Sacrament of wedding rules and preparation. Preparation for a wedding in church according to all the rules. Is it necessary to confess and receive communion before the wedding?

Wedding

Wedding is a sacrament of the Church in which God gives the future spouses, upon their promise to remain faithful to each other, the grace of pure unanimity for a common Christian life, the birth and raising of children.

Those wishing to get married must be believing baptized Orthodox Christians. They must deeply understand that the unauthorized dissolution of a marriage approved by God, as well as the violation of the vow of fidelity, is an absolute sin.

The Sacrament of Wedding: how to prepare for it?

Married life should begin with spiritual preparation.

Before marriage, the bride and groom must certainly confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries. It is advisable that they prepare themselves for the Sacraments of Confession and Communion three or four days before this day.

For a wedding, you need to prepare two icons - the Savior and the Mother of God, with which the bride and groom are blessed during the Sacrament. Previously, these icons were taken from parents' homes, they were passed on as home shrines from parents to children. Icons are brought by the parents, and if they do not participate in the Sacrament of the wedding, by the bride and groom.

The bride and groom purchase wedding rings. The ring is a sign of eternity and indissolubility of the marriage union. One of the rings should be gold and the other silver. The golden ring symbolizes with its brilliance the sun, to the light of which the husband in marriage is likened; silver - a semblance of the moon, a smaller luminary, shining with reflected sunlight. Now, as a rule, gold rings are bought for both spouses. Rings can also have precious stone decorations.

But still, the main preparation for the upcoming sacrament is fasting. The Holy Church recommends that those entering marriage prepare themselves for it through the feat of fasting, prayer, repentance and communion.

How to choose a day for a wedding?

The future spouses must discuss the day and time of the wedding with the priest in advance and in person.
Before the wedding, it is necessary to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. It is possible to do this not on the very day of the Wedding.

It is advisable to invite two witnesses.

To perform the Sacrament of Wedding you must have:
• Icon of the Savior.
• Icon of the Mother of God.
• Wedding rings.
• Wedding candles (sold in the temple).
• A white towel (a towel for laying under your feet).

What do witnesses need to know?

In pre-revolutionary Russia, when church marriage had legal civil and legal force, the marriage of Orthodox Christians was necessarily performed with guarantors - popularly they were called druzhka, podrouzhie or best men, and in liturgical books (breviaries) - patrons. The guarantors confirmed with their signatures the act of marriage in the registry book; They, as a rule, knew the bride and groom well and vouched for them. The guarantors took part in the betrothal and wedding, that is, while the bride and groom walked around the lectern, they held the crowns above their heads.

Now there may or may not be guarantors (witnesses) - at the request of the spouses. The guarantors must be Orthodox, preferably church people, and must treat the Sacrament of weddings with reverence. The responsibilities of guarantors during a marriage are, in their spiritual basis, the same as those of custodians in Baptism: just as guarantors, experienced in spiritual life, are obliged to lead godchildren in the Christian life, so guarantors must spiritually lead the new family. Therefore, previously, young people, unmarried people, and unfamiliar with family and married life were not invited to act as guarantors.

About behavior in the temple during the Sacrament of Marriage

It often seems as if the bride and groom, accompanied by family and friends, came to the temple not to pray for those getting married, but for the action. While waiting for the end of the Liturgy, they talk, laugh, walk around the church, stand with their backs to the images and iconostasis. Everyone invited to the church for a wedding should know that during a wedding the Church does not pray for anyone else but for two persons - the bride and groom (unless the prayer is said only once “for the parents who raised them”). The inattention and lack of reverence of the bride and groom to church prayer shows that they came to the temple only because of custom, because of fashion, at the request of their parents. Meanwhile, this hour of prayer in the temple has an impact on the entire subsequent family life. Everyone present at the wedding, and especially the bride and groom, must pray fervently during the celebration of the Sacrament.

How does engagement happen?

The wedding is preceded by betrothal.

The betrothal is performed to commemorate the fact that the marriage takes place before the face of God, in His presence, according to His all-good Providence and discretion, when the mutual promises of those entering into marriage are sealed before Him.

The betrothal takes place after the Divine Liturgy. This instills in the bride and groom the importance of the Sacrament of Marriage, emphasizing with what reverence and awe, with what spiritual purity they should proceed to its conclusion.

The fact that the betrothal takes place in the temple means that the husband receives a wife from the Lord Himself. In order to more clearly convey that the betrothal takes place before the face of God, the Church commands the betrothed to appear before the holy doors of the temple, while the priest, portraying the Lord Jesus Christ Himself at this time, is in the sanctuary, or in the altar.

The priest introduces the bride and groom into the temple to commemorate the fact that those who are getting married, like the primordial ancestors Adam and Eve, begin from this moment in the face of God Himself, in His Holy Church, their new and holy life in pure marriage.

The ritual begins with incense in imitation of the pious Tobias, who set fire to the liver and heart of a fish in order to ward off the demon hostile to honest marriages with smoke and prayer (see: Tob. 8, 2). The priest blesses three times, first the groom, then the bride, saying: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and gives them lighted candles. For each blessing, first the groom, then the bride, make the sign of the cross three times and receive candles from the priest.

Signing the sign of the cross three times and presenting lighted candles to the bride and groom is the beginning of a spiritual celebration. The lit candles held in the hands of the bride and groom signify the love that they should henceforth have for each other and which should be fiery and pure. Lighted candles also signify the chastity of the bride and groom and the abiding grace of God.
Cross-shaped incense means the invisible, mysterious presence with us of the grace of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying us and performing the holy sacraments of the Church.

According to the custom of the Church, every sacred ceremony begins with glorification of God, and when a marriage is celebrated, it has a special meaning: to those getting married, their marriage appears to be a great and holy deed, one through which the name of God is glorified and blessed. (Exclamation: “Blessed is our God.”).

Peace from God is necessary for those who are getting married, and they combine in peace, for peace and unanimity. (The deacon exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord for peace. Let us pray to the Lord for peace from above and the salvation of our souls.”).

Then the deacon pronounces, between other usual prayers, prayers for the newlyweds on behalf of all those present in the church. The first prayer of the Holy Church for the bride and groom is a prayer for those now engaged and for their salvation. The Holy Church prays to the Lord for the bride and groom entering into marriage. The purpose of marriage is the blessed birth of children for the continuation of the human race. At the same time, the Holy Church prays that the Lord will fulfill any request of the bride and groom related to their salvation.

The priest, as the celebrant of the Sacrament of Marriage, says aloud a prayer to the Lord that He Himself bless the bride and groom for every good deed. Then the priest, having taught peace to everyone, commands the bride and groom and everyone present in the temple to bow their heads before the Lord, expecting a spiritual blessing from him, while he himself secretly reads a prayer.

This prayer is offered to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Holy Church, which He betrothed to Himself.

After this, the priest takes the rings from the holy altar and first puts the ring on the groom, making the sign of the cross three times, saying: “The servant of God (name of the groom) is betrothed to the servant of God (name of the bride) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Then he puts a ring on the bride, also overshadowing her three times, and says the words: “The servant of God (name of the bride) is betrothed to the servant of God (name of the groom) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Rings are very important during engagement: they are not just a gift from the groom to the bride, but a sign of an inextricable, eternal union between them. The rings are placed on the right side of the holy throne, as if in front of the face of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This emphasizes that through touching the holy throne and reclining on it, they can receive the power of sanctification and bring down the blessing of God on the couple. The rings on the holy throne lie side by side, thereby expressing the mutual love and unity in faith of the bride and groom.

After the priest's blessing, the bride and groom exchange rings. The groom puts his ring on the bride’s hand as a sign of love and readiness to sacrifice everything for his wife and help her all her life; the bride puts her ring on the groom's hand as a sign of her love and devotion, as a sign of her readiness to accept help from him throughout her life. Such an exchange is made three times in honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, which accomplishes and approves everything (sometimes the priest himself changes the rings).

Then the priest again prays to the Lord that He Himself bless and approve the Betrothal, that He Himself overshadow the position of the rings with a heavenly blessing and send them a guardian Angel and guide in their new life. This is where the engagement ends.

How is a wedding performed?

The bride and groom, holding lighted candles in their hands, depicting the spiritual light of the sacrament, solemnly enter the middle of the temple. They are preceded by a priest with a censer, indicating that on the path of life they must follow the commandments of the Lord, and their good deeds will ascend like incense to God. The choir greets them with the singing of Psalm 127, in which the prophet-psalmist David glorifies the marriage blessed by God; before each verse the choir sings: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.”

The bride and groom stand on a cloth (white or pink) spread out on the floor in front of a lectern on which lie a cross, a Gospel and crowns.

The bride and groom, in the face of the entire Church, once again confirm the free and spontaneous desire to get married and the absence in the past of each of them of a promise to a third party to marry him.

The priest asks the groom: “Have (name), a good and spontaneous will, and a strong thought, taken this (name) as your wife, right here in front of you?”
(“Do you have a sincere and spontaneous desire and firm intention to be the husband of this (name of the bride) whom you see here before you?”)

And the groom answers: “Imam, honest father” (“I have, honest father”). And the priest further asks: “Have you made a promise to another bride?” (“Are you not bound by a promise to another bride?”). And the groom answers: “I didn’t promise, honest father” (“No, I’m not bound”).

Then the same question is addressed to the bride: “Have you a good and spontaneous will, and a firm thought, to marry this (name) who you see here before you?” (“Do you have a sincere and spontaneous desire and firm intention to be a wife?” this (name of the groom) whom you see in front of you?”) and “Didn’t you make a promise to another husband?” (“Aren’t you bound by a promise to another groom?”) - “No, you’re not.”

So, the bride and groom confirmed before God and the Church the voluntariness and inviolability of their intention to enter into marriage. This expression of will in a non-Christian marriage is a decisive principle. In a Christian marriage, it is the main condition for a natural (according to the flesh) marriage, a condition after which it must be considered concluded.

Now only after the conclusion of this natural marriage, the mysterious consecration of the marriage by Divine grace begins - the rite of wedding. The wedding begins with the liturgical exclamation: “Blessed is the Kingdom...”, which proclaims the participation of the newlyweds in the Kingdom of God.

After a short litany about the mental and physical well-being of the bride and groom, the priest says three lengthy prayers.

The first prayer is addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ. The priest prays: “Bless this marriage: and give to your servants a peaceful life, long life, love for each other in a union of peace, a long-life seed, an unfading crown of glory; make them worthy to see the children of their children, keep their bed unblamed. And grant them from the dew of heaven from above, and from the fatness of the earth; Fill their houses with wheat, wine and oil, and every good thing, so that they share the excess with those in need, and grant to those who are now with us everything necessary for salvation.”

In the second prayer, the priest prays to the Triune Lord to bless, preserve and remember the newlyweds. “Give them the fruit of the womb, good children, like-mindedness in their souls, exalt them like the cedars of Lebanon,” like a vine with beautiful branches, give them a spiked seed, so that, having contentment in everything, they may abound for every good work that is pleasing to You. And may they see sons from their sons, like the young shoots of an olive tree, around their trunk, and having pleased You, may they shine like lights in the sky in You, our Lord.”

Then, in the third prayer, the priest once again turns to the Triune God and begs Him, so that He, who created man and then from his rib created a wife to help him, would now send down His hand from His holy dwelling, and unite the spouses, marry them in one flesh, and gave them the fruit of the womb.

After these prayers, the most important moments of the wedding come. What the priest prayed to the Lord God for in front of the whole church and together with the whole church - for the blessing of God - is now apparently being accomplished over the newlyweds, strengthening and sanctifying their marital union.

The priest, taking the crown, marks the groom with a cross and gives him to kiss the image of the Savior attached to the front of the crown. When crowning the groom, the priest says: “The servant of God (name of rivers) is married to the servant of God (name of rivers) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Having blessed the bride in the same way and allowing her to venerate the image of the Most Holy Theotokos that adorns her crown, the priest crowns her, saying: “The servant of God (name of rivers) is married to the servant of God (name of rivers) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Decorated with crowns, the bride and groom stand before the face of God Himself, the face of the entire Heavenly and Earthly Church and await God's blessing. The most solemn, holiest moment of the wedding is coming!

The priest says: “Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor!” With these words, he, on behalf of God, blesses them. The priest pronounces this prayerful exclamation three times and blesses the bride and groom three times.

All those present in the temple should strengthen the prayer of the priest, in the depths of their souls they should repeat after him: “Lord, our God! Crown them with glory and honor!”

The laying of crowns and the words of the priest:

“Our Lord, crown them with glory and honor” - they capture the Sacrament of Marriage. The Church, blessing the marriage, proclaims those getting married to be the founders of a new Christian family - a small, home church, showing them the way to the Kingdom of God and signifying the eternity of their union, its indissolubility, as the Lord said: What God has joined together, let no man separate (Matt. 19, 6).

Then the Epistle to the Ephesians of the Holy Apostle Paul is read (5, 20-33), where the marriage union is likened to the union of Christ and the Church, for which the Savior who loved her gave Himself. The love of a husband for his wife is a similarity to the love of Christ for the Church, and the lovingly humble submission of a wife to her husband is a similarity to the relationship of the Church to Christ. This is mutual love to the point of selflessness, a willingness to sacrifice oneself in the image of Christ, who gave Himself to be crucified for sinful people, and in the image His true followers, who through suffering and martyrdom confirmed their loyalty and love for the Lord.

The last saying of the apostle: let the wife fear her husband - calls not for the fear of the weak before the strong, not for the fear of a slave in relation to the master, but for the fear of saddening a loving person, of disrupting the unity of souls and bodies. The same fear of losing love, and therefore the presence of God in family life, should be experienced by the husband, whose head is Christ. In another letter, the Apostle Paul says: The wife has no authority over her own body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. Do not deviate from each other, except by agreement, for a while, to practice fasting and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance (1 Cor. 7:4-5).

Husband and wife are members of the Church and, being parts of the fullness of the Church, are equal to each other, obeying the Lord Jesus Christ.

After the Apostle, the Gospel of John is read (2:1-11). It proclaims God's blessing of the marital union and its sanctification. The miracle of the Savior turning water into wine prefigured the action of the grace of the sacrament, by which earthly marital love is elevated to heavenly love, uniting souls in the Lord. St. Andrew of Crete speaks about the moral change necessary for this: “Marriage is honorable and the bed is undefiled, for Christ blessed them at Cana at the wedding, eating food in the flesh and turning water into wine, revealing this first miracle, so that you, the soul, would change.” (Great Canon, in Russian translation, troparion 4, canto 9).

After reading the Gospel, a short petition for the newlyweds and a priest’s prayer are pronounced on behalf of the Church, in which we pray to the Lord that He will preserve those who were married in peace and unanimity, that their marriage will be honest, that their bed will be undefiled, that their cohabitation will be immaculate, that He will make them worthy to live until old age, while fulfilling His commandments from a pure heart.

The priest proclaims: “And grant us, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation to dare to call on You, Heavenly God the Father, and say…”. And the newlyweds, together with everyone present, sing the prayer “Our Father,” the foundation and crown of all prayers, commanded to us by the Savior Himself.

In the mouths of those getting married, she expresses her determination to serve the Lord with her small church, so that through them on earth His will would be fulfilled and reign in their family life. As a sign of submission and devotion to the Lord, they bow their heads under the crowns.

After the Lord’s Prayer, the priest glorifies the Kingdom, the power and glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and, having taught peace, commands us to bow our heads before God, as before the King and Master, and at the same time before our Father. Then a cup of red wine, or rather a cup of communion, is brought, and the priest blesses it for the mutual communion of husband and wife. Wine at a wedding is served as a sign of joy and fun, reminiscent of the miraculous transformation of water into wine performed by Jesus Christ in Cana of Galilee.

The priest gives the young couple three times to drink wine from a common cup - first to the husband, as the head of the family, then to the wife. Usually they take three small sips of wine: first the husband, then the wife.

Having presented the common cup, the priest connects the right hand of the husband with the right hand of the wife, covers their hands with the stole and places his hand on top of it. This means that through the hand of the priest the husband receives a wife from the Church itself, uniting them in Christ forever. The priest leads the newlyweds around the lectern three times.

During the first circumambulation, the troparion “Isaiah, rejoice...” is sung, in which the sacrament of the incarnation of the Son of God Emmanuel from the Unartificed Mary is glorified.

During the second circumambulation, the troparion “To the Holy Martyr” is sung. Crowned with crowns, as conquerors of earthly passions, they show the image of the spiritual marriage of a believing soul with the Lord.

Finally, in the third troparion, which is sung during the last circumambulation of the lectern, Christ is glorified as the joy and glory of the newlyweds, their hope in all circumstances of life: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, the praise of the apostles, the joy of the martyrs, and their preaching. Trinity Consubstantial."

This circular walk signifies the eternal procession that began on this day for this couple. Their marriage will be an eternal procession hand in hand, a continuation and manifestation of the sacrament performed today. Remembering the common cross laid upon them today, “bearing each other’s burdens,” they will always be filled with the gracious joy of this day. At the end of the solemn procession, the priest removes the crowns from the spouses, greeting them with words filled with patriarchal simplicity and therefore especially solemn:

“Be magnified, O woman, like Abraham, and be blessed like Isaac, and be multiplied like Jacob, walk in peace, and do the righteousness of the commandments of God.”

“And you, bride, have been magnified like Sarah, and you have rejoiced like Rebecca, and you have multiplied like Rachel, rejoicing over your husband, keeping the limits of the law; therefore God has been so pleased.”

Then, in the two subsequent prayers, the priest asks the Lord, who blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee, to accept the crowns of the newlyweds undefiled and immaculate in His Kingdom. In the second prayer, read by the priest, with the newlyweds bowing their heads, these petitions are sealed with the name of the Most Holy Trinity and the priestly blessing. At the end of it, the newlyweds testify to their holy and pure love for each other with a chaste kiss.

Further, according to custom, the newlyweds are led to the royal doors, where the groom kisses the icon of the Savior, and the bride kisses the image of the Mother of God; then they change places and are applied accordingly: the groom - to the icon of the Mother of God, and the bride - to the icon of the Savior. Here the priest gives them a cross to kiss and hands them two icons: the groom - the image of the Savior, the bride - the image of the Most Holy Theotokos.

If lovers consciously come to the idea of ​​consecrating their union in a temple, they are necessarily faced with the question of what needs to be done before the wedding in order to adequately prepare for the sacred sacrament. Indeed, unlike mundane registration, which is focused on the visible side of the celebration, here it is not enough to send out invitations to guests and take care of the banquet. The spiritual union of a man and a woman in the face of God requires careful preparation with a clear understanding of what, in fact, everything was started for...

Step 1: Interview

To make sure that potential spouses understand the seriousness of the vows they are taking on themselves, and to explain to them some aspects of life in a Christian marriage, It is a tradition in churches to conduct a short interview with the bride and groom before the wedding. It takes from 30 minutes to 2-3 hours, depending on the degree of responsibility of the priest and the readiness of the future husband and wife to create a strong union, and takes place 1-2 weeks before the significant event.

What do they ask at an interview before a wedding?

1. The priest can talk about the spiritual life of the couple: ask how often they visit church, whether they confess regularly, how long ago they took communion, and at the same time give the lovers instructions on how to build relationships with the Church in order to live in accordance with God’s commandments and Orthodox traditions.
2. A lot of time will be devoted to issues of family life. Sometimes the priest, who has rich life experience, himself tells the couple about the meaning of Christian marriage, how to build family relationships, smooth out conflicts, get out of difficult situations with honor, maintaining peace and mutual respect between spouses; sometimes - recommends suitable literature for reading. The conversation is designed to make a man and a woman think about the seriousness of the upcoming changes in their lives and their own readiness for them. If, as a result, the couple is afraid of responsibility and decides to postpone the wedding, this, of course, is sad. But it’s better than if two people got together out of frivolity or in a fit of passion, and a year later they began to submit petitions to remove their crowns.
3. At the end, the priest will talk about the order of the upcoming sacrament and preparation for it: fasting, confession, communion.

Step 2: Fasting

What does it mean to fast before a wedding? The main meaning of the sanctification of marriage is for the newlyweds to receive God's grace to create a friendly family. But such a gift cannot be acquired only by standing a certain number of minutes at the altar! Only those who have done preparatory work on their souls are able to accept it.

1. He endured a strict fast before the wedding (or not strict, if one of the newlyweds is busy with hard work or is in poor health). Usually it lasts from 3 days to a week, but if you wish, you can assign yourself a more difficult test - for example, going through Lent together if the celebration is scheduled for spring, or Peter's Fast in the summer.
2. He abstained from empty amusements, smoking, and drinking alcoholic beverages. By the way, if the future husband and wife live together, they will have to give up intimate relationships.
3. I attended church services and did not forget to pray at home. It is advisable to do this together, so as not only to tune into the right mood, but also to become closer to each other. But before the wedding, you shouldn’t read prayers and conspiracies for a happy married life and deliverance from the troubles that the Internet is full of. By consecrating the union in the church and conscientiously preparing for this event, you are already turning to God’s help and relying on his protection, so other actions, and especially those that clearly smack of superstition, do not make sense.

All these actions are called fasting, and their ultimate goal is confession and communion before the wedding, which will allow the young to stand at the altar cleansed in body and spirit, freed from vain worldly thoughts and open to receiving God's grace.

Step 3: Confession and Communion

Confession before a wedding is no different in any fundamental way from repentance in other circumstances. Unless the priests advise once again to think about how you could offend your future “half” and repent of this sin so as not to repeat it. Otherwise, everything happens traditionally: the bride and groom, like the rest of the parishioners, come to the church at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, confess, read prayers and receive communion before the wedding. Afterwards, the newlyweds will have about an hour to change clothes for the wedding, while prayer services and memorial services are taking place in the church.

Advice: find out in advance from the priest or ministers whether there is an appropriate room in the church where you can calmly and without haste prepare for the upcoming sacrament.

Is it necessary to confess before the wedding? Yes. Without repentance you cannot receive Holy Communion, and without them there will be no wedding. If you are going to confession for the first time and are embarrassed, warn the priest about it. With guiding questions, he will help you pass the test with dignity, cleansing yourself of the severity of your sins. By the way, newlyweds who are new to church rules are afraid that they will have to confess together. This is wrong! Repentance is a deeply personal matter, and only three people will be present at it: you, the priest receiving confession, and God.

And when all three steps are completed, go to the altar clean and renewed, throwing extraneous thoughts out of your head and setting yourself up for happiness. Those spouses who are ready to fight for their family, love, take care of, respect each other and are not afraid to sacrifice their interests for the sake of the other from time to time, God will certainly grant it.

To begin with, I would like to point out some mistakes made by those who answered above.

First, sins are not forgiven during a wedding. For the first time, a person’s sins are forgiven during the sacrament of baptism. The same sins that a person committed after baptism are forgiven in the sacrament of confession. The sacrament of confession (if it is not combined with communion) does not require special preparation, and any baptized person can participate in it.

Before the wedding it is necessary to confess and receive communion. The second mistake is to assert that the time of fasting (that is, preparation for communion) must certainly be seven days. This practice appeared in Russia during tsarist times due to the fact that people then usually received communion only once a year. This, of course, is not enough for full and harmonious spiritual development. Nowadays, fasting time has become a common practice - 3 days. However, on the advice of the priest, this time can be changed. I advise you to contact a priest and ask his advice on how many days you should fast and what prayers to say. The Lord does not look at the amount of reading, but at the person’s heart. Therefore, it is better to say a few prayers with attention than to read the entire sequence without attention and with irritation. In any case, you need to consult with the priest, warning him that you have never fasted before. It is quite possible that he will advise you to read not the entire sequence, but only a certain part.

During fasting, people give up meat and dairy products (fasting), read prayers from the communion prayer (found in the prayer book), limit themselves in entertainment (so as not to be distracted from the main thing - the upcoming meeting with God in the sacrament of communion), abstain from sexual intercourse life (also, so as not to be distracted from the main thing) and prepare for confession (remembering all your sins committed after the last confession, or after baptism, if you have not yet been to confession). On the eve of communion, you should attend an evening service in the church and from 12 o'clock at night until communion, do not eat, drink or smoke (if you smoke). In the morning you need to come to the Liturgy, confess (in some churches confession is performed the night before) and at the end of the service take communion.

The best thing, of course, is to take communion before the wedding, as it should be. After all, in communion people are united with God, and in marriage they are united with each other in the presence of God. In communion, people are also mystically united in Christ with each other. Don’t forget to take communion regularly after your wedding. It is best to do this not once a year, but several times a year. By uniting with God in the sacrament of communion, people gain strength to combat their shortcomings and for further harmonious development.

Despite the fact that church marriage is not mandatory in Russia and the CIS countries, many couples decide to take this important step. And if some families sincerely want to marry in heaven as a sign of confirmation of pure love and faith in God, then others simply follow fashion, including the sacrament in the wedding plan.

For whatever reason you decide to get married, the wedding portal site reminds you: be sure to follow the church rules for preparing for the sacrament!

Before the wedding: will there be a sacrament?

Before you begin preparing for your wedding, you need to find out whether the church will allow your couple to get married in a church ceremony. After all, there are prescribed taboos to the ritual.

The wedding will not take place if:

If at least one of the above points occurs, alas, the church will not be able to bless your union.

Are there any obstacles to the sacrament? Then we offer you a little instruction in preparing for the wedding:

A wedding ceremony in the Orthodox Church is held only if the couple has formalized their relationship. It doesn’t matter whether you decide to seal your union directly on the day of the celebration or years later, the church may ask you to provide a marriage certificate.

Confession and Communion before the wedding

The decision to get married should not be made spontaneously. Everyone in a couple must be sincerely confident in their intentions. An important role is played by cleansing the soul through prayers, Confession and Communion.

The church will definitely tell you the most detailed information about how to prepare for the rituals. Do not hesitate to ask questions, because this will help avoid awkward situations directly during the rituals.

Before Communion and Confession, one should fast. For three days, the newlyweds read prayers (the priest will tell you which ones), attend evening services, and refuse sexual relations for this period. Eggs, meat and dairy products will have to be excluded from food.. All this must be observed before the preparatory rites for the wedding.

One of the main tasks of the church is to help a person improve his own soul. Church teachings call to get rid of evil thoughts, empty and abusive words, and to accept everything humbly and calmly.

As a rule, Confession and Communion take place immediately before the wedding. But this is not a mandatory requirement. The bride and groom can attend church the day before and separately.

Every church ceremony is aimed at healing the human soul. And if you really decide to seal your relationship with a Church marriage, then both should want this. And the groom. And the bride.

The portal Svadbaholik.ru advises only those couples who are confident in the strength and purity of love in the family to go to church. This may take years, even decades of married life. But only then will you be able to fully appreciate the depth and significance of the sacrament of marriage. And you will treat the question of how to prepare for a wedding with maximum responsibility.