The Eastern Orthodox Wedding Ceremony

An ancient and sacred mystery of love, unity, and divine blessing

Introduction

To our non-Orthodox friends and family, the Wedding Rite in the Eastern Orthodox Church is an ancient and unique ceremony. One of the most unique things about the ceremony compared to western Christian weddings is that the couple never exchanges any vows. The Church views marriage as a holy mystery, a sacrament. This means that the Church believes that in the ceremony, the couple's union is blessed by God and his Church. God's blessing of the married couple is not just in the ceremony, but constantly throughout their married life.

The ceremony consists of two parts which are distinct and separate from each other: the service of the Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Crowning (Sacrament of Marriage). Everything in the ceremony has a special meaning and significance, especially the repetition of each act three times to symbolize and invoke the mystical presence of the Holy Trinity.

A large part of the service is carried out by the couple's sponsors. These sponsors are a married Orthodox couple, chosen by the bride and groom, in good standing with the Church that become godparents for the couple's marriage.

The Service of Betrothal

The first part of the ceremony is the Betrothal. This part of the ceremony takes place at the entrance of the church. Here the priest blesses the couple's rings, making the sign of the cross over their heads. The sponsor then exchanges the rings three times, taking the bride’s ring and placing it on the groom’s finger and vice-versa, symbolizing the most Holy Trinity and that, in married life, the weakness of the one partner will be compensated by the strengths of the other.

The Wedding Ceremony

The bride and groom are handed candles to carry throughout the rest of the ceremony. These candles symbolize the couple's spiritual willingness to accept Christ, who will guide the couple and bless them throughout their marriage. The priest recites many prayers for the couple, then invokes God to "join these servants, unite them in one mind and flesh." He then places the groom's hand in the hand of the bride. The couple's hands remain joined for the rest of the service to symbolize the "oneness" of their love.

The Crowning

The climax of the marriage service is the couple's crowning. The priest blesses, then places crowns upon the couple's heads. The crowns are then exchanged three times by the sponsor. These crowns represent martyrdom. The Church pictures the martyrs (those who have sacrificed their life for Christ) with crowns. In marriage the couple must constantly sacrifice themselves to one another and to Christ. The crowns also represents that the couple are becoming the king and queen of their own dominion. The exchanging of these crowns three times symbolizes the most Holy Trinity and that the couple shares the rule over this dominion and that they share in their mutual self-sacrifice to Christ.

Bible Reading

During the Crowning, Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians (5:20-33) concerning the mystery and holiness of the Christian Marriage and the duties and responsibilities of the husband and wife to each other is read by the priest. Saint John’s Gospel on Christ’s miracle at the Marriage of Cana (2:1-12) is also read by the priest to show that our Lord Jesus Christ blessed the sacred institution of Marriage.

The Common Cup

In the Gospel according to St. John, we read that Jesus attended and blessed the marriage at Cana of Galilee. There He changed water into wine and gave it to the newlyweds. The couple drinks blessed wine from a common cup, remembering the first miracle Jesus performed.

The common cup designates a mutual sharing of life in its fullest, a common support for every joy and sorrow experienced in life’s walk. The drinking of wine serves to impress upon the couple that, from this moment on, they will share everything in life, joys as well as sorrows, and they are to “bear one another’s burdens.”

The Procession of Joy

The priest leads the couple around the table three times, on which are placed the Gospel and the Cross, Christ’s symbols of hope and redemption. These first steps as partners are to emphasize the focus of their “life’s walk” together with Christ.

During the ceremonial walk around the table, a hymn is sung to the Holy Martyrs, reminding the newly married couple of the sacrificial love they are to have for each other in marriage, a love that seeks not its own, but is willing to sacrifice all for one another.