Wedding ceremony
Divine services related to the sacrament of marriage in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are unique in their own way, but their greatest value is that they have remained almost unchanged since their inception many centuries ago. Engagement and wedding, as two separate rites, took place at different times and are the oldest, created by God: "It is not good for a man to be alone."
The four most important symbols of the wedding service on the tetropod: crowns, the Gospel, a common cup, and embroidered towels.
The first rite is the vow – what we call engagement today. Once upon a time, it was an exchange of engagement rings in a church, where the betrothed promised to marry. Subsequently, the young couple asked for a blessing from both pairs of parents, and having received it, entered the church together to be married as husband and wife.
In front of the congregation, as a witness, a young couple arrives at the church from the bride's house. In this way, the bride and groom once again confirm that they have not sworn to anyone else and express their free will and consent to be husband and wife. Over time, two rites (engagement and wedding) merged into one and this is what the wedding rite looks like today.
Wedding rings, circles without beginning and end are visible signs of exclusive commitment, faith, love for each other. Rings are definitely a symbol of engagement, and exchanging them means that in married life the weaknesses of one partner will be compensated by the strengths of the other. Individually, newlyweds are not perfect, but together they are perfection. Thus, the exchange of wedding rings symbolizes that each of the spouses will constantly complement each other. The main meaning of this sacrament is perfectly reproduced in the prayer, where the priest reads various examples from the Holy Scriptures, and that's when he takes the wedding rings. Before the exchange, the priest takes each ring separately and makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the young, which symbolizes the equality of men and women in the eyes of God.
After the engagement, the priest leads the young couple to the church. The choir or choir sings Psalm 127 (128), which says "blessed are all who fear the Lord and walk in His ways." The entrance to the temple can symbolize for us the entrance of the spouses from the worldly world into the world of God, and the world to come.
The Holy Gospel, a cup of wine, and wedding wreaths (crowns) are already lying on the tetrapod. A candle is lit, which reminds us that Christ is the "light of the world", who gave himself as a light for a married couple, so that they "do not wander in darkness, but have the light of life". Young people are allowed to hold candles throughout the entire service. Candles are like the lamps that the Bible tells us about when five virgins, having enough oil in their lamps, were able to see the bridegroom of Christ in the darkness of the night. Candles symbolize the spiritual readiness of the spouses to receive Christ, who blesses them through this holy sacrament.
Embroidery on towels, intertwined with threads of different colors, reflects all aspects of human life: family, love, tradition, difficulties and faith in God. That towel on which they stand in the church means the beginning of their life together. Before the couple starts their joint journey, the bridegroom's hands are tied with an embroidered towel. It signifies their unity and inviolability that they now share in this journey.
Placing wreaths on the heads of the bride and groom is the most solemn moment and the climax of the service. The earliest Byzantine crowns, both religious and secular, were real wreaths, made either from the branches of the olive tree stephanotis, which means "crown" in Greek. When Christianity came to Ukraine, myrtle replaced this plant. Therefore, wreaths of myrtle are placed on the heads of the spouses, as a sign of the glory and honor that God bestows on them during the Sacrament. They are crowned king and queen of their own little kingdom - a house in which wisdom, justice, honesty, love, peace and harmony will rule. To emphasize the equality of everyone in marriage and unity, the young couple exchange wreaths three times. In early Christian times, the young couple wore wreaths for a whole week.
The tradition, when the bride and groom drink wine from the same cup, symbolizes that in married life they should share everything equally between them. The cup of wine is a reminder to us of the miracle in Cana of Galilee. The fact that Jesus decided to perform his first miracle at the wedding in Cana is the most profound testimony of the greatness that God has given to the union of a man and a woman. Ever since Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana, He continues to turn the "water" of ordinary relationships into the "wine" of holy matrimony. In memory of the first miracle performed by Jesus, the Bride and Groom drink from the same cup of wine, as a sign of unity with each other and with Christ.
Circling around the tetrapod during the ceremony reminds us that the center of our lives should be Jesus Christ, who is present during the ceremony in the holy Gospel on the tetrapod. A symbolic dance of joy in God's presence is performed in a circle as the priest leads the young couple holding their hands. With this, the Church emphasizes its prayerful desire for the young couple to walk through life following the perfect and safe Word of God.
The triple circumambulation is a confirmation of their faith in the Holy Trinity, and the Presence of God in their lives in divine, human and spiritual manifestation. During the circumambulation, the young couple also kisses the icons of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God held by the elders.
