A wedding is not just a beautiful church ceremony. This ceremony is called a sacrament - a special sacrament, during which divine grace descends on a person, strengthening him in family life.
The Orthodox Church treats women in a position with special respect. This is due to the fact that the very fact of conceiving and giving birth to a child is a particularly joyful event - a phenomenon in the world of a new person. Holy Scripture proclaims a special hope to pregnant women - the Apostle Paul in his epistle to Timothy says that a woman is saved through childbearing if she abides in love, faith, holiness and chastity.
For some people, the question may arise about the admissibility of participation in the sacrament of the wedding of a pregnant woman. Sometimes you can hear warnings against such an action to the best of the existing superstitions and accept. However, this opinion is not shared by the Church. A priest cannot refuse the sacrament of a wedding solely because of a woman's pregnancy, guided by superstition. The Church has a negative attitude towards omens and does not see anything in them in common with Christianity.
The participation of a pregnant woman in the sacraments is not only allowed, but considered obligatory for a believing mother. Thus, confession, communion, unction, baptism, chrismation are blessed. The wedding is also allowed for pregnant women, so it is worth talking not just about the fact that you can start this salutary rite, but about the need for the wedding of a believing Orthodox pregnant woman who has entered into marriage.
In the sacrament of the wedding, the Lord gives his blessing for family life, as well as for the birth and worthy moral upbringing of children. For an Orthodox person, a wedding is a true marriage union, confirmed in faith and love through a testimony of this before God. Therefore, it is imperative that the child be born in a God-blessed marriage. If a believing married couple, for one reason or another, did not manage to start the wedding before the moment of conception, then you should not be afraid and postpone participation in the sacrament.
With the participation of a pregnant woman in a wedding, it is worth considering the duration of the sacrament (about forty minutes - an hour). If it is difficult for a woman to stand all this time, then it is necessary to prepare a bench on which a woman in position can sit down. It is worth paying special attention to the physical well-being of the expectant mother. If necessary, you need to be ready to provide any help.
