Wedding in the church after the wedding. What is the purpose of Christian marriage? Is it just the birth of children? Weddings in the Orthodox Church: signs

The Orthodox Church attaches importance to the sacrament of weddings special meaning: after all, it was through this rite that marriages were previously concluded, in old times the wedding took place legal force and was carried out without fail. Now priests perform the ceremony only after the newlyweds officially register their marriage in government agencies.

It may seem to some that the Sacrament of Wedding has lost its significance, but we are inclined to think that now people are given the opportunity to take this step consciously, and not under pressure. Walking to the altar, the bride and groom should already understand the full spiritual power of the ceremony - after all, this is God’s blessing on life together, birth and upbringing of descendants according to the laws of the Christian faith.

There are several wedding rules that the bride and groom must follow. First of all, you need to know that the sacrament itself includes 4 stages: betrothal, wedding, permission of crowns and prayer service. Previously, engagement could take place before the wedding, it was combined with a social engagement, but now fewer and fewer couples adhere to this scheme, so four rituals are included in the wedding.

How does the wedding ceremony take place?

Before the ceremony begins, the priest must give wedding rings- he will consecrate them and place them next to the altar. The groom buys gold and silver ring, after the exchange of which the gold remains with the bride, and the silver remains with her husband. During the Sacrament, the newlyweds hold wedding candles or icons, they are also consecrated in advance. The best men (witnesses) hold the crowns over the heads of the newlyweds; this procedure will take more than half an hour and is tedious, so it is better to select witnesses tall. The presence of all guests in the church is not necessary, but if you want to invite someone, explain that women should come in a skirt and with their heads covered, and men should wear formal trousers and a shirt.

Previously, the groom arrived at the church earlier and waited there for his bride to arrive, but now the newlyweds arrive at the same time. They stop near the main gate of the temple and are escorted to the altar by a priest. The bride must stand left hand from his betrothed. The priest comes out through the royal doors (the middle doors in the iconostasis), in his hands is the holy cross and the Gospel, he is dressed in festive clothes. Then the candles are brought out, the priest blesses the newlyweds three times and gives them burning wedding candles - this is a symbol of love and fidelity in marriage. After each blessing, the young people must cross themselves three times and then accept the candles from the hands of the priest.

To make it more convenient for the bride to hold the candle, the bouquet should be given to one of her friends or not taken to church at all. After presenting the candles, the deacon reads prayers for the newlyweds, blesses their union and descendants, asks for the fulfillment of their requests and the salvation of souls. After this, the priest picks up the rings lying on the throne, this is a symbol of an inextricable union. They are placed according to right side throne: on the right is the groom's ring, on the left - the bride's. First, the priest puts the ring on the groom three times and puts it on his ring finger, then he puts the ring on the bride's finger. After the blessing, the spouses exchange rings three times - this is the engagement stage.

The wedding takes place in the central part of the temple, where the engaged newlyweds follow the priest. The priest asks questions whether there are any obstacles to the performance of the Sacrament, whether the young people came to church of their own free will. The reading of prayers begins again, crowns are placed on the heads of the couple, they have three symbolic meanings- this is reign (that is, honor and glory to man, as the crown of God’s creation), the crowns of martyrs, this is a symbol of the martyrdom of spouses who every day in marriage struggle with their selfishness, as well as crowns that open the way to the Kingdom of God - the young will lead there godly life. After the wedding, the spouses are considered as such before God.

After the wedding, a cup is brought into the temple, which is filled with wine - this is a symbol of the joys and hardships of family life. It is as if the spouses take an oath to fight difficulties and share happiness in half. The spouses drink the wine three times, in small sips, after which the priest leads them around the lectern and stops them near the Royal Doors, giving the last parting words. After this, the wedding ceremony is considered completed, and friends and relatives can congratulate the couple. The duration of the ceremony is from 40 minutes to an hour, this must be taken into account if you have invited older people to the celebration - benches or chairs must be set up for them in a timely manner. In many churches, video and photography are not prohibited, but it is worth knowing that it should not interfere with the work of the priest or interrupt the ceremony. Young people and churches come out to the sounds of the church choir and the ringing of bells.

How to dress for a wedding?

Of course, the sacrament of Wedding is an extraordinary event, but there are certain canons that cannot be violated. The bride's dress should be modest, without back or deep neckline, legs and arms should be covered. Color - white, beige, blue and others light shades, you cannot get married in black, purple or blue dress, and acidic shades will simply be inappropriate. The bride's head is covered with a special veil, and a scarf or hat can be worn.

Avoid overly fluffy veils, as they can catch fire from candles. If you are getting married immediately after the ceremony at the registry office, you should take care of a special cape on the dress that will cover open hands and shoulders, you can also hide them with long gloves. An outfit with a train would also be appropriate - it is believed that the longer the train of a wedding dress, the happier the life of the spouses will be. Shoes should be comfortable, with low heels, because you will have to stand for at least 40 minutes.

The groom should wear a formal suit, comfortable shoes, it is advisable that the newlyweds have pectoral crosses, since only baptized people.

Preparation for the wedding

As a rule, each church has its own rules, so it is advisable to go to the chosen temple in advance and clarify all the points. Having chosen a date, consult with the priest - after all, even if you have calculated everything, it may turn out that this day falls on a temple or religious holiday, in which the wedding is not held.

The church also recommends preparing spiritually for the sacrament: spouses must observe a seven or ten day fast and take communion in advance. You need to have a towel or cloth with you white, on which the newlyweds will stand during the ceremony, a marriage certificate, rings, a bottle of red wine, and candles can also be bought in the temple. If icons are needed, they are purchased and illuminated in advance; as a rule, this responsibility is assigned to the parents.

What should you consider if you want to get married?

The sacrament of wedding is carried out according to church calendar and is agreed upon in advance. Many churches have advance registration. Sometimes in big cities priests marry several couples at once, although this is not customary, so if you don’t want to rush anywhere and get married yourself, you should choose a weekday for this, since on Sunday there are quite a lot of people willing. Weddings do not take place on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday throughout the year, on the eve of temple and twelve holidays, and during Lent.

To get married, the groom must be 18 and the bride 16, then you can do without parental blessing. Persons who are close relatives, atheists, and unbaptized persons cannot marry if in fact one of the newlyweds has entered into an alliance with another person. Marriages between godparents and godchildren, persons who have been ordained to the priesthood or have taken monastic vows. Sometimes, in the event of divorce or death of one of the spouses, the church gives permission for a second wedding. By the way, pregnancy, despite public opinion, is not an obstacle to the wedding. On the contrary, the church welcomes children to be born in a married marriage.

In any case, a wedding is a rite for which you need to prepare, to realize its full importance: some people get married on their wedding day, others a few months later, and many come to this years later. This is not important, because the main thing is that people who decide to cement their union before God trust and love each other!

This article will discuss questions about witnessing a marriage before the Eyes of the Lord in Orthodoxy; accordingly, we consider what is needed for a wedding in Orthodox Church.

In the times of our distant great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers, wedding was the only correct and socially recognized way for people in love (and not quite in love) to live together and be considered a family. So-called cohabitation was despised and considered a low and unworthy thing. Few girls dared to do this. People knew what to do before a wedding in church as they now know the alphabet.

How did people think about weddings before?

Even secretly married people, as well as forcibly married people (this also happened), were almost impossible to debunk. Indeed, in order for such a marriage to be considered invalid before heaven, certain conditions had to be met. So in the case of a secret wedding, those around them had no choice but to come to terms with the independence of the newlyweds.

A record of the ceremony was made in the Church books, everything was recorded according to the words of those getting married, without presenting supporting documents. For some people, church records were almost the only documents in their lives, confirming birth, baptism and wedding.

The church lost its powers and no longer had the right to fill out any documentary paperwork.

A person who decided at that time to witness his marriage before God risked a lot. He could have been expelled from the party, but it is worth noting that being a “non-communist” in those days was not only shameful, but also dangerous. In addition to expulsion from the party, a person was also threatened with dismissal from work so that church “opium” would not spread in the team. That is why people grew up who could not even imagine such a ceremony as a wedding in the Orthodox Church. This, it must be said, did not have a very beneficial effect on post-revolutionary society.

Getting married and getting divorced has become very easy. A couple who wanted to live together was required to submit an application to the registry office and come to register their marriage at the appointed time. Printing, painting, and was born new family.

Wedding in our time

Several more decades passed, and now the wedding ceremony began to spread everywhere again. But no one canceled the marriage registration.

Both newlyweds and more mature couples, who at one time were subject to “wedding bans,” are getting married.

It is possible that from time to time you have thought about how you can get married. And perhaps you, like many people, were interested in the question of what is needed for a wedding in a church.

The most important

You need to understand whether the desire to bind yourself with unbreakable bonds comes from the soul. Does your couple understand that such a ceremony imposes obligations on those getting married that must be fulfilled in this life until death? Thanks to the prayers read during the wedding, the couple becomes forever united. It will be very difficult to debunk such a union; many conditions must be met, proof that you cannot be husband and wife, and wait for the Metropolitan’s permission.

Unfortunately, many newlyweds do not understand the seriousness of this sacrament. That is why weddings are held as a kind of fashionable element of marriage. They do not hesitate to greet the newlyweds at the exit from the church, pouring champagne on the bride to the joyful and completely inappropriate cries at the church gates: “Bitter!”

And only after full awareness of the responsibility for such important step you have the right to think about what is needed for a wedding in a church, what inviolable dogmas exist and what items need to be purchased for such an exciting and serious ceremony.

Father won't marry you if...

• You are related down to the fourth generation.
• One of you is an atheist who is present at the ceremony only to please his other half.
• Do not try to get married if you have already gone through this ritual in your life and are not now debunked.
• Spiritual kinship will also not allow you to become spouses.
• Some of you adhere to a different religion.
• One of the couple has mental disorders.
• In Russia, people will also not get married if there are no documents permitting this action.

It is useful to find out in advance what documents are needed for a wedding in a church. Typically, the required documents are, of course, passports and a marriage certificate. Since the revolution, the registry office authorities have remained authorized to issue marriage documents. Therefore, no one will marry you without stamps in your passport.

What is needed for a wedding in a church: a list of necessary attributes

1. The image of the Savior and the image of the Mother of God. It’s good if your family has preserved these icons, you can (even preferably) take them. If not, then it is worth purchasing in advance from the church.
2. buy them in advance at the church kiosk.
3. Wedding rings for the bride and groom.
4. Wedding towel.
5. Towel, napkins for candles (from burning drops of wax).
6. It may well be that before a church wedding you need to make a donation to the temple. Usually the donation price is fixed.
7. Pectoral crosses. You are baptized people, so crosses should be on you.
8. used for
9. Loaf (optional).

The bride must wear a white dress during the ceremony. Covered shoulders, a non-transparent dress, discreet makeup - this is what you need for a wedding in an Orthodox church. And even if a lady of very advanced years is getting married, this does not change matters. Pay attention to the bride's manicure; it should not be flashy.

The “youngest” age of the bride must be at least sixteen years old. The groom can only get married at the age of eighteen. The most mature bride who will be allowed to get married in a church is a lady who has reached the age of sixty years. The most “mature” man who will be allowed to get married should not be older than seventy.

Rings: which ones are needed and what they mean

There is still debate about what kind of rings are needed for a church wedding. Previously, the groom put a silver ring on his future wife's finger, but the bride put a gold ring on her groom's finger. Only smooth rings, without engravings or decorations, were accepted for wedding rings. Because the ring is a symbol of the endless love of a married couple, and the smoothness of this product meant that the newlyweds’ path through life would be as smooth as the surface of the rings. But sometimes people made engravings on inside rings, this was only allowed if some words from the prayer were engraved to protect the marriage.

Today, young people put gold rings on each other’s fingers, sometimes with designs, decorated precious stones. Although if the ring is very elaborate, the priest may refuse to marry you. Therefore, try to adhere to the regulations. Simple wedding rings that you exchanged at the time of registration are perfect for a wedding.

Why go to church before the wedding?

When preparing yourself for the Sacrament of Wedding, you need to visit the church and talk to the priest. The church minister will tell you what your couple needs to do before getting married in church. Usually the need for fasting, the Sacrament of Confession and the Sacrament of Communion is stipulated. The priest will also coordinate the wedding day with you. It will not be possible to get married on any chosen day; there are also some Orthodox dogmas for such a ceremony. It will clarify for you whether witnesses are needed for a wedding in a church and what to do if for some reason there are still no witnesses. Happens in life different situations, in some churches, the newlyweds are met halfway and provided with people who help during the ceremony and hold crowns over the heads of the bride and groom.

Who are the witnesses? Who should not be used as a witness at a wedding?

Witnesses at a church wedding ceremony are people who act as guarantors. That is, these people vouch for your union before God. They are also obliged to help in your married life advice in conflicts and other difficulties.

Allowed to be witnesses:

• Married couple, especially if the couple has been married for many years, and their family for you is an indicator of a good and faithful family.
• Relatives from the bride's and groom's side. Please note one small nuance here: these witnesses do not have the right to enter into consecrated by the church marriage after being guarantors for your wedding. This is explained by the fact that, having undergone the ritual, these people have already become spiritual relatives. And the wedding of spiritual relatives is strictly prohibited!

You cannot be witnesses at a wedding:

• The couple you wanted to take as witnesses is now divorced. Since people who failed to preserve their marriage bonds will not be able to teach the young anything worthwhile, but will only cause harm.
• The witness-witness couple live in cohabitation, that is, they have not registered their marriage even in government agencies.
• When planning to invite a couple as witnesses, inform them that in order to get married in a church, they need to provide their marriage certificate.

Responsibilities of witnesses

Witnesses perform several functions during the ceremony, here are the most important of them:

• Hold crowns over the heads of the young.
• Help with wedding rings, present them during the ceremony.
• Lay a towel under the feet of the young people in front of the lectern.
• During the three-fold procession, walk together with the bride and groom.

A wedding in a church takes place over a period of forty minutes or more. It is worth warning your guarantors in advance that the crowns are very difficult to hold.

What else do you need to know for a wedding ceremony in the Orthodox Church?

• During the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds should not look back at people, nor should they look at the image. You only need to look at the clergyman so as not to miss important points and be able to answer questions on time.
• It is necessary to be baptized only right hand. IN Orthodox faith It is customary to address a priest with the word “father”.
• Under no circumstances should you be late for the sacrament of marriage! Think over this point and better enter the church a little early (about 20 minutes).
• Since a wedding is a fairly lengthy process, think about and take care of your shoes. Don't wear tight pumps high heels. Let your shoes be comfortable so as not to distract you from good thoughts and spiritual joy during the ceremony.
• Turn off your phones while visiting the temple.
• During the ceremony, the female part of the guests should be on the left side of the room, the male part, respectively, on the right.
• Issues related to photo and video shooting are discussed in advance.
• During the ceremony, you are not supposed to have your hands in your pockets or hold hands.

Wedding gifts for newlyweds. Which ones should you give?

• Usually this is an icon depicting Saints Peter and Fevronia - the patrons of all lovers.
• You can also give the newlyweds silver or gold.
• Chains made of gold or silver would be an appropriate gift. Only the chains must be without crosses.
• Noble candlesticks from noble metals.
• Flowers - this gift is appropriate everywhere, and a wedding ceremony is no exception.

Blessing of parents

Blessings of those closest and dear people- parents are one of the most important points for creating happy family. The point is that given by parents blessing for a happy and long married life is considered very a strong talisman.

Signs for a wedding

• During the wedding process between a young couple, no one is allowed to pass, otherwise the family will be destroyed.
• The wedding crown must be worn on the head. If the crown is not worn, the marriage is not valid before the Lord.
• For a long time and happy life It is necessary to do this at the same time during the wedding when blowing out the candles.

For the best and the right choice Please visit several cathedrals before deciding which one you want to be married in.

During the Soviet era, getting married in a church became not only optional, but also a forbidden rite. Therefore, today people have forgotten what is needed for a wedding and how to prepare for it. However, more and more often young people, in addition to registering at the registry office, seek to get married. Such an introduction to family life captures the pure aspirations of the bride and groom to spend their marriage faithful to each other and in accordance with the laws of God, and the church blesses this union before Jesus Christ.

What is needed for a wedding in a church - spiritual preparation and symbolic details

Preparation for the ceremony begins with a conversation with the priest. On it, he not only sets the wedding date, but can also invite the newlyweds to reunite with the church through confession and repentance, as well as to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. This will allow you to prepare for the wedding properly, but only the bride and groom decide whether to do this or not. Before the rite of confession, you must adhere to spiritual and physical fasting: do not eat food of animal origin, do not get angry and do not have sexual intercourse.

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Preparing appropriate wedding attire

A wedding dress is the first thing a bride needs for a wedding in the Orthodox Church. It differs significantly from the wedding in some ways important details:

• long - even Short dress should cover the knees;
• sleeve - it is customary to emphasize the bride’s chastity with closed hands;
• modest neckline - replaces a deep neckline;
• color - the dress can be not only white, but also a pastel shade.

If the wedding is scheduled immediately after the painting, then Wedding Dress can be transformed with elongated gloves, a cape or a fur coat. This trick will not help if wedding dress stands pantsuit, because women in trousers, as well as with their heads uncovered, are prohibited from entering the church.

You can hide your hair with an elegant hat, but you don’t need to secure it with hairpins or create a high hairstyle - in some churches it is customary not to hold the wedding crown, but to immediately put it on your head.

Ideal option is a veil, but you need to think about the length - on the one hand, it symbolizes a long family path, and on the other hand, it must be protected from candles in the church hall. The bride should not wear high-heeled shoes, and the groom should not wear narrow, uncomfortable shoes, since in a parish church the ceremony lasts at least an hour, and in a monastery even longer.

The groom's wedding dress code is very simple; a classic suit is optimal for him. light color. Casual wear And sport style extremely undesirable.

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About the importance of a sense of proportion - the main thing is in the soul

The observance of traditions and the selection of attributes for sacred ceremonies should be approached responsibly, but without fanaticism. A correct attitude towards this issue is facilitated by reading the relevant church literature or talking with the priest, which will help to understand the meaning of the hidden symbolism of the sacred ritual. By at least partially understanding the background of the process, it is possible to weed out outdated requirements of church decorum from truly important spiritual moments.

For example, today it is no longer necessary to follow the tradition of selecting rings. Previously, it was mandatory for the groom to have a gold ring, and for the bride to have a silver one. In church they exchanged them, and in married life the husband wore silver and the wife gold. Currently, rings are usually purchased according to the tastes and material capabilities of young people.

Also, you shouldn’t worry too much about whether witnesses are needed at a wedding, since their presence is not a requirement of the church, but only a recommendation. Throughout the entire event, the best men must hold the crowns over the heads of the future spouses, and in the event of their absence, you need to think about who can replace the witnesses in this matter. Age and Family status friends also do not matter - gone are the days when their task included spiritual guidance new family.

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The hidden meaning of the attributes of the Orthodox rite

In order for the celebration to take place in accordance with the mandatory canons, it is necessary to take care of the important attributes:

1. Wedding rings are needed for a wedding, or more precisely, for the sacrament of betrothal, which takes place immediately before the main ceremony. They symbolize the eternal and inextricable bond of the engaged.
2. Wedding candles are kept young during the engagement ceremony, as a symbol of the unburnable love of future spouses. The allegorical meaning of this action is that young people learn to protect their warmth from life’s troubles in the same way as they protect the fire of these candles from extinguishing.
3. Two white towels (towels) or pieces of fabric, one of which is needed for framing icons. On the second, symbolizing a long journey together, young people stand in front of a lectern. In the old days, the bride decorated it with rich embroidery when preparing her dowry.
4. Two or four handkerchiefs are needed for the bride and groom to hold the candles, as well as for the witnesses to hold the crowns.
5. Cahors - symbol Blood of Christ. Sweet wine is poured into cups at the end of the ceremony and given to the newlyweds to sip three times, as a reminder of the grief and joy that they are now obliged to share in half.
6. Bread (or loaf) - a symbol of the body of Jesus, may be left in some churches as a form of gratitude. The loaf is also the first dish eaten after a wedding. Previously, it was baked by the mothers of the bride and groom, and it was not customary to trust such an important matter to strangers.
7. Consecrated icons of the Savior (to the groom) and Mother of God(to the bride) are presented by the priest after a circular walk, marking the eternal procession of the spouses hand in hand. The images were passed down from generation to generation and served as a talisman for the entire family. Modern believers are trying to revive a forgotten tradition and, for this purpose, order the creation of icons from a master icon painter.

In the church office or with the priest, it is worth discussing the list of what is needed for the wedding in more detail. Each church may have minor additions.

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How should newlyweds and guests behave during a wedding?

Lack of awareness of what needs to be done before the wedding and during the ceremony, and what not to do, leads to a state of excessive constraint and awkwardness for the majority of those present. Some, on the contrary, begin to make noise, take video and photographs in the wrong place and distract those present from the sacrament of the ritual. Knowledge will help you show respect for church ministers and be more confident. simple rules:

• It is better to arrive at the church 15 minutes earlier than the appointed time;
• the bride and groom must wear a cross, preferably received at baptism;
• during the ceremony you cannot laugh loudly or talk to others;
• mobile phone worth turning off;
• in church it is not customary to turn your back to the iconostasis;
• benches are intended for elderly and infirm parishioners;
• keeping your hands in your pockets is indecent;
• You should not leave before the completion of the ceremony - this could offend the newlyweds.

Despite many conventions, in church, first of all, it is important to listen to your heart. This advice especially applies to newly-made spouses. Without being distracted by exciting little things, they will be able to remember all the details have a good day when in the face of God they were called husband and wife.

A wedding is a beautiful ceremony, a sacred sacrament that allows a couple to find a spiritual connection. True, this can only be done by presenting a marriage certificate, so usually the newlyweds go to the registry office, then to church, and only after that they begin to celebrate the wedding. But many decide to have a wedding ceremony not on the wedding day, but several months or years after it. How to prepare for a wedding in this case and in general, is a couple who have been married for several years allowed to get married?

Sometimes it is not possible to get married on the wedding day and the couple postpones this ceremony for some time. And sometimes spouses go to the wedding a few years after the wedding. This waiting period is explained by the couple’s desire to understand the correctness of their choice. On the one hand, it seems correct - you need to get married only if there is an internal (spiritual) need for this ceremony, and not because it is now in fashion. On the other hand, the church recognizes marriage only if it is performed according to its rules, while civil marriage is nothing more than cohabitation, fornication. So you have to get married on your wedding day? If strictly adhered to church rules, then yes. But if it is not an innocent maiden who gets married, then the time of the wedding will no longer play a special role. Therefore, if a couple decided to get married some time after the wedding, then from the point of view modern standards There's nothing wrong with that.

How to prepare for a wedding?

Ritual Orthodox wedding requires preparation and it’s not just about the guest list and clothes (although you need to think about that too). The main thing is spiritual cleansing, which is why the wedding was previously preceded by a week-long fast, and before the ceremony the couple had to attend the service, confess and receive communion. Now wedding traditions have been somewhat changed to suit modern mores. Thus, fasting is reduced to 3 days, and confession and communion are allowed on the eve of the wedding.

You also need to take care of the wedding set - you can purchase it in church shops or prepare it yourself. You will need rings, a towel, wedding candles, 4 handkerchiefs for candles (from the same fabric as the towel), icons of the Savior and the Virgin Mary.

How to dress for a wedding?

Many people think that the bride must attend the ceremony in a wedding dress, but this is not entirely true - it is possible to wear any dress or suit with a skirt that meets the following requirements.

• back and shoulders are closed;
• skirt length is no higher than knee;
• White clothing is desirable.

The head must also be covered - with a mantilla, shawl, scarf or veil.

As for makeup, it should not be too bright. And no lipstick (in as a last resort, erase before entering the church) - no one will allow you to kiss the cross with painted lips.

The groom's appearance should also be appropriate for the occasion - clothing that covers the body (not jeans or a tracksuit), preferably in light shades.

The same requirements apply to the clothing of witnesses at a wedding. In addition, everyone present at the wedding - the bride and groom, witnesses and guests - must wear crosses.

The best time for a wedding

It is known that during fasting, great and church holidays, weddings are not performed. Also, a couple will not get married on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. And the best day for a wedding is considered to be Sunday, and there are many who want to sanctify their relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to agree on the wedding day in advance.

Requirements for witnesses at a wedding

Witnesses must be baptized. After the ceremony, they become spiritual relatives and if they subsequently want to get married, the church will not approve their marriage. However, it is acceptable for the witnesses to be already a married couple. The role of witnesses at a wedding is to hold the crowns over the heads of the newlyweds throughout the entire ceremony (about 40 minutes). But in some churches the main wedding attributes are placed on the heads of the future spouses. Therefore, all the details should be clarified in the church in which you plan to hold the ceremony.

A wedding is a sacrament in which the marital union is blessed. Many newlyweds get married immediately after registering their marriage at the registry office, while others prefer to check their feelings, find out what is needed for the wedding and prepare thoroughly. These couples undergo this ritual after living together for several years or after the birth of a child.

Choosing a wedding date

What do you need for a wedding?

• two icons: the Savior and the Mother of God;
• a white towel or linen on which the newlyweds will stand;
• wedding candles;
• white handkerchiefs for candles;
• The newlyweds and guests must have crosses;
• wedding rings;
• Marriage certificate.

Appearance

• the bride must have a headdress, this is a veil, a headscarf;
• shoulders and chest should be covered with a cape;
• girls are not allowed to wear trousers in the temple;
• Make-up and manicure should not be flashy and kept to a minimum.

There will be no wedding

• Tuesday Thursday Saturday;
• to posts: Lent, Petrov fast, Assumption, Rozhdestvensky;
• during Maslenitsa;
• V Easter week;
• during the period from Christmas to Epiphany.

Marriage in the church is impossible if the young people have married three or more times. If the newlyweds are closely related or at least one of them was not baptized at the time of the wedding.

In order for your wedding to become a holiday that you will remember for the rest of your life, take good care of its organization. We have told you tips on what you need for a wedding in a church, and you try to follow them.

Wedding rings

Wedding rings have long been considered a sign of fidelity, indissolubility and purity of the marriage union. Previously, the rings had to be different: one was gold and the other was silver. Golden ring was a symbol of the sun, because of its shine, and silver was similar to the moon. IN modern times As a rule, gold rings are chosen for the bride and groom.

What do you need for a wedding if you are having a second marriage?

Newlyweds who have decided to unite their hearts by marriage for the second time and want to get married should know that the church does not support or approve of remarriages, but a second time is allowed. In this case, two more prayers of repentance are added to the ceremony.

Couples who decide to get married should think carefully about their intentions. Find out what you need for a wedding in a church, how to dress and what prayers you need to know. Good preparation for this ceremony will allow you to capture these moments even on camera.

At the moment, the wedding ceremony is becoming more widespread in our country, which makes it possible not only to create a marriage, but to illuminate the sacrament of marriage.