Services

The Cathedral welcomes the opportunity to unify couples in the holy sacrament of marriage. God is active in our lives. It is He who joins a man and a woman in a relationship of mutual love. The Sacrament of Marriage bears witness to His action. Through this Sacrament, a man and a woman are publicly joined as husband and wife. They enter into a new relationship with each other, God, and the Church. Since Marriage is not viewed as a legal contract, there are no vows in the Sacrament. According to Orthodox teachings, Marriage is not simply a social institution, it is an eternal vocation of the kingdom. A husband and a wife are called by the holy Spirit not only to live together but also to share their Christian life together so that each, with the aid of the other, may grow closer to God and become the persons they are meant to be. In the Orthodox Marriage Service, after the couple have been betrothed and exchanged rings, they are crowned with "crowns of glory and honor" signifying the establishment of a new family under God. Near the conclusion of the Service, the husband and wife drink from a common cup which is reminiscent of the wedding of Cana and which symbolized the sharing of the burdens and joys of their new life together. (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

Preparations

1. Membership: At least one member of the engaged couple must be a member in good standing with the Cathedral; should one member of the couple been previously married and divorced, he/she must present a copy of the civil divorce decree.
2. Pre-Marital Counseling: All couples who wish to be married in the Cathedral must participate in pre-marital counseling with the Cathedral's priests; many couples are strongly encouraged to also participate in the Cathedral's inquiry into Orthodoxy class as it also provides a wonderful overview of the Orthodox faith.
3. Selecting a Wedding Date: Please contact the Cathedral office as soon as possible to secure your wedding date.
   • Days when marriages are not permitted:
   • January 5th and 6th
   • Great Lent and Holy Week
   • August 1 - 15th
   • August 29th
   • September 14th
   • December 13 - 25th
   • All Holy Days of our Lord and the eve before (Christmas, Epiphany, Pascha, etc.)
4. Ecclesiastical Marriage License: Approximately one month prior to the wedding, the bride and groom should schedule an appointment to meet with our priests to apply for the ecclesiastical marriage license. Please be sure to bring the following:
   • Baptismal certificates
   • If the bride or groom was married before in a civil service, a certified civil divorce must be presented.
   • If the Bride or Groom was married before in the Orthodox Church, that marriage must have been officially dissolved by an Orthodox Church Court. The original document attesting to the Church Divorce must be presented.
   • If the Bride or Groom is a member of some other Christian Church, a letter from their clergyman stating that he/she has been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity and that he/she is eligible to marry must be presented or a copy of their baptismal certificate.
   • If the Bride or Groom are widowed, a death certificate of the deceased spouse must be presented.
5. Sacramental Preparation: The bride and groom, who are of the Orthodox Faith, are encouraged to participate in the sacraments of Holy Confession and Holy Communion the week before the wedding.
6. Wedding Sponsor: The sponsor or koumbaro/koumbara is the one who stands as witness on behalf of the Orthodox Church during the ceremony. Hence, it is imperative that this person be an Orthodox Christian in good standing with the Orthodox Church.
7. Wedding Day Items: Amongst the many items the bride and groom will want to bring to the wedding ceremony, from a religious standpoint the following are required:
   1. Stephana (Crowns of Marriage)
   2. Rings for the bride and the groom
   3. Two white candles
   4. Civil marriage license
   5. Invitations to the Reception: Should you wish to invite Father John or Father Steve to your reception, please send an invitation via the Cathedral office in advance.
   6. Reception Hall: The Cathedral's Frosene Education Hall has a lovely banquet hall on the top floor, which is available for catered wedding receptions. To reserve the room and for additional details, please contact the Cathedral office at 202.333.4730.

The Orthodox Wedding Service

The Orthodox sacrament of marriage is unique in many ways, but primarily in that the ceremony has remained almost entirely unchanged since its origination centuries ago. Another notable aspect of the Orthodox marriage is that the bride and groom do not exchange vows; instead it is their presence before Christ through the priest and the congregation that signifies their wish to be joined and to accept the lord into their new home. Finally, in the Orthodox tradition, the wedding ceremony is actually two services in one. The first, which is the briefer of the two, is the Service of Betrothal, during which the rings are exchanged. The second, the Service of Crowning, is longer and includes many prayers offered for the couple, the crowning of the bride and groom in marriage, sharing of the common cup and the celebrational procession around the table.

The Service of Betrothal

During this first service, the priest offers petitions of prayer on behalf of the bride and groom. He then asks God's blessings upon the rings and proceeds to bless the bride and groom with the rings. Performed three times in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the priest will start first from the groom to the bride, and then from the bride to the groom. The weaving motion between bride and groom represents their lives being entwined into one. The priest then places the wedding rings on the ring fingers of the right hands of both the bride and groom (the right hand holds special connotations in the Orthodox faith, which is why it is used during the wedding ceremony). Then the sponsor (the koumbaro or koumbara) exchanges the rings on the bride and groom three times further emphasizing the union of their lives. The service closes with a final prayer, which seals the placement of rings and emphasizes that the marriage was enacted by God Himself.

The Service of Crowning

The Joining of Hands

The Service of Crowning begins with the invocation of the Holy Trinity. After petitions are offered on behalf of the bride, groom and wedding company, three prayers are read which ascribe to God the institution of marriage and the preservation of His people through the ages. During this prayer the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom to symbolize the union of the couple through the lord. Since God is the true Celebrant of every sacrament, the priest always expresses himself in the third person. He is simply God's instrument in the service.

The Crowning

The union of the bride and groom is completed with the Crowning. The priest takes the crowns from the altar table, blesses the bride and groom, and then places the crowns upon their heads, chanting, "O Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor." The crowns have several meanings: the first that God bestows His blessing upon His children in the form of crowns and the second, that the bride and groom mark the beginning of a new kingdom, reigning supreme under the Divine Authority of God, Who reigns over all. The sponsor exchanges the crowns over the heads of the bride and groom to seal the union. The service continues with the Epistle (Ephesians 5:20-33) and Gospel (John 2:1-11) readings. The Epistle details the responsibilities of each partner in the marriage and the Gospel recounts Christ's first miracle at the wedding in Cana.

The Common Cup

Following the readings and brief prayers, the common cup, containing a small portion of wine, is presented to the bride and groom. The priest blesses the cup and offers it to the newly joined husband and wife, representing their equal share in the cup of life.

The Procession

The priest then leads the newly joined husband and wife around the table - a type of religious dance, celebrating the union. During the procession, a series of hymns are sung. The first speaks of the Isaiah the Prophet's joy when he saw the coming of the Messiah upon the earth. The second recollects the martyrs of the Faith, who received their crowns of glory from God through the sacrifice of their lives. And finally, the third exalts the Holy Trinity.

The Removal of the Crowns and the Benediction

Upon completion of the procession, the Priest faces the groom and says: "Be magnified, O Bridegroom, as Abraham, and blessed as Isaac, and increased as was Jacob. Go your way in peace, performing in righteousness the commandments of God." After which, the priest turns to the bride and says, "And you, O Bride, be magnified as was Sarah, and rejoiced as was Rebecca, and increased as Rachel, being glad in your husband, keeping the paths of the Law, for so God is well pleased." Then, removing their crowns, the Priest says, "Accept their crowns in Your Kingdom unsoiled and undefiled; and preserve them without offense to the ages of ages." Finally, the priest reads a prayer of benediction and the newly married couple may depart from the Church.

Interfaith Marriages

While many Orthodox marriages are between two members of the Orthodox faith, conversion to the Orthodox Christian Faith is not a requirement for marriage in the Orthodox church. As long as one member of the couple is an Orthodox Christian in good standing with the church and the other member of the couple adheres to the following conditions, the wedding may be held:

• The non-Orthodox Bride/Groom must be a Christian who has been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity.
• The couple should be willing to baptize their children in the Orthodox Church.
• The marriage must take place in the Orthodox Church with the Orthodox priest being the sole celebrant.

Individuals desiring to become an Orthodox Christian should address this very personal matter separately from the wedding. The primary impact on the non-Orthodox participant in the wedding ceremony will be that while the non-Orthodox mate is welcome to attend series they are not permitted to celebrate in the sacraments. For more information or additional details, please contact one of our Cathedral priests.