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Guide
To The Greek Orthodox Wedding Ceremony
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by:
Emmanuel Mendonca
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The wedding service in the Greek Orthodox
faith is an ancient and beautiful ceremony, which has been celebrated
in its current form for centuries. The wedding ceremony is full of
symbolism and is a great experience if you have never attended one
before, because it is likely to be quite different from other weddings
you have attended in Western Europe. The service is also rather unique
because the bride and groom do not make vows to each other – their
presence together in the church is taken to mean that they are serious
about getting married.
The Beginning of the Wedding
In most cases the wedding guests will wait with the groom outside the
church until the bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go into
the church early to secure a good seat). In the Summer, when most
weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged
back to back, so the guests attending a marriage will often stand
around with those who have just attended the previous wedding as they
prepare to leave. Wedding dress commentators among the crowd will get
to consider and discuss at least two brides and maybe even a third as
they leave the church – bargain! Meanwhile, the nervous groom waits for
the bride at the entrance to the church, often holding her floral
bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside
together followed by the guests. There is no separation of the guests
into guests of the bride and guests of the groom – everyone sits
together and in the case of small churches, many people prefer to stand
in a spot where they can get a good view of the proceedings.
Service of Betrothal
The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts: the Service of Betrothal
and the Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage. The exchanging of rings
is the focus of the Service of Betrothal. The priest blesses the rings
by holding them in his right hand and making the sign of the cross over
the heads of the bride and groom. The rings are then placed on the
third fingers of their right hands. The “Koumbaro”, the couple’s
religious sponsor, then swaps the rings over between the bride and
groom’s fingers, three times. A number of rituals in the ceremony are
repeated three times and this symbolises the Holy Trinity: God the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage
This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are
said and then as they come to an end, the priest joins the right hands
of the bride and groom. Their hands remain joined until the end of the
wedding ceremony, which symbolises the couple’s union.
The Crowning
The bride and groom are crowned with thin crowns, or “stefana”, which
are joined by a white ribbon and have been blessed by the priest. The
crowns symbolise the glory and honour that is being bestowed on them by
God, and the the ribbon symbolises their unity. The “Koumbaro” then
exchanges the crowns between the heads of the couple, three times.
The Common Cup
The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel, which tells of the
marriage of Cana at Galilee. It was at this wedding that Jesus
performed his first miracle, changing water into wine, which was then
given to the married couple. Wine is given to the couple and they each
drink from it three times.
The Ceremonial Walk
The priest the leads the couple, who are still wearing their “stefana”,
three times around the altar on their first steps as a married couple.
The “Koumbaro” follows close behind the couple holding the “stefana”
place. At this point the couple (and anyone standing nearby) is usually
showered with rice, which was earlier handed out to the wedding guests.
The priest will often make use of the bible he is holding to give
himself some protection!
The Removal of the Crowns
When the Ceremonial Walk has ended, the priest blesses the couple, the
crowns are removed and he then separates their previously joined hands
with the bible, reminding them that only God can break the union which
they have just entered into.
Wedding traditions
Much of the information available on Greek Orthodox wedding traditions
is a little outdated and contains generalisations that give the
impression that certain traditions are followed by everyone who gets
married. Some of these traditions are set out below
- Rolling a baby on the marital bed to encourage fertility.
- The throwing of money onto the marital bed.
- The pinning of money onto the bride (and sometimes also the groom) at
the wedding reception.
Although these rituals are seen as traditional, fewer and fewer young
people marrying today are following them, because they are seen as
old-fashioned. Many people do not wish to put their guests through the
ordeal of other people being able to see how much money they pin on the
bride, for example. Although money is still a very common, as well as
practical, wedding present it is often given to the couple before the
wedding day or to a third person at the wedding reception, for
safe-keeping. Greeks living in the more remote parts of Greece and
abroad, who will naturally feel more strongly about doing things the
traditional way, are more likely to follow these traditions than those
living in Athens, for example. Like weddings everywhere, Greek weddings
are changing. At the time of writing, there is a growing fashion to go
and get married on an island and I recently heard someone say that he
was looking into getting married in a ski resort. He was wisely advised
by a friend “You had better first ask the priest if he wants to perform
a marriage up a mountain”!
About the author:
Emmanuel Mendonca moved from London to Athens in 2004 and is getting to
grips with life in Greece. Emmanuel publishes Greece travel and living
articles at http://www.athensroom.com/greece_travel_guide.html
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