The wedding is one of the seven church sacraments, during which the newlyweds testify to their love before God, receiving the blessing for their family life from the Lord Himself. Before starting the wedding, you need to know the days on which this great sacrament is not performed.
The sacrament of a church marriage cannot be performed on the days of four long fasts. So, they do not get crowned on Nativity Fast (November 28 to January 7), Great Lent (the time of abstinence is always unique, so you need to look at the church calendar), Dormition Fast (August 14 - 28) and Peter Lent (starts at different times, but ends July, 12). In the Orthodox tradition, fasting is a time of abstinence when marriage celebrations are prohibited.
The sacrament of the wedding is not performed in churches on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, since these days precede the fast days of Wednesday and Friday and the Sunday holiday. In addition, weddings are prohibited on the eve of the greatest church holidays, called twelve. Such, for example, as the Nativity of Christ, the Ascension, the Transfiguration, the Baptism of the Lord, the Nativity of the Virgin and several others. On the eve of some other great holidays, such as the Protection of the Mother of God, the newlyweds also cannot witness their love union.
There are certain weeks during which the sacrament of the wedding is not performed. These include Christmastide, Shrovetide, Bright week (week).
In the church liturgical tradition, there is a special strict fasting day when the Beheading of John the Baptist is remembered. Neither on the day itself (September 11), nor on the eve of the wedding is performed.
Another practice when the wedding is not sent to the Church is on the eve of the temple holidays. These celebrations are different for each church. It is necessary to know in honor of which saint or holiday the House of God is consecrated.
On all other days of the calendar year, the sacrament of the wedding is performed in all Orthodox churches. Therefore, before planning a church marriage, you must first clearly choose the permitted date.
