Orthodox marriage ceremonial

[Annoula]

i was having a discussion on the ceremony of the Orthodox wedding, and i was told the following.

the groom awaits the bride outside the church symbolizing that man makes his choice out of the church. the father gives the bride to the groom and then the couple in consent, enter together the church symbolizing the unity of the couple in the eyes of the church.

i am not sure if this is official but i liked it. do you know something more or something different on the wedding ceremony??

[Ioan cel Nou]

All I can say is that this isn't how it's done in Romania (where I was married). Both of us arived at the Church together and we were escorted into the Church by our maids and knights of honour (literal translations of the Romanian terms). I was held on each arm by a maid of honour and followed my wife into the Church who was similarly held by the knights of honour. I used to joke that they were there to make sure neither of us did a runner!

James

[ufonium2]

It was 102 degrees outside the day we got married, so nobody did anything outside of the church ;)

[Annoula]

It was 102 degrees outside the day we got married, so nobody did anything outside of the church ;)


well i am not sure what 102 would be in celcious but i suppose it was bad!!!!


maybe what i described is just a greek tradition...

[Ioan cel Nou]

It was 102 degrees outside the day we got married, so nobody did anything outside of the church ;)

It was 45 degrees celsius when I got married (113 fahrenheit according to Google) and we didn't do much outside either. We were very glad of the storm that started in the evening - 45 and humid is not pleasant weather for wearing a suit!

James

[choirfiend]

The Orthodox generalized practice is that the bride and groom meet together in the back of the church, where the couple goes through the betrothal ceremony, entering the church together as equals, rather than the woman being "given" to the man as a piece of property by her owner, her father. Variations, I am sure, occur.

[Annoula]

The Orthodox generalized practice is that the bride and groom meet together in the back of the church, where the couple goes through the betrothal ceremony, entering the church together as equals, rather than the woman being "given" to the man as a piece of property by her owner, her father. Variations, I am sure, occur.

what is the "betrothal ceremony"???

[choirfiend]

It's generally served as part of the whole wedding service, now, but at one time, it could be done separately. The reason it's done concurrently now is that for the Church, the betrothal is just about as binding as the marriage--it's seen as the beginning of the union. It's the part that takes place in the back of the church, before the couple walks up to the service table in the front, and actually is the part where the rings are exchanged and put on, because people only had one ring, not a separate engagement and wedding ring, back in olden times...

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/liturgical_texts/betrothal.asp


after that part, THEN comes the 'wedding' part.

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/liturgical_texts/wedding.asp

[Oblio]

The Orthodox generalized practice is that the bride and groom meet together in the back of the church, where the couple goes through the betrothal ceremony, entering the church together as equals, rather than the woman being "given" to the man as a piece of property by her owner, her father. Variations, I am sure, occur.

As you said, there is no 'giving away' as in the West. The bride belongs to Christ and it is He that sanctifies the union. There are also no vows or unity candles.

[choirfiend]

Oh, are those things common? ive only been to a few weddings, and even fewer non-Orthodox ones. The last one I attended, the mothers-in-law came and lit a candle together. I think it was about the coming together of their two families or whatever.....What's the deal with all the lighting of candle ceremony and pomp and circumstance? I'd rather just have a bunch o beeswax breaking firecodes and threatening altar-boys' hair flaming away in the front of the church all the time;)

[Oblio]

It's just a secular Western tradition. At my stepdaughters wedding, the mothers, accompanied by their hsubands, lit the bride & groom candles that later would be used to light the unity candle. Touching I suppose, but not Orthodox (or orthodox either).