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All simply about BabyGuide to the Greek Orthodox Wedding Ceremony
by:
Emmanuel Mendonca
The wedding service in the Greek Orthodox faith is an ancient and beautiful ceremony, which has been celebrated in its current form for centuries. The wedding ceremony is full of symbolism and is a great experience if you have ne'er
attended one before, because it is likely to be quite several from another weddings you have attended in Western Europe. The service is besides rather unique because the bride and groom do not do vows to each another – their presence together in the church is taken to mean that they are serious simply about acquiring married.
The Beginning of the Wedding
In most cases the wedding guests will wait with the groom outside the church until the bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go into the church early to secure a nice seat). In the Summer, once
most weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged back to back, so the guests attending a marriage will often stand about with those who have simply attended the previous wedding as they prepare to leave. Wedding dress commentators among the crowd will get to consider and discuss at least two brides and possibly even as a third as they leave the church – bargain! Meanwhile, the nervous groom waits for the bride at the entrance to the church, often holding her floral bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside together followed by the guests. There is no separation of the guests into guests of the bride and guests of the groom – everyone sits together and in the case of small churches, galore folk prefer to stand in a spot wherever
they can get a nice view of the proceedings.
Service of Betrothal
The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Religious ceremony of Marriage. The exchanging of rings is the focus of the Service of Betrothal. The priest blesses the rings by holding them in his right hand and devising the sign of the cross over the heads of the bride and groom. The rings are then placed on the third fingers of their right hands. The “Koumbaro”, the couple’s religious sponsor, then swaps the rings over between the bride and groom’s fingers, three times. A number of rituals in the ceremony are perennial three times and this symbolises the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Ceremony of the Religious ceremony of Marriage
This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are aforesaid and then as they move to an end, the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom. Their hands remain joined until the end of the wedding ceremony, which symbolises the couple’s union.
The Crowning
The bride and groom are crowned with thin crowns, or “stefana”, which are joined by a white ribbon and have been blessed by the priest. The crowns symbolise the glory and honour that is being conferred on them by God, and the the ribbon symbolises their unity. The “Koumbaro” then exchanges the crowns between the heads of the couple, three times.
The Common Cup
The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel, which tells of the marriage of Cana at Galilee. It was at this wedding that Christ performed his 1st miracle, ever-changing water into wine, which was then given to the wedded couple. Wine is given to the couple and they each drink from it three times.
The Ceremonial Walk
The priest the leads the couple, who are still wearing their “stefana”, three times about the altar on their 1st steps as a wedded couple. The “Koumbaro” follows close behind the couple holding the “stefana” place. At this point the couple (and anyone standing nearby) is normally showered with rice, which was earlier bimanual out to the wedding guests. The priest will often do use of the bible he is holding to give himself several protection!
The Removal of the Crowns
When the Ceremonial Walk has ended, the priest blesses the couple, the crowns are removed and he then separates their antecedently
joined hands with the bible, reminding them that only God can break the union which they have simply entered into.
Wedding traditions
Much of the information accessible on Greek Orthodox wedding traditions is a little obsolete and contains generalisations that give the impression that certain traditions are followed by everyone who gets married. Several of these traditions are set out below
- Rolling a baby on the matrimonial bed to encourage fertility.
- The throwing of money onto the matrimonial bed.
- The promise
of money onto the bride (and sometimes besides the groom) at the wedding reception.
Although these rituals are seen as traditional, fewer and fewer young folk marrying now are following them, because they are seen as old-fashioned. Galore folk do not will to put their guests through the ordeal of another folk being able to see how more money they pin on the bride, for example. Though money is still a really common, as well as practical, wedding present it is often given to the couple before the wedding day or to a third person at the wedding reception, for safe-keeping. Greeks living in the more remote parts of Balkan country and abroad, who will naturally feel more powerfully
simply about doing things the traditional way, are more likely to follow these traditions than those living in Athens, for example. Like weddings everywhere, Greek weddings are changing. At the time of writing, there is a growing fashion to go and get wedded on an island and I recently detected
person say that he was looking into acquiring wedded in a ski resort. He was sagely advised by a friend “You had better 1st ask the priest if he wants to perform a marriage up a mountain”!
Just simply about the author:
Emmanuel Mendonca affected from London to Athens in 2004 and is acquiring to grips with life in Greece. Emmanuel publishes Balkan country travel and living articles at http://www.athensroom.com/greece_travel_guide.html
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