Guide to the Greek Orthodox Wedding Ceremony
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"!