Editor and translator: Marius-Constantin Popa
TRANSLATIONS
VOLUME3*ISSUERELEASEDINNOVEMBER2018
TheHoly
Sacramentof
Wedding
RELIGION
THE WEDDING IS NOT A PLAY, BUT A
HOLY SACRAMENT
There are certain moments during the lifetime of every person that are very im-
portant and decisive for his or her future. The day on which he or she is given Bap -
tism, starts school, comes of age or goes to university are all unique moments, de-
cisive steps taken for personal fulfilment. However, the greatest ordeal of every
person, the most important decision during the lifetime of everyone is the one
through which we choose our life partner. Although many readers might not agree
with the statements mentioned above, receiving the Holy Sacrament of Wedding is
regarded as the crucial moment during the lifetime of everyone. This statement is
demonstrated by the signification of the moment: the Wedding consecrates the de-
cision made by one man and one woman to spend the rest of their lives together,
to fulfil their dreams together, to start a family, bearing children and, last but not
least, to be redeemed together.
Themomentofmarriagecountsamongtheemotionalonesduringthelifetimeof
everyyoungperson.Onlythebirthofachildmightrepresentasimilarmiracleor
evenagreateroneandraisesfeelingsasshatteringastheoneshadwheneveraper-
sonwhowasstrangebeforebecomesthelong-awaitedhalf.Itisamiracle,indeed,that
Godleftonearthinordereverybodytoenjoyit.Theunionbetweenamanandawoman
tolivetogetherfortherestoftheirlivesissomethingthatsometimeswedonotunder-
stand,butsomethingweapproveandweallenjoy.
Onesuchuniqueandmeaningfulmomentastheoneonthedaysomebodyreceives
theblessingofGodtounitewithhisorherbelovedpersonandvowseternalloveand
communionbeforetheHolyAltarisaccompaniedbyaverylargenumberofcustoms.
Popularwisdom capturedtheuniquenessofthemomentfrom thelifetimeofaperson
andthereforegaverisetoallkindsofcustoms,someofthem determiningcertainnon-ca-
nonicalpracticesthatprejudicetheimportance,symbolism andsacrednessofthemo-
mentwhenthegreatSacrament,astheHolyApostlePaulcallstheunionbetweenone
manandonewoman,isreceived.
The wedding must be performed on Sundays, after the Holy Liturgy
ThesimplefactthatmostweddingstakeplaceonSaturdays,andthepartythatfollowsa
weddinglastsuntilSundayinthemorning,whenChristianspreparethemselvesforthe
HolyLiturgy,isareprehensiblepractice.CountingamongthesevenHolySacraments,
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RELIGION
worksoftheHolySpiritwithintheChurch,throughwhichthelifeofapersonisblessed,
theWeddingwasofficiatedoverthefirstChristiancenturiesincloserelationtotheHoly
Liturgy.Accompaniedbytheirgodfathers,familyandacquaintances,thebridalcoupleat-
tendedtheHolyLiturgyonSundayinthemorning,receivedtheEucharist,thenreceived
theblessingofGodthroughtheagencyofthepriestwithintheSacramentofWedding.It
wasaconfessionoffaiththeChristfrom WhosebodyandbloodtheyreceivedtheEuchar-
istwillalwaysdwellintheirhouse,atruthalsoconfessedduringtheWeddingservice,
whenthepriest,thebridalcoupleandthegodfatherringthetableonwhichtheHolyGos-
pelisplaced,asapromisetheChristwillalwaysstayamongthem.
Nowadays,forpracticalreasons,namelybecausemostweddingguestsgotowork
onMondayinthemorning,theweddingpartyisusuallyheldonSaturdayintheevening,
inorderthetiredgueststobeabletorestonSunday,whentheyshouldgivepraiseto
Christ.Certainly,workorotherissuesareofagreaterimportancethanprayer,serving
God,whoevergivesuseverythingwehavegot.
Pagan reminiscences
Besidesthiswrong-headedpractice,theweddingisaccompaniedbyaseriesofcustoms
thataremoreorlessdangerousforhumansouls.Forexample,itisthecustom insome
Beautiful bride
areasofRomaniaforthebridetobreakaring-shapedloafandthrowitinfourdirections
beforeleavingthehouse.Itisareminiscencefrom pagantraditionthatdoesnotaffectthe
greatnessofthemomenttoomuchbecauseittakesplaceoutsidetheworshipplace.How-
ever,itdoesnotmakethepracticeacanonicalcustom.
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‘The glass of salvation’ contains consecrated wine
Themostdangerouspractices,customsorobservancesrelatedtotheweddingarethe
onesduringtheserviceoftheHolySacramentofficiatedbythepriest,wheneverthe
bridalcoupleishonouredasiftheyweresomeemperorsandbecomeafamilyblessedby
Wedding table in church
God.Therefore,manyliturgicalservicesexpresstheloveofthebridalcoupleforeach
otherandtheimportanceofthemoment.Manytimes,however,wehavetowitnesstheat-
ricalmomentsthatprejudicetheholinessofthemomentandliturgicalsymbolism.Thus,
itisthecustom withinsomeparishesforthepriestwhoofficiatestheserviceofWedding,
whenhemustgiveconsecratedwinetothebridalcoupleinorderthem todrinkfrom the
sameglass,asatokenoftheircommunionandfaithinChrist,amomentthatrecallstime
duringtheHolyLiturgywhentheyreceivedtheEucharist,tocheatthepooryoungcouple,
namelyhedoesnotallow them todrinkforthefirsttime,buthemovesawaytheglass
whenevertheyshouldtastethewine.Obviously,thisthoughtlessgesture,whichcom-
pletelyharmstheatmospherecreatedbytheprayersreadbeforeandisnotinaccordance
withtheliturgicalcustom andsymbolism,prejudicesthesacrednessofthemomentand
createsatheatricalatmosphere.
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Sometimes,theritualisticdancearoundthetableplacedin themiddleofthe
churchchangesintoadancewithhops,accompaniedbycandiesthrownintheairand
childrenwhocollectthesweetsfallenonthecarpet.Amongthecustomsthatarenotin
accordancewiththeholyserviceandtheattitudethatisrecommendedwheneverweare
inthehouseofGod,therearealsoothers,suchasthebucketsofwaterthatarefoundat
theentranceintothechurch,wherethegodfathersorthebridalcouplehavetoinsert
moneyandthenoverturnthem,thecustom forsomeprieststotiethehandsofthetwo
youngpeoplewithawhitehandkerchiefduringthethirdprayeroreventhecustom for
them topourhoneyintotheglassofblessing,insteadofwine,inorderthelifeofthe
bridalcouple‘tobesweeter’,thatshouldobviouslynotexist.
The custom of the Wedding
ForagenuineChristian,allthesepracticesaresimpleinventionsthataffecttheholy
momentwhenthebridalcouplereceivethegraceofWeddingthroughwhichtheyare
Young married couple
boundtogetherforever,turningitintoatastelesstheatricalscene.Thebestmethodof
showingthatthesetraditionsarewrongistheoneofreadingtheregulation ofthe
Weddingservicefrom theliturgicalbooksandthepiecesofadvicefoundthere.Manyof
thecustomsthatwewitnessfrequently,manyofthem beingnotmentionedabove,arenot
foundintheregulationexistinginthesebooks.
REFERENCES
Theoriginalarticlewaspublishedin‘Lumina’newspaperonFriday,27thApril2007.
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