Today, many newlyweds strive to perform a wedding ceremony at the time of marriage. Some, being deeply believers, do it consciously and according to the canons of the Orthodox Church. Others, being atheists, succumb to the trends of the new fashion, go to church to celebrate their wedding with a beautiful solemn ceremony.
There are a number of reasons that prevent newlyweds from entering into a church marriage, that is, getting married.
Religion
The first and unshakable rule: those who are married must be baptized. If the young people belong to different Christian denominations, then one of them will have to make a choice in favor of the Orthodox Church. Representatives of different confessions cannot get married.
The Orthodox Church does not recognize as legal a wedding in a Catholic or Protestant church.
Freedom from the bond of marriage
The ban on weddings also applies to those who are married to another person. Regardless of where the marriage was concluded: in the registry office or in the church (the latter, by the way, is not recognized by the state and law). The marriage must be dissolved, and if it was a church marriage, an official permission from the bishop is also required - a blessing for a new marriage. It is not allowed to get married more than three times.
Lack of kinship
It is forbidden to enter into a church marriage between blood relatives, up to the fourth generation. It is forbidden to marry between godfathers who took part in the baptism of the same child. A ban has been imposed on the wedding of godparents and godson.
It is forbidden to carry out the wedding ceremony during the four Great Lent, on Easter Week.
Wedding ceremony
If the young people decide to get married, then they should turn to the priest of the church where they intend to get married, in order to choose the day of the wedding with him. The church calendar excludes many days on which to get married.
The conditions of modern life prompted the Orthodox Church to require young people to present a marriage certificate issued by the registry office before the wedding. The bride's pregnancy cannot be an obstacle to the wedding.
Rings are an important attribute of a wedding. These can be simple gold rings, although in earlier periods of the Orthodox Church, a gold ring was intended for a husband, a silver for a wife.
Of course, on the day of the wedding, the outfits of the bride and groom must correspond to the solemnity of the event. Modern wedding fashion for brides offers chic dresses, sometimes more appropriate at social balls than at the sacrament of the wedding. A bride whose dress exposes her shoulders and chest too much should provide for a cape, which will make the dress more appropriate for a wedding. The bride's head must be covered with a veil or veil.
You should definitely think about shoes, since the wedding can last more than two hours, and all this time the young will have to stand on their feet.
