What is needed for the wedding and how to prepare for it?

The mural in the registry office legally secures the union of two people who have decided to start a family. A wedding is a spiritual union of loving hearts that have received divine blessing. Tribute to fashion or yielding to parents should not become a criterion for choosing to conduct a ceremony: only a spiritual understanding of what is happening and readiness for a strong union.

The wedding is one of the seven sacraments bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit. Orthodox people entering into marriage receive a blessing from above to create a strong family, to give birth and raise children. It is important to take the ceremony seriously, to understand its spiritual essence, the family’s focus on a righteous life, so that children are not born in fornication, but come to the world with a divine blessing in a married family.

People in love should be tuned for a long life "in the same boat", on the labor of building relationships, on love, trust and compliance, respect and respect for each other. And in sorrow and in joy to be together, to support and not to leave our “halves”, because in fact, the wedding takes place once, and for the second or third time they allow this rite because of our weakness, so that we don’t fall into even greater sin, living in new families.

If the desire to get married comes from the heart and the young are confident in each other, you should familiarize yourself with the church rules to understand if there will be obstacles to the ceremony. A wedding will not occur if:

• young married (have other families);
• there is no marriage certificate provided by the registry office;
• one or both spouses are not baptized in Orthodoxy;
• are blood relatives;
• They are in a spiritual relationship (for example, they were appointed witnesses at the wedding of their friends together);
• one or both of the spouses of non-Orthodox faith or atheists;
• You can not marry girls under 16, and boys under 18;
• refuse to mentally unhealthy people who can not fully understand what is happening.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the wedding was the only legal action confirming the formation of a new family. Wedding records in church books have been kept for centuries. Today, only a marriage certificate and a stamp in a passport have legal force, and they should be provided to the church. Before the ceremony, the priest must make sure that the newlyweds are not married to other marriages.

What you need to purchase in advance for the wedding ceremony:

It is required to bring the icons of the Savior and the Kazan Mother of God with them, they are necessary during the church ceremony. Wedding icons are suitable home icons, or donated by parents. But you can buy it yourself, in the church shop: they sell paired icons, especially for weddings, made in the same artistic manner, and they look like a single whole. After the ceremony, the image is placed in a place of honor, they will keep family peace, and in the future, they will be transferred to children and grandchildren.

They are sold in churches, they look very beautiful and solemn. Candles will burn for a long part of the ceremony.

Handkerchiefs are also needed for the wedding crown. With their help, witnesses will keep crowns over the heads of the newlyweds.

According to some sources, it symbolizes the long life path of the newlyweds, and according to others - a cloud that lifts them to heaven for marriage. Young people stand on a rushnyk during the ceremony, after the ceremony he is left in the temple.

Smooth rings, without engravings and stones, mean a smooth, even life path. The inner side of the ring can be decorated with text - these can be the words of a protective prayer, names, wedding date. Those who do not attach importance to symbolism acquire jewelry with engraving, but these should be rings, not rings with large stones. During the ceremony, the young people exchange jewelry three times: as a result, the bride has the husband’s ring, and the groom’s wife’s ring.

The cross received at baptism should always be on the Orthodox person, the more it is necessary when entering the church.

Church Cahors will be needed in the process of the ceremony.

It is not a mandatory attribute of the wedding. With a loaf, parents meet the young after the temple.

A wedding is a great spiritual union of two independent souls into a single whole. If you are imbued with the significance of the moment, then it is easier for children born in a blessed marriage to convey a spiritual life position. Simply put, looking at spiritual values, it is easier to raise good, decent children and secure a secure old age.

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that the ceremony is not simple and it is necessary to prepare for it. In addition to documents and acquired wedding attributes, you should make sure that there are no prohibitions on the Orthodox rite (the list is given in the text above).

It would be ideal to receive a blessing from parents. They are the closest people, their heartfelt promise will become a family amulet for life. But unfortunately, it happens that parents are no longer at the time of the wedding, in which case the priest gives a blessing for marriage.

Young people who decide to get married should choose a temple in which the ceremony will take place. It does not have to be huge and crowded, many prefer to perform the sacrament in a small, quiet place. Choosing a temple, you should listen to your heart. It happens that in some church you feel comfortable, your soul rejoices, you don’t want to leave - this is the very place.

After choosing a church, you should go to the priest and discuss the preparatory stage for the rite. Those who want to penetrate, learn more and understand the sacrament of wedding, come to spiritual discussions. Communicating with the newlyweds, the priest finds out the goal they are pursuing, preparing for the rite. This is not always a sincere faith - it happens, a fashion tribute, because it's beautiful, the parents persuaded. Priests explain the meaning of weddings, a church view of attitudes toward marriage. The ceremony itself becomes more understandable, but at the same time serious and responsible. At such conversations, the priest can ask exciting questions about marriage, family, future children.

The Orthodox faith is built on the acquisition of the Holy Spirit (the accumulation of higher grace), which cannot be done without spiritual labor - fasting and prayer. These are the days when holidays are not arranged, weddings do not take place. No weddings are performed during fasting. But there are certain days of every week when this rite is not performed: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Orthodox fast every Wednesday, remembering the day when Judas betrayed Christ on Friday, when the Savior was crucified on the cross. Every Sunday is considered a little Easter, the day of the resurrection of the Lord. In church terms, the day does not start from the first minute of the night and lasts until 24 hours, but from evening prayer to evening prayer. It turns out that the church honors all three events every week from the evening of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, wedding nights are forbidden at this holy time of the day, so there is no wedding ceremony.

Given the church rules of life, it is impossible to choose the date of the rite, when we want, it should be agreed with the priest. There are four posts in the year, and some of them last up to almost two months, so be patient. If the goal is set, the ceremony in the registry office and in the church is held on the same day, then it is better to first negotiate with the church.

The choice of witnesses should be treated responsibly. During the wedding, not everyone is suitable for this role.

You can not take as witnesses:

• people of a different faith;
• not baptized in Orthodoxy;
• atheists;
• divorced;
• living in a civil marriage;
• parents of one of the newlyweds.

It is better to invite witnesses to whom there is deep respect, from whom you can take an example, because they become spiritual relatives of the young. By the way, about kinship: if you invite an unmarried couple to witness, they will never be able to get married, as they become spiritual relatives.

It should be borne in mind that for most of the ceremony, witnesses will have to hold weighty crowns on their outstretched arms above the heads of young people, and they should be warned about this in advance. A fragile short girl can not cope with such a task, it is better to choose a strong couple that is superior in size to the newlyweds. Witnesses are allowed friends, relatives and simply respected people.

Preparing for the wedding, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of being in the temple. A beautiful wedding ceremony will be remembered for a lifetime and you should not spoil it with unacceptable behavior for a prayer place. Recommendations apply not only to newlyweds, but also to guests.

Let's try to figure out what is possible and what cannot be done in the temple.

• You cannot be late for your own wedding. Guests should also be courteous and arrive on time.
• Entering the church, women put on, and men take off their hats.
• It is necessary to disconnect mobile phones so as not to distract from the wedding ceremony.
• Appearance should not be defiant, modesty in clothes and makeup is needed.
• You can not interfere with the ritual with loud conversations and fussy behavior.

• You need to be baptized with your right hand: from top to bottom, from right to left.
• The temple does not hold hands and do not lower their hands in their pockets.
• Young people should familiarize themselves with the words that they will have to pronounce during the wedding.
• Video recording should be agreed upon in advance. Ministers of the church can recommend a specialist who knows how to properly remove the rite. In his frame there will be not only newlyweds and guests, he will be able to timely transfer the camera to icons, an altar, a ritual towel and other accent points. This will be a shooting of the wedding ceremony, and not a group of people in the frame.

The rules of being in the temple only look numerous, in fact, they are not unusual. For an educated, cultured person - this is just the norm.

Now we pass to the main preparatory moment - spiritual purification. Participation in the great sacrament is necessary with a pure soul and bright thoughts. For purification, the young hold a three-day fast, confess and receive communion.

During fasting, you can not eat food of animal origin: meat, milk, eggs. This helps the body restrain itself from gluttony and redirect energy to spiritual work. In the moments of preparation for communion they do not live an intimate life, do not participate in entertainment events. On such days, they think about spiritual activities.

In a confession, one should not be afraid to tell about everything that worries, the priest is not a judge, but a mediator between us and God. Having received forgiveness, having cleansed the soul, you can enter a new important stage in your life.

Before communion, you must not eat or drink anything. The priest gives a piece of bread soaked in Cahors, symbolizing the blood and flesh of the Savior. It is believed that this rite brings special grace to the soul and body.

The ceremony begins with a betrothal and ends with a wedding. It goes as follows.

• Betrothal. The priest blesses the bride and groom and hands them lighted candles.
• A prayer is said for the newlyweds, for the salvation of their souls and blessings for healthy offspring.
• Then the father puts on the rings young and overshadows them with a cross.
• It was at this moment that the newlyweds exchanged rings three times. At the last stage of the betrothal, the final prayer is read.
• Wedding. A couple with candles in their hands, follow the priest with a censer. He leads them to the center of the temple.
• The bride and groom stand on a towel spread out on the floor, in front of the lectern.
• To the question of voluntary marriage, they answer in the affirmative, from now on they are considered husband and wife.

• Crowns are assigned to the young, most often they are held by witnesses. The priest reads the most important prayers in which he asks the Savior for the heavenly crown for the bride and groom.
• After reading the holy texts, they offer the young people a cup and offer to taste wine from one vessel.
• The priest unites the spouses by folding their hands together.
• The troparians sing in the temple, and the father leads the groom and the bride around the lectern. Walking occurs three times.
• At this stage, the crowns are removed and the final prayers are read, the newlyweds are allowed to kiss.
• At the altar, steam is reverently applied to the images of the Savior and the Virgin.
• The bride and groom kiss the cross. The priest gives them icons that will protect the family on the path of life.

See how to prepare for a wedding in a church in the next video.