Many couples want to seal their marriage union not only with a painting in the registry office, but also with a church ceremony. The wedding is a long-standing Orthodox tradition that connects two people with spiritual ties. This ritual refers to one of the seven sacraments of the Russian Orthodox Church. But for its completion you need to know the basic rules and procedure for the ceremony.
You will need
- - white wedding rushnyk;
- - wedding rings;
- - body crosses;
- - white scarves for candles;
- - a cloak to cover the shoulders of the bride (with a low-cut dress);
- - icons.
Instruction manual
1
Agree with the priest about the wedding a month before the ceremony. Choose the date along with the cleric, as the ritual cannot be performed during fasting, on certain days of the week, and also if the bride has her period on that day. People who are blood relatives, mentally ill or unbaptized are not allowed to be married.
2
The wedding ceremony is carried out only after the registration of marriage in the registry office (so bring along the appropriate certificate). When going to church, put on your neck crosses. The bride needs a closed dress or cape for the wedding to cover her bare shoulders and neckline. Mandatory attribute of the bride’s wedding dress is a veil. It is desirable that it be long: it is believed that the longer the veil, the longer the family life will be.
3
Get engaged before the wedding. Previously, the engagement preceded the wedding a month or even a year before the ceremony. At the end of the twentieth and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the engagement is carried out immediately before the wedding and is its integral part. To get engaged, enter the temple and stand separately from each other (the groom is on the right, the bride is on the left).
4
Wait for the priest to bring you the Cross and the Gospel and put your hands together with the epitrache (church breastplate). After this, follow the priest to the center of the temple, where you will be blessed and served with lighted candles. Before you take the candles, cross yourself. Hold candles with your hand covered in a white handkerchief. After reading the prayers, the clergyman will take the wedding rings from the altar (he needs to be handed them before the ceremony), put them on your fingers and hold an exchange. Exchange rings three times - as a sign of awareness of the chosen path. After this, the betrothal is considered perfect and the wedding ceremony begins.
5
To the singing "Glory to you, our God, glory to you!" go to the lectern and stand on the white foot (it is a white towel, a tablecloth or just a piece of white linen), brought in advance by relatives. Before you marry the newlyweds, the priest will ask you if you are firm in your intentions and whether you have made a promise of marriage to someone else. After listening to the answers, the clergyman will read the prayer, lay crowns on your heads (sometimes witnesses hold them above your heads) and after a series of prayers, the final of which is “Our Father”, will give you a common cup with red wine. Drink it to the bottom, the bride should finish the last drops, as the guardian of the hearth.
6
Then, to the sound of solemn singing, follow the priest around the lectern, where the Cross and the Gospel lie. Go around the lectern three times and wait until the priest removes your crowns and congratulates you on your marriage. At this wedding ceremony is considered over, and young people can accept congratulations from relatives, friends and relatives.
