The Marriage Ceremony
The Service of the Crowning
The Service of Marriage
If the Coronation follows the Betrothal
immediately, then after the "Amen" of the Ekphonesis ("For You are He that blesses and sanctifies ... ),
the Priest says:
Priest: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
People:Amen.
During the Easter season "Christ is risen" is sung thrice.
The Priest says the Synapte,
and the Choir responds to each petition by singing "Lord have mercy.
Priest: In peace let us pray to the Lord.
For the peace from above; for the
salvation of our souls; let us pray to the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world; for the
stability of the holy Churches of God; and for the union of all; let us pray to
the Lord.
For this holy House; and for them that
with faith, reverence, and the fear of God enter therein; let us pray to the
Lord.
For our Most Reverend Archbishop (Name), for the venerable Priesthood, the Diaconate in Christ; for all the Clergy;
and for all the people; let us pray to the Lord.
For the servants of God (Name) and (Name), who are now being joined to one another in the community of
Marriage, and for their salvation; let us pray to the Lord.
That this marriage may be blessed as was
that of Cana of Galilee; let us pray to the Lord.
That there may be given unto them
soberness of life, and fruit of the womb as may be
most expedient for them; let us pray to the Lord.
That they may rejoice in the beholding of
sons and daughters; let us pray to the Lord.
That there may be granted unto them the
happiness of abundant fertility, and a course of life blameless and unashamed;
let us pray to the Lord.
That there may be granted unto them and
unto us all prayers that tend unto salvation; let us pray to the Lord
That both they and we may be delivered
from tribulation, wrath, danger, and necessity; let us pray to the Lord.
Help us; save us; have mercy on us and
keep us, O God by Your Grace.
Calling to remembrance our all-holy,
immaculate, exceedingly blessed glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the Saints; let us commend ourselves and one
another and all our life to Christ our God.
Choir:To You, O God.
Priest: For to You are due all Glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and to the ages of ages.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
People:
Lord have mercy.
And the Priest says aloud the following:
O God most pure, Author of all creation,
Who through Your manbefriending love transformed a
rib of Adam the forefather into a woman, and blessed them and said,
"Increase and multiply, and have dominion over the earth," and, by
the conjoining, declared them both to be one member, for because of this a man
shall forsake his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and
the two shall be one flesh-and whom God has joined together let not man put
asunder; Who did also bless Your servant Abraham, and opened the womb of Sara,
and made him the father of many nations; Who bestowed Isaac upon Rebecca, and
blessed her offspring; Who joined Jacob and Rachel, and from them made manifest
the twelve patriarchs; Who yoked Joseph and Asenath together, and as the fruit of generation did bestow upon them Ephrem and Manasse; Who accepted
Zacharias and Elizabeth, and declared their offspring the Forerunner; Who out
of the root of Jesse, according to the flesh, produced the Ever-Virgin Mary,
and from her were Incarnate-born for the salvation of the human race; Who
through Your unspeakable Grace and plentiful goodness were present in Cana of
Galilee, and blessed the marriage there, that You might show a lawful union,
and a generation there from, is according to Your Will; do You Yourself, O Most
Holy Master, accept the prayer of us, Your servants; and as You were present
there, be present also here with Your invisible protection. Bless (+) this
marriage and grant unto these Your servants (Name) and (Name) a
peaceful life, length of days, chastity, love for one another in a bond of
peace, offspring long-lived, fair fame by reason of their children, and a crown
of glory that does not fade away. Account them worthy to see their children's
children. Keep their wedlock safe against every hostile scheme; give them of
the dew from the Heavens above, and of the fatness of the earth. Fill their
houses with bountiful food, and with every good thing, that they may have to
give to them that are in need, bestowing also on them that are here assembled
with us all their supplications that are unto salvation. For a God of mercy and
of compassion, and of manbefriending love are You, and to You do we send up Glory: as to Your eternal
Father and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit, both now and ever,
and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord have mercy.
The Priest says aloud the following
Prayer:
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Holy
Celebrant of mystical and pure marriage, Maker of the laws that govern earthly
bodies, Guardian of incorruption, Kindly protector of
the means of life: do You Yourself now, O Master, Who in the beginning created
man, and appointed him as the king of creation, and said, "It is not good
for man to be alone upon the earth; let us make a helpmate for him-" then,
taking one of his ribs, made woman, whom when Adam saw, he said, "This is
now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, for she was taken out of her man.
For this cause shall a man forsake his father and his mother, and cleave unto
his wife, and two shall be one flesh-" and "whom God has joined
together, let no man put asunder." And now, O Master, Lord our God, send
down Your heavenly Grace upon these Your servants, (Name) and (Name),
and grant unto this woman to be in all things subject unto the man, and to this
Your servant to be at the head of the woman that they live according to Your
Will. (+) Bless them. O Lord our God, as you blessed Abraham and Sara. (+)
Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Isaac and
Rebecca. (+) Bless them, O Lord our God, as you blessed Jacob and all the
Prophets. (+) Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Joseph and Asenath. (+) Bless them O Lord our
God, as You blessed Moses and Zipporah Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Joakim and
Anna. (+) Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed
Zacharias and Elizabeth. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved Noah in the Ark. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved
Jonah in the jaw of the sea beast. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved the holy Three Children from the fire, when
You sent down upon them the dew of the Heavens. And may that joy come upon them
which the blessed Helen had when she found the Precious Cross. Remember them, O
Lord our God, as You remembered Enoch, Shem, and
Elias. Remember them, O Lord our God, as You remembered Your holy Forty Martyrs, sending down upon them the crowns from the
Heavens. Remember them, O Lord our God, and the parents who have reared them,
for the prayers of parents confirm the foundation of houses. Remember, O Lord
our God, the wedding company that here have come together, to be present at
this rejoicing. Remember, O Lord our God, Your servant (Name) and Your servant (Name), and bless them. Give to them
fruit of the womb, fair children, concord of soul and body. Exalt them as the
cedars of Lebanon, and as well-cultured vine; bestow on them a rich store of
sustenance, so that having a sufficiency of all things for themselves, they may
abound in every good work that is good and acceptable before You. Let them
behold their children's children as newly planted olive trees round about their
table; and, being accepted before You, let them shine as stars in the Heavens,
in You, our Lord, to Whom are due all Glory, honor, and
worship as to Your eternal Father, and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-creating
Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord have mercy.
Holy God, Who fashioned man from the
dust, and from his rib fashioned woman, and joined her to him as a helpmate for
him, for it was seemly unto Your Majesty for man not to be alone upon the
earth, do You Yourself, O Sovereign Lord, stretch forth Your hand from Your
holy dwelling place, and join* together this Your servant (Name) and
Your servant (Name), for by You is a wife joined to her husband. Join
them together in oneness of mind; crown them with wedlock into one flesh; grant
to them the fruit of the womb, and the gain of well favored children, for Yours is the dominion, and Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power,
and the Glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now
and ever, and to the ages of ages.
*When this is said, the priest joins
their right hands.
People: Amen.
After the Amen, the Priest, taking up the
Crowns, crowns first the Bridegroom, saying:
The servant of God (Name) is crowned
for the servant of God, (Name), in the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Thrice)
And he crowns the Bride, saying:
The servant of God (Name) is crowned
for the servant of God (Name), in the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Thrice)
The Priest takes the Crown of the Groom
in his right hand, and the Crown of the Bride in his left, and places them on
their heads while he intones:
O Lord, our God, crown them with glory and honor.
The Epistle
Reader: You have set upon their heads crowns of
precious stones.
Priest: Let us attend.
Reader: They asked life of You,
and You gave it to them.
Priest: Wisdom!
Reader: The Reading from the Epistle of the holy Apostle Paul to the
Ephesians. (5:20-33)
Priest: Let us attend.
Reader:
Brethren, give thanks always for all
things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to
one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as
to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let
wives be also subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that
he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without
blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself For no man ever hates his
own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because
we are members of his body. "For this reason a man shall leave his father
and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one." This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the
church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife
see that she respects her husband.
Priest: Peace be to you
who read.
Choir:Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Gospel
Priest: Wisdom! Let us attend! Let us hear the Holy
Gospel. Peace be to all. (+)
People: And to your spirit.
Priest: The Reading from the Holy Gospel
according to St. John. Let us attend. (John 2: 1 -11)
People: Glory to You, O Lord, Glory to You.
Priest:
At that time there was a marriage at Cana
in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the
marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to
him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what
have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the
servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now six stone jars were
standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or
thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And
they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and
take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. When the steward of
the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from
(though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast
called the bridegroom and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine
first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept
the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in
Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Choir: Glory to You, O Lord, Glory to You.
The Priest gives the Book of the Gospels
to the Bride and the Groom to be kissed, and then continues with the following
petitions. After each, the Choir responds thrice with "Lord have mercy. "
Let us say with all our soul and all our mind, let us say:
O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, we
pray You, listen and have mercy.
Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy; we pray You, listen and have mercy.
Again let us pray for the servants of
God, (Name) and
(Name), that they may have mercy, life, health,
peace, safety, salvation, pardon and remission of their sins.
Priest: For You are a
merciful and loving God, and to You do we send up Glory: to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord have mercy.
Priest (facing the married couple):
O Lord our God, Who in Your saving
Providence did promise in Cana of Galilee to declare marriage honorable by Your presence, do You Yourself preserve in
peace and oneness of mind these Your servants (Name) and (Name), whom
You are well pleased should be joined to one another. Declare their marriage honorable. Preserve their bed undefiled. Grant that their
life together be with be without spot of sin. And
assure that they may be worthy to attain unto a ripe old age, keeping Your commandments in a pure heart.
For You are our God, the God to have
mercy and save, and to You do we send up all Glory, as to Your Eternal Father,
and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit, both now and ever, and to
the ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
Priest: Help us; save us; have mercy on us, and keep Us, O God,
by Your Grace.
Choir: Lord have mercy.
Priest: That the whole day may be kept perfect,
holy, peaceful, and sinless; let us ask of the Lord.
Choir responds to each petition saying: O Lord, grant this prayer.
An Angel of Peace, a faithful Guide, a
Guardian of our souls and bodies; let us ask of the Lord.
Pardon and remission of our sins and
offenses; let us ask of the Lord.
All things that are
good and profitable for our souls, and peace for the whole world; let us ask of
the Lord.
That we may complete the remaining time
of our life in peace and repentance; let us ask of the Lord.
A Christian ending to our life, painless,
without shame, peaceful; and a good defense before
the dread Judgment Seat of Christ; let us ask of the Lord.
Asking for the unity of the Faith and the
Communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commend ourselves and one another and all
our life to Christ our God.
And account us worthy, O Sovereign Lord,
with boldness and without condemnation to dare call on You,
the Heavenly God, as Father, and to say:
People:
Our Father, Who are in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name; Your Kingdom come.
Your Will be done on earth as it is in
Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against
us
And lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
Priest: For Yours is the
Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Peace (+) be to all.
People: And to your spirit.
Priest: Let us bow our heads before the Lord.
People: To You, O Lord.
Then the common cup is offered.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord have mercy.
The Priest blesses the cup saying this
prayer:
O God, Who by Your might create all
things, and confirm the universe, and adorn the crown of all things created by You, do You, with Your spiritual blessing (+), bless also
this common cup given to them that are joined in the community of marriage.
For blessed is Your Holy Name, and
glorified is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Then the Priest gives them to drink
thrice from the cup, first to the man, then to the woman, chanting:
I will drink from the cup of salvation; I will call upon
the name of the Lord.
Then he takes the Bridal Pair, while the Groomsman holds the Crowns behind and
above them, and leads them in a circle around the Analogion thrice. The people sing:
The Dance of Isaiah, in Tone 5
O Isaiah, dance your joy, for the Virgin
was indeed with child; and brought to birth a Son, that Emmanuel, Who came as
both God and man; Day-at-the-Dawn is the Name He bears, and by extolling Him,
We hail the Virgin as blessed.
Hear us, you martyred Saints, who fought
the good fight, gaining crowns: entreat the Lord to shed His tender mercy on
our souls.
Glory to You, O Christ our God, Your
Apostles' proudest boast and treasure of Your Martyrs' joy, Who to all proclaimed the Consubstantial Trinity.
Then the Priest removes the Crowns,
taking first that of the Groom and saying:
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.
He takes the Crown of 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.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord have mercy.
Now the Priest says this prayer:
O God our God, Who was present in Cana of
Galilee and blessed the marriage there, do You (+)
also bless these' Your servants, who, by Your Providence, are joined in the
community of marriage. Bless their comings-in and their goings-out. Replenish
their life with all good things. (Here the priest lifts the crowns from the
heads of the bride and groom and places them on the table.) Accept their
crowns in Your Kingdom unsoiled and undefiled; and preserve them without
offense to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Peace be to all.
People: And to your spirit.
Priest: Let us bow our heads before the Lord.
Choir: To You, O Lord.
Priest: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
the All-Holy, Consubstantial and Life-creating Trinity; One Godhead and
Kingdom; bless (+) you; grant to you long life, well-favored children, progress in life and in Faith; replenish you with all the good things
of the earth, and count you worthy of the promised blessings, through the
intercessions of the holy Theotokos, and of all the
Saints.
People: Amen.
Priest: Glory to You, O Christ our God and our
hope: glory to You.
Reader: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to
the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Lord have mercy; Lord have mercy; Lord have mercy. Holy Father,
Bless.
Priest:
He, Who by His presence in Cana of
Galilee declared marriage to be honorable, Christ our
true God, through the intercessions of His all-pure Mother, of the holy,
glorious, and all-praiseworthy Apostles, of the holy, God-crowned and
Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen, of the Holy, great Martyr Procopios, and of all the holy Saints, have mercy on us and
save us, as our good and loving Lord.
Through the prayers of
our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ Our God, Have Mercy on us and save us.
People: Amen.