration of marriage. Yes, we know the words of the Apostle Paul: “There is no authority except from God.” And yet... How can the Church recognize a marriage that is only documented, and only perform the Sacrament of Wedding on the basis of this document? Isn't one enough church wedding, namely the Sacraments, because “marriages take place in Heaven” (if we omit, of course, the formal side of this question)?

We are no more than the Apostle Peter, who said: “Even if everyone denies, I will not deny!” - and then he renounced three times, and even with an oath. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict how people getting married will behave. Often you don’t know what to say to yourself, much less about other people’s plans. Of course, we often have to deal with this and deal with it. For example, people dispersed. Who owns the house? But it is not registered to anyone - it turns out: it does not belong to anyone... And so on. Of course, this is not the most important thing in the spiritual sense, but if the formal side is not so important, why not do it? Why not sign if there is no difference? This has nothing to do with the Sacrament, why not do it? If there is no difference: sign, get married, live...

This is the same as in the case of fasting. They say: “Does it matter what we eat?” Yes, it doesn’t matter: just eat lean! Or again: “What difference does it make whether we eat with butter or without (vegetable) oil?” Well, if there is no difference, then eat without oil!

- Is obedience to the Church important?

Yes, obedience to the Church. It’s not difficult, really: why not sign? The fact is that the Church still recognizes marriage and treats marriage with respect.

We must understand that in general marriage is not a church institution, it is a civil institution. existed even before Christianity; this is an ancient institution among many peoples. But if a person had a second marriage, of course, he cannot be a priest (even if it was an unwed marriage). It was still a marriage! According to the charter - yes.

Of course, there are exceptions here, there is episcopal power, but in general - this is so!

- Some priests act in some cases « according to oikonomia,” although often such “oikonomia” does not meet with a response in the hearts of believers. And there are rare cases when a person from a monastery comes into the world and gets married...

According to the Charter, such a person has no right to get married! Civil marriage is possible in such cases, but not church marriage!

I would like to ask you, dear Father Valerian, to address our readers with a pastoral word. Today is such an evil time when many of us seem to live within the fence of the Church, but are subject to our own laws and regulations, developed personally for ourselves, which seem more acceptable. Often everyone builds some kind of private church life for themselves, without having the opportunity to live the life of the parish.

When we talk about, which existed before the revolution and exists today in some Local Churches (for example in Serbia), it is difficult for us to imagine what it really is. There in the parish they often gather after the Liturgy, discuss some pressing issues, and simply talk about the Gospel they have read... What do you think is important for the parish today?

Here you need to remember one important thing: let's compare Serbia and Russia in size: a small team is always easier to manage!

Once upon a time, I was asked a question about globalization. And before that, I once read an article (regardless of this) that if a person creates an analogue of the human brain (stuffed with all sorts of microchips), and one ten-thousandth of these elements does not work, it means that this whole system will no longer work , hopeless! Then Father John Vavilov told me: they seemed to have come to the conclusion that the more complex a person is, the more reliable he is. But it turned out to be the opposite: the more difficult it is, the more hopeless it is. Another Western freethinker said: “For large states, dictatorship is necessary.” This kind of public management is only possible for small societies, because there is still some way to survive there.

Moreover, the cell attendant of Bishop Nestor, now deceased, told me interesting story. When they asked him how he felt about building communism, he replied: “A useless exercise!” They asked him: “Are you against it?” - “No, I don’t mind, but it’s a useless exercise!” - "And why?" - “Yes, because the first Christians already had everything in common, but they didn’t last long!” And then they didn’t experiment anymore, because it was no longer possible.

So, this comparison with Serbia, for example, can be somehow understood from this example: if the organization is small, it is easier to arrange all this there.

After all, we also have separate parishes where real parish life takes place. But they are geographically dispersed in big cities, so everything is more complicated here! This concerns parish life.

And if we talk about self-inflicted behavior, then St. Theophan the Recluse spoke about this. He wrote that the spirit of selfishness, the spirit of division led to the fact that the Western Church separated from the Eastern. And then this spirit of selfhood began to divide the Western Church (and the Eastern, by the way) into all sorts of national and some other branches. He is trying to divide the Church. At first there was one Church, then two, then various states arose. Now every city has its own Church. And in the end, as they say, it will be like this: “everything is your own faith.” Saint Theophan wrote about this. So this is all predicted. We need to return to our roots, to what came before us.

For example, there was Optina, there were Father Georgy Kossov... There were individual lamps with their own parishes - we must return to these models. And then - as it turns out. That's how it will work!

- One of these days yours will be published. A new book“How can we equip ourselves?” Please tell us a little about her.

This book contains the words spoken before confession. After all, when the prodigal son “went to a far country,” upon returning to his father, he (as it is said in the Gospel) “came to his senses.” “I came to my senses” - that is, he assessed his life, compared it with his previous one, and from this he began a movement towards repentance, a movement towards returning to native home.

This is exactly what it is: “find yourself.” Father Sergius Mechev said about this: “You need to find the image of God in yourself.” And in every person to see the image of God. Because this is exactly what is said in the Gospel: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” And not only will they see God - they will see the image of God in every person! Therefore, for the pure, everything is pure, and for the unclean, everything is unclean. And a sign of purity is not to see the sins of other people. And a sign of uncleanness is precisely when we see only the sins of another person.

This image of God is what you need to find and restore in yourself, first of all. Actually, what is education? Education is the re-creation of the image of God in man. This is the first thing. The second is the ability to think. And only in third place is knowledge. But the first thing is to restore the image of God in yourself, to be educated! That is, to be perfect, “just as your Heavenly Father is perfect”!

When people in love register their relationship with the registry office, they officially seal their love before the state. Having gotten married in church, they become husband and wife before God. Entering the secular and church marriage, the newlyweds promise each other to be together in sorrow and joy, in wealth and poverty for the rest of their lives. But not every family union stands the test of time. Almost half of married couples in Russia, when faced with difficulties, prefer to separate. Having received a divorce certificate from the registry office, many ex-spouses They stop there, because divorce through government agencies is enough to be considered legally free citizens and begin to build their lives anew. But the procedure for terminating a marriage for believers does not end there, because until the dethronement takes place, their marriage will be considered valid before God.

In what cases can you ask the church to debunk?

The Orthodox Church has an extremely negative attitude towards divorce, believing that a breakup family relations harms both spouses and their children. And if in our turbulent times the clergy met the parishioners halfway and began, if there were truly good reasons, to carry out dethronements, then in past centuries even representatives of the royal family could not get a divorce after a wedding. The Church did not recognize the dissolution of marriage, uniting people in a union once and for all. For the first time, a list of reasons giving Orthodox parishioners the opportunity to obtain a divorce from the church was compiled in 1918. Over time, this list has been somewhat expanded. Today the following may serve as a basis:

Procedure for divorce of married spouses

Some people have a question about how to get a divorce according to church rites.

To do this, the former married couple must first contact the government authorities and then apply to the church with a request for debunking.

This can be done in the parish, which is usually visited by husband and wife. You need to write a petition for divorce addressed to the diocesan bishop. One spouse can also file a petition. You need to be very responsible in drawing up the document and indicate in it all the reasons why the married couple no longer wants and cannot live together. The petition will be personally considered by the Bishop. The marriage is annulled if the clergyman finds valid reasons for its termination.

In addition to the petition itself, the married couple will need to take with them to church:

• your passports (if the initiator of the debunking is one person, then only his passport);
• wedding certificate;
• document confirming legal divorce;
• if the basis for divorce is the illness of the husband (wife) or his (her) stay in prison, a medical report or a court decision in a criminal case will need to be additionally attached to the papers.

In fact, the church does not conduct any special debunking ceremony. The bishop reviews the documents submitted by the spouses and, if he considers the reasons why people want to divorce to be significant, gives them his blessing. For a person who has been found not guilty of family breakdown, the Orthodox Church, although reluctantly, allows him to marry before God a second time. A sinner through whose fault a divorce occurred, in order to atone for his guilt and receive a blessing for a second wedding, will need to sincerely repent and perform penance. The Orthodox Church does not allow entering into a union before God more than three times.

Divorce in other religions

Unlike Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church does not allow married couples to divorce. However, in some cases, a church marriage among Catholics may be declared invalid. The basis for the annulment of a Catholic marriage may be the failure of one of the spouses to fulfill their promises made to them during the wedding ceremony (failure to be faithful, lack of support, etc.). But the Catholic Church, even if there are objective reasons, is in no hurry to annul a marriage. The dissolution of unions is dealt with by a church tribunal, and the procedure itself can take several years. Spouses will be advised not to rush into divorce and to focus all their efforts on reconciliation and continuation family life. If the tribunal recognizes the marriage, the annulled spouses may be allowed to remarry or prohibited, if there are grounds for this.

Islam does not encourage marital divorce, considering it the most hateful act for Allah. But despite this, he treats him quite leniently. Among Muslims, it is easiest for a man to get a divorce after a wedding. To gain freedom, it is enough for him to pronounce a special formula for divorce in the presence of witnesses. At the same time, the man is allowed not to explain the reasons why he left his wife (although this is not approved in Islam). A Muslim woman will only be granted a divorce if she can provide evidence that her husband has performed his duties poorly. A Muslim can divorce and marry the same wife three times, after which she becomes forbidden for him. A man can get back together with her only after she marries another man and divorces him or becomes widowed.

Judaism, like other religions, has a negative attitude towards divorce after a wedding. However, if the husband and wife are equally committed to ending the marriage, they will be able to do so without any problems. Before the wedding ceremony, the husband is required to show his wife a special document (ketubah). It will stipulate all the conditions of the future marriage, including a possible divorce and financial support that the husband will provide to his wife after the divorce. Divorce after a wedding ceremony in Jewish families is possible only with the consent of both parties. In this case, the husband and wife will be divorced without much delay. Having received a letter of divorce, each spouse has the right to enter into a new marriage before God.

A wedding is a very important step in which the newlyweds swear fidelity to each other before God. It is worth agreeing to this great church sacrament only if the lovers are confident in the strength of their feelings and want to live their whole lives together. Today, most people treat weddings as a fashionable ceremony and do not realize its true meaning. Being married, they do not hesitate to cheat, nor to rude treatment, nor to drunkenness. In order for spouses not to worry about the question of how to get a divorce after a church wedding ceremony, they do not need to rush to enter into a church union. After living for some time in an ordinary marriage, they will be able to understand whether they should get married or not. living together

I married my first husband in 1994, a year later we divorced him. I pray to God for forgiveness, the divorce from my first husband was my fault. Now I have another family, we have been officially married for 8 years, we haven’t had children for a long time. And recently, as a blessing, our daughter was born. It is very tormenting to realize that this marriage is not blessed by the Church. Is it possible to do something in my case? I understand that in matters of faith there can be no question of compromise, but is there still hope? Olga doctor Georgievsk November 12, 2010 Dear Olga, Our Church allows a second and, as a last resort, a third legal church marriage. The party responsible for the breakup of the family was assigned penance for correction, so it would be reasonable for you to describe your situation in confession to the priest and do as he advises.

About why a married marriage can fall apart...

Attention

I didn’t cheat anymore, I never beat my wife, I didn’t get drunk, everything went into the house! worked, got a dacha, began to spend a lot of time on the land, for all 5 years my wife looked after the child and did not work. She obstated, fed, looked after. Then the intimacy became different, my wife’s eyes changed. I became disgusted with her, she said we don’t have a family, we don’t talk at all, you sit at the computer especially in winter, everything gets worse and worse. worse relationship became. Then she collected her things, the child and left.

She started working. I thought she would get mad and come back, I called her back. Now we haven’t lived together for 7 months, I see the child periodically, until I cheated on her, I give the money on time. My wife says let’s get a divorce on a humane basis, that’s all, I don’t want to be with you nothing more, for me you are only the father of the child. I confessed my old sins because...

A married marriage has broken up, what to do with a new one?

Important

Currently, this list of grounds for divorce is supplemented by such reasons as AIDS, medically certified chronic alcoholism or drug addiction, and the wife committing an abortion with her husband’s disagreement. In order to spiritual education getting married and helping to strengthen marital ties, priests are called upon to explain in detail to the bride and groom the idea of ​​​​the indissolubility of the church marriage union, emphasizing that divorce as a last resort can only take place if the spouses commit acts that are defined Church as reasons for divorce.

Consent to the dissolution of a church marriage cannot be given to please a whim or to “confirm” a civil divorce.

“Give your soul free rein - it will want more.” when a marriage breaks up...

Without the consent of the wife or husband, unilaterally, permission to divorce cannot be obtained. The blame for the broken marriage lies with both spouses, so the petition should ask for forgiveness.
In addition to the petition itself, you need to write a history of your family relationships and the reasons that led to the breakup of the family. Copies of the divorce certificate and wedding certificate are attached to the petitions.
Based on both versions of events presented, the Archbishop will make his resolution. After this, the confessor hands over a document about the decision of the ruling bishop to the spouses.

This document is a confirmation of the termination of the marriage between the spouses. The archbishop has the right to impose penance on one or both spouses.

Therefore, the request for a second marriage after the dissolution of the first will have to be postponed, sometimes for a very long period.

Marriage is an inviolable sacrament

Info

Priests advise that if a marriage cannot be saved, pray. Pray for the preservation of your family or for the Lord to direct your future life according to His All-Good will.
However, a person is weak, and anything can happen in life. They often get married young, without properly thinking through this serious step; they get married at the insistence of their parents or for the sake of fashion, because the interior of the church is beautiful. Due to “our hardness of heart,” Moses was given the opportunity to dissolve a blessed marriage, “...to divorce your wives” (Matthew 5:32, 19:8).
But even in this case, divorce and remarriage are accompanied by a number of conventions, including those of a legal nature.

If a marriage breaks down, is it possible to get divorced?

Can a divorce have salutary significance in some cases, for example, if it has received the blessing of a bishop who has conducted a certain investigation into the circumstances of the emerging breakup? marital relations? Or how to choose the lesser evil? What to do when the situation becomes, as they say, hopeless? In such cases, the Church yields like a mother and remains silent. Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917–18, he established the fact of obstacles to the church education of the children of one of the spouses as canonical grounds for divorce. What other church grounds could there be for the church-canonical severance of marriage relations? The position of the Church, as can be seen from the Orthodox Tradition, in cases where there is no correct church upbringing of children on the part of one of the spouses, is this: the other spouse must show patience through faith and prayer bring an unbelieving spouse to Christ.

"All! I’m leaving you!”: 1638 weddings and 901 divorces

When divorce is inevitable at the insistence of one of the spouses, how to mitigate heartache and the suffering of the other spouse? Turning the injured party to Christ will help her feel relief and comfort. The closer we ourselves are to Christ, the more we live by Him experientially, we build relationships with God not as an abstract idea or philosophy, but as a living communication of two personalities; the greater the meaning and content of our lives; we acquire self-knowledge, knowledge of Divine Providence about us; we can love every person.

Communication with the humble and meek Jesus Christ (see Matt. 11:29) makes us meek and humble, and then all our problems are solved, then our soul rests.

Prikhozhanka.ru - women's Orthodox forum

The social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/koncep1/Main.htm In 1918, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in the “Definition of the reasons for the dissolution of a marriage consecrated by the Church” recognized as such, except for adultery and the entry of one of the parties into a new marriage, also the fall of a spouse from Orthodoxy, unnatural vices, inability to cohabitate in marriage, which occurred before marriage or was a consequence of deliberate self-mutilation, leprosy or syphilis, long-term unknown absence, condemnation to punishment coupled with deprivation of all rights of estate, encroachment on the life or health of the spouse or children, daughter-in-law, pimping, taking advantage of the indecency of a spouse, incurable serious mental illness and malicious abandonment of one spouse by another.

Questions for the rector / church divorce

Such children have many spiritual wounds, which in most cases are hidden from prying eyes. If with our help these children fall in love with God, I think that all their spiritual problems will be solved.
Love for God heals everything. Where there is no human consolation, divine consolation comes. All psychological and other problems that the child of divorced parents may face in interpersonal relationships with other people, overcome, healed in Christ.

Father Ephraim, what is the share of responsibility of the spouses for a divorce when they divorce without canonical church foundations? Responsibility is divided exactly in half. It is clear that they did the wrong thing when they divorced, but, be that as it may, little by little they must rediscover themselves from a church and social point of view.

This can be achieved with the help of a confessor. In addition, both parties should have the most sincere and with great love attitude towards raising children, and the spouse who no longer lives with the children should also take care of their food. Geronda, what to do in a situation where, for example, the husband lives his own life, his own interests, and does not show due care for anyone material well-being family, or about the spiritual and church education of children? Under no circumstances should you despair.

Let us turn to our mother Church. From there we can draw real consolation.

If a married marriage breaks up

Category: Family section. About why a married marriage can fall apart... Good afternoon, our dear visitors! After all, they say that the Sacrament of Wedding seals a marriage forever. So why do married families break up? Because people approach the Sacrament of Holy Marriage as if it were an ancient ancient rite, without seriousness and responsibility.
Oaths of allegiance are pronounced like ordinary words, thoughtlessly and meaninglessly. And further family life is spent in empty dreams and worries, in pursuit of the illusory and useless.

Experienced priests advise first checking your feelings for seriousness, before such an important step as marriage.

), and it is customary for the priest to be from the white (non-monastic) clergy. In the practice of the Orthodox Church, weddings are usually performed after betrothal.

The wedding takes place like this: after the betrothal, the bride and groom, holding lighted candles, enter the temple from the vestibule (or from the western wall of the temple they approach closer to the altar) and stand on a white cloth lying in front of a lectern with a cross and the Gospel.

The priest, having asked about the firmness of their intentions, proclaims a blessing and a great litany, reads the priestly prayers and then with a blessing places crowns on the heads of the bride and groom and three times proclaims the secret prayer “Lord our God, crown (them) with glory and honor.”

The prokeimenon is read and the Apostle () and the Gospel () are read, the litany is pronounced and the prayer “Our Father” is sung. Those getting married drink wine from a common cup, and then the priest leads them around the lectern three times, at this time the choir sings the troparia “Isaiah rejoice...”, “Holy martyrs...”, “Glory to Thee, Christ God...”, after which the priest takes off the crowns and reads concluding priestly prayers and pronouncing dismissal.

In the Orthodox Church, weddings are permitted for those entering into a second marriage, but the rite of a second marriage is less solemn, with the reading of prayers of repentance.

In the Russian Orthodox Church on all occasions, during Easter week, on Christmastide, on the days before the twelve feasts and Sundays (i.e. on Saturday), as well as on the eve of Wednesday and Friday (i.e. on Tuesday and Thursday). Cm. .

A marriage cannot be concluded if at least one of the two persons wishing to marry has not reached marriageable age.

For the wedding it is necessary

• preliminary interview with a priest;
• a wedding pair of icons - the Savior and the Mother of God.
• wedding candles - sold in the Church Shop;
• towel (wedding towel) - plain: white (for laying under your feet). Long enough for two people to stand on;
• wedding rings. By Church Charter the rings should be made of different metals: the groom’s ring is gold, the bride’s ring is silver (it is advisable to observe this).

Wedding cost

All church Sacraments cannot have a cost, but are performed for a donation. Many temples indicate the recommended size.

Obstacles to marriage

• Before the wedding, the bride and groom must register their marriage at the registry office. Lawless cohabitation cannot be sanctified;
• The bride and groom cannot be: related by blood(up to the fourth degree of relationship, for example, with a second cousin); in spiritual kinship(if those wishing to marry are godparents of the same person or wish to marry a godson).

The bride and groom need

• confess on the eve of the wedding (preferably at the end of the evening service);
• come to the Temple on the wedding day at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ;
• wear crosses.

Requirements for witnesses

• in pre-revolutionary Russia, a church marriage had legal force, so the wedding was necessarily performed with guarantors - popularly they were called groomsmen or best men, and in liturgical books - heirs; the guarantors confirmed with their signatures the wedding act in the registry; they, as a rule, knew the bride and groom well and vouched for them;
• currently, the presence of witnesses is not a mandatory, but desirable condition for the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage; this is a tradition, not a canon: their presence is determined by the desire of the bride and groom;
• the modern role of witnesses is to spiritually support those entering into marriage with prayer and advice based on the experience of their own godly Christian marriage;
• it is advisable to find witnesses who Orthodox and God-loving, which means they are churched;
• Divorced spouses or people living in a “civil” (not registered in the registry office) marriage cannot become guarantors for a wedding. The first, not retaining the grace they received in the Sacrament of Wedding and setting a bad example for the newlyweds, cannot be faithful mentors for the family being created. The latter, living in Russia, cannot begin the Church Sacraments at all until they stop their ungodly relationship.

Some features of the bride's clothing

• the bride must have a headdress covering her head (veil or scarf);
• shoulders must be covered (cape, scarf, veil);
• dress - white. If people who have already been married for some time are getting married, or are getting remarried, then the bride is no longer required to wear a white dress;
• cosmetics - in minimal quantities.
• because If you also have to attend the Liturgy on the wedding day, then in total, in terms of time, it will take several hours. To keep you comfortable, consider wearing comfortable shoes.

Age of those getting married

• the lower age limit for performing the Sacrament of Marriage should be considered the onset of civil majority, when it is possible to conclude a marriage in the registry office;
• in the church marriage law The highest limit for marriage has also been established: for women – 60 years, for men – 70 years. This rule does not apply to those already married.

does not sanctify the union between or with...

• Gentiles– representatives of non-Christian religions (for example, Muslims). A non-Christian cannot be baptized. Therefore he cannot participate in the Orthodox sacrament what a wedding is.
• unbaptized(and are not going to be baptized before the wedding);
• atheists;
• people who are members of blood And spiritual kinship;
• people who do not have the spiritual capacity for marriage– i.e. with people whose officially confirmed mental illness deprives them of the opportunity to freely and consciously express their will.
• In special cases, an exception may be made for religiously mixed marriages. Only the ruling bishop can give a blessing for this;

• Orthodox Christians, with permission, can marry heterodox(with Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Armenian Gregorians) provided that their children are baptized and raised in Orthodoxy.

Marriage to a clergyman

• if your chosen one is a person who has decided to become a priest, then your marriage is possible only until the moment the ordination of your fiancé, i.e. before he takes holy orders;
• you cannot marry a monk or nun because of their vows to God.

Behavior in the Temple during the Sacrament of Marriage

• The Sacrament of Wedding is not just a ritual, it is a prayer; treat with attention and reverence the prayers that are pronounced by the priest: throughout the entire Sacrament, the Church prays for almost no one else, just for the bride and groom (and one prayer “for the parents who raised them);
• everyone present at the wedding, to the best of their ability (with prayers, their words and thoughts), should pray for those two who are getting married;
• If possible, refrain from unnecessary conversations.

Tradition of parental blessing

• the groom and his parents come to the house of the bride’s parents and ask them for their daughter’s hand in marriage;
• upon consent to marriage, parents on both sides bless the newlyweds for a family union: the groom with the icon of Christ the Savior, the girl with the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos;
• the young make the sign of the cross and kiss the holy images;
• handing over icons, parents say that the time of raising children is over for them and with faith and hope they entrust their children to the all-powerful intercession of the Lord and Mother of God;
• icons, after the Wedding, are placed in the red corner, in the house where the bride and groom will live;
• if one of the parents is not alive, then the survivor blesses;

Why do people get married on fasting days: Wednesday and Friday?

• The wedding follows the wedding night. If you get married on Tuesday or Thursday, then the wedding night falls during the one-day fasts of Wednesday and Friday, which is unacceptable.
• When getting married on Wednesday/Friday, the wedding night occurs during the period when the fasting period has ended (Wednesday evening and Friday evening).

Brief description of Engagement

• Betrothal (precedes the wedding) - seals the mutual promises of those entering into Marriage and marks the fact that Marriage takes place before the face of God, in His presence, according to His all-good Providence and discretion.
• For greater awareness that the betrothal is taking place in the face of God, the bride and groom appear before the holy doors of the temple, and the priest, symbolizing the Lord Jesus Christ, is in the altar.
• The priest leads the couple into the temple - from this moment the couple, in the face of God Himself, in his Temple, begins their new married life.
• The ritual begins with censing. The priest blesses the groom three times, who makes the sign of the cross each time, then the bride, saying: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and gives them lighted candles. Candles signify pure and fiery love, the chastity of the bride and groom and the abiding grace of God.
• Prayers are said praising the Lord; prayers for those getting married on behalf of all those present in the Temple. Then, at the command of the priest, all those present bow their heads before the Lord, expecting spiritual blessing from him. The priest secretly reads a prayer, after which he puts a ring on the groom, making the sign of the cross three times, and on the bride. After the blessing, the couple exchange rings three times in honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, which accomplishes and confirms everything.
• A prayer is said to the Lord that He Himself will bless and approve the Betrothal and send a Guardian Angel to the bride and groom in their new life.

Brief description of the wedding

• Following the priest with the censer, the bride and groom with lighted candles enter the middle of the temple. The choir greets them with singing, glorifying their God-blessed marriage.
• In front of the lectern (on which lie the cross, the Gospel and the crowns) a cloth (white or pink) is spread on the floor. Those getting married stand on it. The priest asks questions to the groom (then the bride) - whether they confirm a free and relaxed desire to get married and the absence in the past of each of them of a promise to a third party to marry him.
• The priest proclaims the participation of the newlyweds in the Kingdom of God, then a short litany about mental and physical well-being is pronounced.
• This is followed by three prayers in which the priest asks the Lord to bless this marriage; to bless, preserve and remember the newlyweds and that the Lord would unite the newlyweds, marry them into a single whole and give them children.
• At the end of the prayers, the priest marks the groom with a crown, gives him to kiss the image of the Savior attached to the front of the crown and says: “The servant of God is getting married...”. The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is attached to the bride's crown.
• The newlyweds, adorned with crowns, stand before the face of God, awaiting God's blessing. Exclamation: “Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor!” pronounced by the priest three times with a triple blessing of the bride and groom.
• If possible, guests silently help the priest, repeating: “Lord our God! Crown them with glory and honor!”
• Then the Epistle to the Ephesians is read, in which the marriage union is likened to the union of Christ and the Church: this is the self-sacrifice of Christ for sinful people and His followers, ready life to give for your faith and love for the Lord. They are trying to convey to those getting married the fear of saddening their loved one and disrupting the spiritual unity of the family. To lose love means to lose the presence of God in family life. Husband and wife are equal and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The Gospel of John is read about God's blessing of the marital union and its sanctification.
• A prayer for the preservation of those getting married in peace and unanimity, so that the marriage is honest and they live to old age, fulfilling the commandments of God from a pure heart.
• After the proclamation: “And grant us, O Master, to dare to call upon You with boldness and without condemnation...” all those present at the Sacrament sing “Our Father.” As a sign of submission and devotion to the Lord, the bride and groom bow their heads under the crowns.
• The cup of communion (with red wine) is brought and the priest blesses it for mutual communion between husband and wife. They take three sips of the common wine, after which the priest connects the husband’s right hand with right hand wife, covers their hands with stole and places his hand on top of it, signifying that the husband receives a wife from the Church itself, uniting them in Christ forever.
• Signaling the marriage as an eternal procession hand in hand, the priest leads the newlyweds around the lectern three times with the singing of troparions: “Isaiah, rejoice...”, “Holy martyr” and “Glory to you, Christ God, praise of the apostles...”. At the end of the solemn procession, the priest removes the crowns from the spouses and addresses them with welcoming words.
• What follows is a prayer to the Lord for the reception of the newlyweds’ crowns undefiled and undefiled in the Kingdom of God. The second prayer (with the newlyweds bowing their heads) - these same petitions are sealed with the name of the Holy Trinity and the priestly blessing.
• The chaste kiss of the newlyweds is evidence of holy and pure love for each other.
• Now the newlyweds are led to the royal doors, where the groom kisses the icon of the Savior, and the bride kisses the image of the Mother of God; then they change places and are applied to the icons again. Here the priest gives them a cross to kiss and hands them two icons: the groom - the image of the Savior, the bride - the image of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Pseudo-church superstitions associated with weddings

• younger brothers/sisters cannot marry earlier than older ones;
• you cannot get married while pregnant;
• You cannot get married or get married on a leap year;
• a fallen ring or an extinguished wedding candle portends all sorts of troubles, difficult life in marriage or early death of one of the spouses;
• the one of the couple who first steps onto the spread towel will dominate the family all his life;
• the one whose candle turns out to be shorter after the sacrament will die earlier;
• You can’t get married in May, “you’ll suffer for the rest of your life.”

How can you get debunked?

• The dissolution of a God-blessed Marriage is a great sin, therefore there is no such thing as "debunking" does not exist. It is impossible to bless sin; the Savior Himself commanded: What God has joined together, let no man put asunder ().
• If the first marriage actually broke up, then the innocent party may be given a blessing for the second marriage, and, as a last resort, for the third, but no more. A blessing can only be given by a diocesan priest, but not by a priest.

Wedding

Wedding is a sacrament of the Church in which God gives the future spouses, upon their promise to remain faithful to each other, the grace of pure unanimity for a common Christian life, the birth and raising of children.

Those wishing to get married must be believing baptized Orthodox Christians. They must deeply understand that the unauthorized dissolution of a marriage approved by God, as well as the violation of the vow of fidelity, is an absolute sin.

The Sacrament of Wedding: how to prepare for it?

Married life should begin with spiritual preparation.

Before marriage, the bride and groom must certainly confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries. It is advisable that they prepare themselves for the Sacraments of Confession and Communion three or four days before this day.

For a wedding, you need to prepare two icons - the Savior and the Mother of God, with which the bride and groom are blessed during the Sacrament. Previously, these icons were taken from parents' homes, they were passed on as home shrines from parents to children. Icons are brought by the parents, and if they do not participate in the Sacrament of the wedding, by the bride and groom.

The bride and groom purchase wedding rings. The ring is a sign of eternity and indissolubility of the marriage union. One of the rings should be gold and the other silver. Golden ring symbolizes with its brilliance the sun, to the light of which the husband in a marriage is likened; silver - a semblance of the moon, a smaller luminary, shining with reflected sunlight. Now, as a rule, gold rings are bought for both spouses. Rings can also be decorated with precious stones.

But still, the main preparation for the upcoming sacrament is fasting. The Holy Church recommends that those entering marriage prepare themselves for it through the feat of fasting, prayer, repentance and communion.

How to choose a day for a wedding?

The future spouses must discuss the day and time of the wedding with the priest in advance and in person.
Before the wedding, it is necessary to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. It is possible to do this not on the very day of the Wedding.

It is advisable to invite two witnesses.

To perform the Sacrament of Wedding you must have:
• Icon of the Savior.
• Icon of the Mother of God.
• Wedding rings.
• Wedding candles (sold in the temple).
• A white towel (a towel for laying under your feet).

What do witnesses need to know?

In pre-revolutionary Russia, when church marriage had legal civil and legal force, the marriage of Orthodox Christians was necessarily performed with guarantors - among the people they were called druzhka, podrouzhie or best men, and in liturgical books (breviaries) - patrons. The guarantors confirmed with their signatures the act of marriage in the registry; They, as a rule, knew the bride and groom well and vouched for them. The guarantors took part in the betrothal and wedding, that is, while the bride and groom walked around the lectern, they held the crowns above their heads.

Now there may or may not be guarantors (witnesses) - at the request of the spouses. The guarantors must be Orthodox, preferably church people, and must treat the Sacrament of weddings with reverence. The responsibilities of guarantors during marriage are, in their spiritual basis, the same as those of godparents in Baptism: just as guarantors, experienced in spiritual life, are obliged to lead godchildren in the Christian life, so guarantors must spiritually lead new family. Therefore, previously, young people, unmarried people, and unfamiliar with family and married life were not invited to act as guarantors.

About behavior in the temple during the Sacrament of Marriage

It often seems as if the bride and groom, accompanied by family and friends, came to the temple not to pray for those getting married, but for the action. While waiting for the end of the Liturgy, they talk, laugh, walk around the church, stand with their backs to the images and iconostasis. Everyone invited to the church for a wedding should know that during a wedding the Church does not pray for anyone else but for two persons - the bride and groom (unless the prayer is said only once “for the raising parents”). The inattention and lack of reverence of the bride and groom to church prayer shows that they came to the temple only because of custom, because of fashion, at the request of their parents. Meanwhile, this hour of prayer in the temple has an impact on the entire subsequent family life. Everyone present at the wedding, and especially the bride and groom, must pray fervently during the celebration of the Sacrament.

How does engagement happen?

The wedding is preceded by betrothal.

The betrothal is performed to commemorate the fact that the marriage takes place before the face of God, in His presence, according to His all-good Providence and discretion, when the mutual promises of those entering into marriage are sealed before Him.

The betrothal takes place after the Divine Liturgy. This instills in the bride and groom the importance of the Sacrament of Marriage, emphasizing with what reverence and awe, with what spiritual purity they should proceed to its conclusion.

The fact that the betrothal takes place in the temple means that the husband receives a wife from the Lord Himself. In order to more clearly convey that the betrothal takes place before the face of God, the Church commands the betrothed to appear before the holy doors of the temple, while the priest, portraying the Lord Jesus Christ Himself at this time, is in the sanctuary, or in the altar.

The priest introduces the bride and groom into the temple to commemorate the fact that those who are getting married, like the primordial ancestors Adam and Eve, begin from this moment in the face of God Himself, in His Holy Church, their new and holy life in pure marriage.

The ritual begins with incense in imitation of the pious Tobias, who set fire to the liver and heart of a fish in order to ward off the demon hostile to honest marriages with smoke and prayer (see: Tob. 8, 2). The priest blesses three times, first the groom, then the bride, saying: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and gives them lighted candles. For each blessing, first the groom, then the bride, make the sign of the cross three times and receive candles from the priest.

Signing the sign of the cross three times and presenting lighted candles to the bride and groom is the beginning of a spiritual celebration. The lit candles held in the hands of the bride and groom signify the love that they should henceforth have for each other and which should be fiery and pure. Lighted candles also signify the chastity of the bride and groom and the abiding grace of God.
Cross-shaped incense means the invisible, mysterious presence with us of the grace of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying us and performing the holy sacraments of the Church.

According to the custom of the Church, every sacred ceremony begins with praise to God, and when a marriage is celebrated, it also has special meaning: To those who are getting married, their marriage seems to be a great and holy deed, one through which the name of God is glorified and blessed. (Exclamation: “Blessed is our God.”).

Peace from God is necessary for those who are getting married, and they combine in peace, for peace and unanimity. (The deacon exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord for peace. Let us pray to the Lord for peace from above and the salvation of our souls.”).

Then the deacon pronounces, between other usual prayers, prayers for the newlyweds on behalf of all those present in the church. The first prayer of the Holy Church for the bride and groom is a prayer for those now engaged and for their salvation. The Holy Church prays to the Lord for the bride and groom entering into marriage. The purpose of marriage is the blessed birth of children for the continuation of the human race. At the same time, the Holy Church prays that the Lord will fulfill any request of the bride and groom related to their salvation.

The priest, as the celebrant of the Sacrament of Marriage, says aloud a prayer to the Lord that He Himself bless the bride and groom for every good deed. Then the priest, having taught peace to everyone, commands the bride and groom and everyone present in the temple to bow their heads before the Lord, expecting a spiritual blessing from him, while he himself secretly reads a prayer.

This prayer is offered to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Holy Church, which He betrothed to Himself.

After this, the priest takes the rings from the holy altar and first puts the ring on the groom, making the sign of the cross three times, saying: “The servant of God (name of the groom) is betrothed to the servant of God (name of the bride) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Then he puts a ring on the bride, also overshadowing her three times, and says the words: “The servant of God (name of the bride) is betrothed to the servant of God (name of the groom) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

When betrothal rings are very important: this is not just a gift from the groom to the bride, but a sign of an inextricable, eternal union between them. The rings are placed on right side the holy throne, as if in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This emphasizes that through touching the holy throne and reclining on it, they can receive the power of sanctification and bring down the blessing of God on the couple. The rings on the holy throne lie nearby, thereby expressing mutual love and unity in faith of the bride and groom.

After the priest's blessing, the bride and groom exchange rings. The groom puts his ring on the bride’s hand as a sign of love and readiness to sacrifice everything for his wife and help her all her life; the bride puts her ring on the groom's hand as a sign of her love and devotion, as a sign of her readiness to accept help from him throughout her life. Such an exchange is made three times in honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, which accomplishes and approves everything (sometimes the priest himself changes the rings).

Then the priest again prays to the Lord that He Himself bless and approve the Betrothal, that He Himself overshadow the position of the rings with a heavenly blessing and send them a guardian Angel and guide in their new life. This is where the engagement ends.

How is a wedding performed?

The bride and groom, holding lighted candles in their hands, depicting the spiritual light of the sacrament, solemnly enter the middle of the temple. They are preceded by a priest with a censer, indicating that on the path of life they must follow the commandments of the Lord, and their good deeds will ascend like incense to God. The choir greets them with the singing of Psalm 127, in which the prophet-psalmist David glorifies the marriage blessed by God; before each verse the choir sings: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.”

The bride and groom stand on a cloth (white or pink) spread out on the floor in front of a lectern on which lie a cross, a Gospel and crowns.

The bride and groom, in the face of the entire Church, once again confirm the free and spontaneous desire to get married and the absence in the past of each of them of a promise to a third party to marry him.

The priest asks the groom: “Have (name), a good and spontaneous will, and a strong thought, taken this (name) as your wife, right here in front of you?”
(“Do you have a sincere and spontaneous desire and firm intention to be the husband of this (name of the bride) whom you see here before you?”)

And the groom answers: “Imam, honest father” (“I have, honest father”). And the priest further asks: “Have you made a promise to another bride?” (“Are you not bound by a promise to another bride?”). And the groom answers: “I didn’t promise, honest father” (“No, I’m not bound”).

Then the same question is addressed to the bride: “Have you a good and spontaneous will, and a firm thought, to marry this (name) who you see here before you?” (“Do you have a sincere and spontaneous desire and firm intention to be a wife?” this (name of the groom) whom you see in front of you?”) and “Didn’t you make a promise to another husband?” (“Aren’t you bound by a promise to another groom?”) - “No, you’re not.”

So, the bride and groom confirmed before God and the Church the voluntariness and inviolability of their intention to enter into marriage. This expression of will in a non-Christian marriage is a decisive principle. In a Christian marriage, it is the main condition for a natural (according to the flesh) marriage, a condition after which it must be considered concluded.

Now only after the conclusion of this natural marriage, the mysterious consecration of the marriage by Divine grace begins - the rite of wedding. The wedding begins with the liturgical exclamation: “Blessed is the Kingdom...”, which proclaims the participation of the newlyweds in the Kingdom of God.

After a short litany about the mental and physical well-being of the bride and groom, the priest says three lengthy prayers.

The first prayer is addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ. The priest prays: “Bless this marriage: and give to your servants a peaceful life, long life, love for each other in a union of peace, a long-life seed, an unfading crown of glory; make them worthy to see the children of their children, keep their bed unblamed. And grant them from the dew of heaven from above, and from the fatness of the earth; Fill their houses with wheat, wine and oil, and every good thing, so that they share the excess with those in need, and grant to those who are now with us everything necessary for salvation.”

In the second prayer, the priest prays to the Triune Lord to bless, preserve and remember the newlyweds. “Give them the fruit of the womb, good children, like-mindedness in their souls, exalt them like the cedars of Lebanon,” like a vine with beautiful branches, give them a spiked seed, so that, having contentment in everything, they may abound for every good work that is pleasing to You. And may they see sons from their sons, like the young shoots of an olive tree, around their trunk, and having pleased You, may they shine like lights in the sky in You, our Lord.”

Then, in the third prayer, the priest once again turns to the Triune God and begs Him, so that He, who created man and then from his rib created a wife to help him, would now send down His hand from His holy dwelling, and unite the spouses, marry them in one flesh, and gave them the fruit of the womb.

After these prayers come the most important moments of the wedding. What the priest prayed to the Lord God for in front of the whole church and together with the whole church - for the blessing of God - is now apparently being accomplished over the newlyweds, strengthening and sanctifying their marital union.

The priest, taking the crown, marks the groom with a cross and gives him to kiss the image of the Savior attached to the front of the crown. When crowning the groom, the priest says: “The servant of God (name of rivers) is married to the servant of God (name of rivers) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Having blessed the bride in the same way and allowing her to venerate the image of the Most Holy Theotokos that adorns her crown, the priest crowns her, saying: “The servant of God (name of rivers) is married to the servant of God (name of rivers) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Decorated with crowns, the bride and groom stand before the face of God Himself, the face of the entire Heavenly and Earthly Church and await God's blessing. The most solemn, holiest moment of the wedding is coming!

The priest says: “Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor!” With these words, he, on behalf of God, blesses them. The priest pronounces this prayerful exclamation three times and blesses the bride and groom three times.

All those present in the temple should strengthen the prayer of the priest, in the depths of their souls they should repeat after him: “Lord, our God! Crown them with glory and honor!”

The laying of crowns and the words of the priest:

“Our Lord, crown them with glory and honor” - they capture the Sacrament of Marriage. The Church, blessing the marriage, proclaims those getting married to be the founders of a new Christian family - a small, home church, showing them the way to the Kingdom of God and signifying the eternity of their union, its indissolubility, as the Lord said: What God has joined together, let no man separate (Matt. 19, 6).

Then the Epistle to the Ephesians of the Holy Apostle Paul is read (5, 20-33), where the marriage union is likened to the union of Christ and the Church, for which the Savior who loved her gave Himself. The love of a husband for his wife is a similarity to the love of Christ for the Church, and the lovingly humble submission of a wife to her husband is a similarity to the relationship of the Church to Christ This is mutual love to the point of selflessness, the readiness to sacrifice oneself in the image of Christ, who gave Himself to be crucified for sinful people, and in the image of His true followers, who through suffering and martyrdom confirmed their loyalty and love for the Lord.

The last saying of the apostle: let the wife fear her husband - calls not for the fear of the weak before the strong, not for the fear of the slave in relation to the master, but for the fear of making him sad loving person, disrupt the unity of souls and bodies. The same fear of losing love, and therefore the presence of God in family life, should be experienced by the husband, whose head is Christ. In another letter, the Apostle Paul says: The wife has no authority over her own body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. Do not deviate from each other, except by agreement, for a while, to practice fasting and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance (1 Cor. 7:4-5).

Husband and wife are members of the Church and, being parts of the fullness of the Church, are equal to each other, obeying the Lord Jesus Christ.

After the Apostle, the Gospel of John is read (2:1-11). It proclaims God's blessing of the marital union and its sanctification. The miracle of the Savior turning water into wine prefigured the action of the grace of the sacrament, by which earthly marital love is elevated to heavenly love, uniting souls in the Lord. St. Andrew of Crete speaks about the moral change necessary for this: “Marriage is honorable and the bed is undefiled, for Christ blessed them at Cana at the wedding, eating food in the flesh and turning water into wine, revealing this first miracle, so that you, the soul, would change.” (Great Canon, in Russian translation, troparion 4, canto 9).

After reading the Gospel, a short petition for the newlyweds and a prayer from the priest are pronounced on behalf of the Church, in which we pray to the Lord that He will preserve those who were married in peace and unanimity, that their marriage will be honest, that their bed will be undefiled, that their cohabitation will be immaculate, that He will make them worthy to live until old age, while fulfilling His commandments from a pure heart.

The priest proclaims: “And grant us, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation to dare to call on You, Heavenly God the Father, and say…”. And the newlyweds, together with everyone present, sing the prayer “Our Father,” the foundation and crown of all prayers, commanded to us by the Savior Himself.

In the mouths of those getting married, she expresses her determination to serve the Lord with her small church, so that through them on earth His will would be fulfilled and reign in their family life. As a sign of submission and devotion to the Lord, they bow their heads under the crowns.

After the Lord’s Prayer, the priest glorifies the Kingdom, the power and glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and, having taught peace, commands us to bow our heads before God, as before the King and Master, and at the same time before our Father. Then a cup of red wine, or rather a cup of communion, is brought, and the priest blesses it for the mutual communion of husband and wife. Wine at a wedding is served as a sign of joy and fun, reminiscent of the miraculous transformation of water into wine performed by Jesus Christ in Cana of Galilee.

The priest gives the young couple three times to drink wine from a common cup - first to the husband, as the head of the family, then to the wife. Usually they take three small sips of wine: first the husband, then the wife.

Having presented the common cup, the priest connects the right hand of the husband with the right hand of the wife, covers their hands with the stole and places his hand on top of it. This means that through the hand of the priest the husband receives a wife from the Church itself, uniting them in Christ forever. The priest leads the newlyweds around the lectern three times.

During the first circumambulation, the troparion “Isaiah, rejoice...” is sung, in which the sacrament of the incarnation of the Son of God Emmanuel from the Unartificed Mary is glorified.

During the second circumambulation, the troparion “To the Holy Martyr” is sung. Crowned with crowns, as conquerors of earthly passions, they show the image of the spiritual marriage of a believing soul with the Lord.

Finally, in the third troparion, which is sung during the last circumambulation of the lectern, Christ is glorified as the joy and glory of the newlyweds, their hope in all circumstances of life: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, the praise of the apostles, the joy of the martyrs, and their preaching. Trinity Consubstantial."

This circular walk signifies the eternal procession that began on this day for this couple. Their marriage will be an eternal procession hand in hand, a continuation and manifestation of the sacrament performed today. Remembering the common cross laid upon them today, “bearing each other’s burdens,” they will always be filled with the gracious joy of this day. At the end of the solemn procession, the priest removes the crowns from the spouses, greeting them with words filled with patriarchal simplicity and therefore especially solemn:

“Be magnified, O woman, like Abraham, and be blessed like Isaac, and be multiplied like Jacob, walk in peace, and do the righteousness of the commandments of God.”

“And you, O bride, have been magnified like Sarah, and you have rejoiced like Rebecca, and you have multiplied like Rachel, rejoicing over your husband, keeping the limits of the law; therefore God is so pleased.”

Then, in the two subsequent prayers, the priest asks the Lord, who blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee, to accept the crowns of the newlyweds undefiled and undefiled in His Kingdom. In the second prayer, read by the priest, with the newlyweds bowing their heads, these petitions are sealed with the name of the Most Holy Trinity and the priestly blessing. At the end of it, the newlyweds testify to their holy and pure love for each other with a chaste kiss.

Further, according to custom, the newlyweds are led to the royal doors, where the groom kisses the icon of the Savior, and the bride kisses the image of the Mother of God; then they change places and are applied accordingly: the groom - to the icon of the Mother of God, and the bride - to the icon of the Savior. Here the priest gives them a cross to kiss and hands them two icons: the groom - the image of the Savior, the bride - the image of the Most Holy Theotokos.