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

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

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

People in love should tune in to long life “in the same boat”, on the work of building relationships, on love, trust and pliability, respect and respect for each other. And in grief and joy to be together, to support and not to leave their “halves”, because truly, the wedding takes place once, and for the second or third time this rite is allowed due to our weakness, so that we do not 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 in order to understand whether there will be no obstacles to the conduct of the ceremony. The wedding will not happen if:

• young married (have other families);
• no certificate of marriage, which provides the registry office;
• one or both spouses are not baptized in Orthodoxy;
• are blood relatives;
• they are spiritually related (for example, they were appointed together as witnesses at the wedding of their friends);
• one or both of the marriages of non-Orthodox faith or atheists;
• you can not marry girls under 16, and boys - up to 18 years;
• refuse to mentally ill 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 have been kept in church books for centuries. Nowadays, only a marriage certificate and a stamp in the passport are legally binding and should be submitted to the church. Before the ceremony, the priest must make sure that the newlyweds do not have any other marriages.

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

It is required to take along the icons of the Savior and the Kazan Mother of God, they are necessary during the church ceremony. At the wedding fit 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 style, and they look like a single whole. After the rite of the image put on the place of honor, they will keep the family peace, and in the future, will go to children and grandchildren.

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

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

According to some data, it symbolizes the long life of the newlyweds, and according to others - a cloud, raising them to heaven to enter into marriage. On the towel the young become during the rite, after the ceremony it is left in the temple.

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

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

Church Cahors will need during the ceremony.

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

The wedding is the great spiritual union of two independent souls into one. If you feel the importance of the moment, then it is easier for the children born in a marriage blessed from above to pass on their spiritual life position. Simply put, looking back at spiritual values, it is easier to raise good, decent children and ensure a protected old age.

From the above, 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 restrictions on the Orthodox rite (the list is given in the text above).

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

Young people who decide to marry must 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 you feel comfortable in some church, your soul is happy, you don’t want to leave - this is that very place.

After choosing a church, go to the priest and discuss the preparatory stage for the ceremony. Those who want to penetrate, learn more and understand the mystery of the wedding, come to spiritual conversations. Communicating with the newlyweds, the priest finds out the goal that they pursue, preparing for the ceremony. It is not always sincere faith - it is a tribute to fashion, because it is beautiful, parents persuaded. The priests explain the meaning of the wedding, the church view on the attitude towards 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 the highest grace), which is impossible to do without spiritual work — fasting and prayer. These are the days when the holidays are not arranged, the weddings are not walking. During the posts are not committed weddings. But there are certain days of each week when this ceremony is not held: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Orthodox fast every Wednesday, remembering the day when Judas betrayed Christ and on Friday, when the Savior was crucified on the cross. Every Sunday is considered the little Easter, the day of the resurrection of the Lord. In the church's understanding, the day does not begin 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, at this holy time of the day marriage nights are prohibited, therefore the wedding ceremony is not held.

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

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

You can not take a witness:

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

It is better to be witnesses to invite those to whom deep respect is experienced, from whom one can follow 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 marry, as they become spiritual relatives.

It should be borne in mind that most of the ceremony witnesses will have to hold weighty crowns on their outstretched hand over the heads of young ones, and they should be warned about this in advance. A fragile short girl with such a task can not cope, it is better to pick up a strong pair, superior in height to the newlyweds. Friends, relatives and simply dear people are allowed to be witnesses.

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

Let's try to figure out what can and can not be done in the temple.

• You can not be late for your own wedding. Guests should also be polite and arrive on time.
• When women enter the church, they put on their clothes, while men take off their hats.
• It is necessary to turn off mobile phones so as not to distract from the wedding ceremony.
• Appearance should not be defiant, need modesty in clothes and makeup.
• You can not interfere with the rite loud conversations and fussy behavior.

• You need to baptize with your right hand: from top to bottom, right to left.
• In the temple do not hold hands and do not drop their hands in their pockets.
• Young people should familiarize themselves with the words that they will have to pronounce during the wedding.
• On the video should agree in advance. Ministers of the church can recommend a specialist who knows how to properly shoot the rite. Not only newlyweds and guests will be in his frame, he will be able to transfer the camera to icons, altar, ritual towel and other accents. This will be a footage 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, there is nothing unusual in them. For an educated, cultured person, this is just the norm of life.

Now we come to the main preparatory moment - spiritual purification. You need to participate in the great sacrament with a pure soul and bright thoughts. For purification, the young keep a three-day fast, confess and take communion.

During fasting, you should not eat food of animal origin: meat, milk, eggs. It helps the body to restrain from gluttony and redirect energy to spiritual work. In moments of preparation for the sacrament, they do not live intimate lives, do not participate in entertainment events. On such days meditate on spiritual acts.

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

Before communion, nothing can be eaten and drunk. The priest gives a taste of a piece of bread soaked in Cahors, symbolizing the blood and flesh of the Savior. It is believed that this ceremony brings special grace to body and soul.

The rite begins with a betrothal and ends with a wedding. It passes as follows.

• Betrothal The priest blesses the newlyweds and gives them lighted candles.
• A prayer is said for the newlyweds, for the salvation of their souls and blessing for healthy offspring.
• Then the priest puts on the rings young and overshadows them with a cross.
• It is at this moment that the newlyweds exchange rings three times. At the last stage of the betrothal, the closing prayer is read.
• Wedding. A pair with candles in their hands, followed by the father with a censer. He leads them to the center of the temple.
• The bride and groom are on a towel spread on the floor, before lectern.
• On the question of voluntary marriage, they answer in the affirmative, from that moment they are considered husband and wife.

• Crowns are placed on young people, most often they are held by witnesses. The priest reads the most important prayers, in which he asks the Savior about the heavenly crown for the newlyweds.
• After reading the holy texts, the young are brought in a bowl and offered to taste the wine from one vessel.
• The priest unites the spouses, folding their hands together.
• In the temple, they sing tropars, and the bride and groom, the father, leads around the lectern. Walking occurs three times.
• At this stage the crowns are taken off and the final prayers are read, the newlyweds are allowed to kiss.
• At the altar, a couple with respect are applied to the images of the Savior and the Virgin.
• Newlyweds kiss the cross. The priest gives them icons that will protect the family in their life's journey.

How to prepare for the wedding in the church, see the next video.