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. There are no wedding
rehearsals and the ceremony usually has a very relaxed
atmosphere - guests take photos whenever they want to and
often chat quietly among themselves throughout the ceremony.
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 are ready
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 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
Unfortunately, a lot 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.
- The baking of bread and cakes containing coins.
- 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 in many places, 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 is the webmaster and publisher of Athens
Room at http://www.athensroom.com - a free service for
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