Introduction
The Sacrament of Marriage does not unite a man and a
woman. Rather, it is the Church’s recognition of a union that God has
already begun to work in their lives. As long as the union remains
within the reality of this world, it will be subject to sin, pain, and
death. But, through the sacrament, the union enters at the same time
into a new reality: that of God’s Kingdom. In Christ, marriage is
restored to its initial perfection and in the sacrament, this union is
made open to the possibility of what God intended marriage to be from
the beginning: an eternal life of joy in union with Him.
Thus, marriage goes beyond a legal contract. There is no exchange of
vows – the two have freely and coequally committed to one another and
consented to God’s presence in their union. There is no phrase “’til
death do us part”. If marriage is brought into the Kingdom of God,
death, as a separation, is powerless over it. Christ has destroyed death
by His Cross and Resurrection; therefore, the union of man and woman in
Christ is eternal.
The Exchange of the Rings
The Orthodox Sacrament of Marriage actually consists of two parts: The Exchange of Rings and The Crowning.
This first part of the wedding service can be equated with the ‘civil
service’. It takes place in the vestibule (entry) of the church; that
area seen by the Church as the closest to the ‘outside’ world. In this
service the Church first prays for the couple. Here the Church
recognizes and blesses a union which has begun “in the world” yet awaits
fulfillment in the world to come. After being blessed by the priest,
the rings are placed on the right hand, the hand with which promises
and/or oaths are traditionally made and the hand with which the presence
of God is recognized through the sign of the Cross. The rings, of
course, are the symbol of betrothal, agreement, authority, and
stewardship from the most ancient times. The exchange of the rings
gives expression to the fact that in marriage the spouses will
constantly be complementing each other. Each will be enriched by the
union. The exchange of rings represents a pledge to share and exchange
both their physical and spiritual goods, a pledge of eternal love and
devotion.
After the Exchange of the rings the priest leads the couple in
procession into the middle of the church. The priest chants Psalm 128,
“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways…” This
psalm is one of the “Psalms of Ascent” sung by Jewish pilgrims on the
way to the Jerusalem Temple. This point in the service most clearly
reveals the “action” of the sacrament. The couple brings themselves,
each other, their lives, and all that fills their lives, to the altar as
an offering to God. As the couple enters into the midst of the Church,
their relationship enters into the new reality of God’s Kingdom.
Declaration of Intent and Lighting of Candles
Having processed into the church, the couple must individually proclaim,
before the assembly, that they have come freely, without constraints or
prior commitment, to be joined by God as husband and wife.
The bride and groom are then handed candles which are held throughout
the service. The candles represent the couple’s faith and willingness
to follow the Light of Truth, Jesus Christ, and that they will have
their way through life lighted by the teachings of the Church.
After prayers are offered on their behalf, the groom and bride are
crowned by the priest “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit”. These crowns have two meanings. First, they reveal
that the man and woman, in their union with Christ, participate in His
Kingship. Second, as in the ancient Church, crowns are a symbol of
martyrdom. The word “martyr” means witness. The common life of the
bride and groom is to bear witness to the Presence of Christ in their
lives and in the world. Martyrdom is usually associated with death. So
the reality of God’s Kingdom in the life of the husband and wife will
necessarily take the form of dying to one’s self, to one’s will, and the
giving of one’s life totally to the other, and through the other, to
Christ.
The epistle is taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:20-33).
It presents the cornerstone of the Christian vision of marriage: the
love of man and woman parallels the love of Christ and the Church. As
Christ gives Himself totally to and for His Church, so the husband is to
give himself totally to and for his wife. As the Church, in turn, is
subject to Christ, so the wife subjects herself to her husband. Thus the
two become one in a life of mutual love and mutual subjection to each
other in Christ.
The Gospel
The gospel, from John (2:1-11), is the familiar account of the Wedding
Feast at Cana where Christ turns the water into wine. A person must
drink water simply to survive. Wine, on the other hand, is more than
just a drink that quenches thirst and continues life. Wine is
associated with joy, with celebration, with life as being more than mere
survival. By His presence at this wedding He changes the union of man
and woman into something new. Marriage becomes more than a mere human
institution, existing for whatever purpose a society assigns it. It
becomes, like the Church Herself, a sign that God’s Kingdom has already
begun in our midst.
The Common Cup and the Dance of Isaiah
After more prayers, a common cup of wine is blessed and shared by the
couple as a sign of their common life together, a sharing of joys and
sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and fears.
This is followed by the triple procession around the center table: the
Dance of Isaiah. The hymns return once more to the theme of martyrdom
and union with Christ. These are the hymns that, since ancient times,
the Church has used to emphasize God’s blessings. They are the same
ones sung at ordinations into clergy orders and signify that this couple
has been set apart from the mundane world to live a life in Christ.
Throughout the service things are done in threes in remembrance of the
Trinity. Man is made in the image and likeness of God. Marriage is
intended by God to be an image of the Trinity. It is the union of three
persons, not two. Man and woman are one with each other and one with
the person of Jesus Christ.
At the end of the service, the crowns are removed and the priest prays
that God will receive these crowns into His Kingdom. The reality of the
Kingdom into which the bride and groom have entered is not completely
fulfilled, but only begun. Husband and wife must receive God’s Kingdom
and make it both a present reality and a challenge and goal of their
common life. Completion and fulfillment will come when Christ returns
in power and glory to complete the establishment of His Kingdom in this
world by filling all things with Himself.
The Greeting of the Couple
At the end of the service, the couple stands at the foot of the altar.
From the beginning, at the back of the church, they have now progressed
to the forefront. Only the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ, as signified
by the Altar, remains ahead of them. Their final act is to turn and
face the assembled Church. Through this sacrament, they have become an
icon of the Church and icon of Christ and the assembly comes up to
congratulate them and share in their joy.
Source:Pravmir.com
