The sacrament of wedding in the Orthodox Church unites two loving people with the sacred bonds of marriage, giving them God's blessing to create a strong Christian family. During this ritual, wedding icons are used, to which the baptized bride and groom bow. In love for God and each other, future spouses promise to remain faithful, fulfill the commandments of the Gospel, and raise their children. Thus, in the new family, the first shrines in the iconostasis are wedding icons.
Peculiarities
According to long-standing customs, the attributes for the wedding ceremony on the day of the Holy Sacrament are presented to the newlyweds by parents, blessing their children for marriage and passing on the relics from generation to generation. The bride's parents present the image of the Savior to the groom, and the groom's parents, in turn, present the bride with the image of the Virgin Mary.
During the Sacrament, the priest blesses the groom with the icon of Jesus Christ, and the bride with the image of the Mother of God. After the ceremony, the married couple of a man and a woman leaves the temple with these shrines in their hands and with new spiritual filling in their souls.
Wedding couples icons
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Although the wedding ceremony had developed in the Eastern Christian tradition by the 5th century, in Rus', which adopted Christianity in 988, the sacrament of wedding in church was for a long time exclusively the privilege of the nobility. Only the decrees of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great changed this situation and since then a marriage concluded in the church was recognized as valid. With the beginning of the widespread spread of the wedding ceremony in the church, wedding icons acquired great importance, becoming an indispensable element of marriage.
"Wedding couple"
“Wedding couple” is a wedding icon that will bless the marriage of the young, fill them with faith and hope, and make their union happy. Traditionally, this is the name for a composition of two shrines depicting the Lord Pantocrator and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is accepted that the future husband is blessed by the face of Christ the Savior, as an intercessor and protector of his wife and future children. The image of the Almighty will remind the father of the family of his great responsibility to his family and the Almighty. The wife is blessed by the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the keeper of the hearth, a faithful wife and the future caring mother of her children.
Icons are, first of all, spiritual figurative personifications of saints. Each image carries a huge sacred meaning.
"The Wedding Couple" reminds young people that their union is sacred, all promises are valid and God is with them every moment. Important! The Mother of God is the protector of the family hearth, and Jesus Christ is the Savior.
In addition, the shrines with which the blessing was carried out in the church symbolize love, a strong marriage and home for the newlyweds.
Wedding gifts from parents
Every parent dreams of the family well-being of their child and always tries to put special meaning into a gift for such an important event as a wedding.
What should you choose?
First of all, this is a family amulet ; its role can be played by:
- Wedding pair of icons or the icon of the Mother of God “Leaping of the Child”.
- Gold and silver personalized pendant icons.
- Save and Preserve rings (pair).
- Souvenirs based on biblical scenes: figurines, paintings, embroidered panels.
- In addition to the above, a good gift from parents would be a collection of the Explanatory Bible or one Gospel. You can also give a Bible for children, with the prospect of future grandchildren.
Which ones are needed?
Often, during one of the seven sacraments of the church - a wedding - the priest blesses the couple with icons depicting the Savior and the Mother of God. The image of Jesus in this case is embodied in the icon of Christ Pantocrator, or less often - the Savior Not Made by Hands. Usually the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the Iveron Mother of God or the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God are presented for the wedding ceremony, although other images of the Mother of God are also allowed.
In demand, but not obligatory at a wedding, is the image of Peter and Fevronia, a married couple who are known for their deeds. In most cases, saints are glorified separately from each other, but the faces of Peter and Fevronia are considered to represent the family - a husband and wife who, as in a fairy tale, lived happily ever after and died on the same day. During their worldly life, they experienced many troubles and difficulties, but were able to withstand them, not be tempted by temptations and enemy misfortunes, maintaining devotion to each other and the Almighty.
For the well-being of family life, prayers are also offered to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg, Saint Barbara.
What to give an older couple for a wedding?
Many adult married people take years to take such a serious step as deciding to get married . If you have to choose a wedding gift just for them, then this process must be approached with great responsibility .
You should immediately forget about such things as cheap souvenirs, household items or bed linen. All this is inappropriate in this case.
The most commonly selected classic gifts are:
- Icon .
She can be anyone. If the gift is from your daughter, then you can embroider the icon of the Mother of God with your own hands. A huge number of special embroidery kits allow you to create real masterpieces decorated with beads and stones. - Service .
Beautifully finished dishes will always adequately decorate the family table and will be a pleasant memory of the event. - Bracelets and pendants with the faces of saints .
Such a wedding gift would be appropriate if it is presented by witnesses . - Panels or paintings with pleasant views of nature or temples.
- Palekh boxes for storing family treasures.
- Silver engraved glasses or goblets .
The engraving can remind you of the date of the event, contain the names of the married couple, or simply words of congratulations. Closer people can give such a gift. - A bottle of Cahors with a pair of crystal glasses can be presented by a not very close friend or distant relative.
What can you give for your Wedding Day? An amazing gift - a carriage ride - such a gift will be remembered for a long time!
Bride ransom from a mental hospital - a fun scenario!
When choosing a gift for an older couple, do not forget some rules:
- Down with formality and frivolity!
- The gift is intended for both spouses.
- The present should be memorable.
- The offering should be accompanied by sincere warm congratulations.
Cost and where to buy?
Images of saints are the best Christian wedding gifts for loved ones or relatives. A “wedding couple” can be made to order by a master in one color scheme, with images of guardian angels, faces of other saints or scenes from the Holy Scriptures on the margins of identical wooden planks.
Young people can purchase this attribute on their own in an icon-painting workshop, a church shop, a regular store or an online store.
The cost of such a wedding attribute depends on the size, materials of manufacture and method of execution. The price per pair can range from 12,000 to 60,000 rubles.
Recommendations
There are no special instructions on what exactly an icon should be. They all carry the same power, regardless of their age or decoration. However, if it is difficult to make a choice, or if you have doubts or questions, it is better to contact a clergyman. He will tell you which details you can miss and which ones to take into account when purchasing.
It is important to remember that the images must be consecrated, so you should buy them in advance.
The main guidelines are the following criteria:
- Execution. Designs can be printed, hand drawn or embroidered. It is also not prohibited to use works made of beads, amber, and mosaics. Stick with the option that suits you best. Remember that the faces of saints depicted on icons have the same power, regardless of whether the shrine is antique, framed in silver or gold;
- Style. If the “Wedding Couple” is made in the same style, this is only a plus, but icons with different borders and iconographic writing do not need to be replaced and are acceptable for the ceremony;
- Size. It cannot be said that the larger the shrine, the more wonderful it is. Medium-sized samples (20x30, 30x40, 50x60 cm) are also perfect for the Sacrament of Wedding. Icons that are too large will be difficult to use during the process, as will icons that are too small;
- Quality. Although such a relic is not a decorative item, it must be beautiful and of high quality, because it is passed on from generation to generation. It is worth choosing such shrines that do not fade in the sun, all components are clearly fixed, there are no cracks or tears;
- Price. The cost depends on many factors, but it is not necessary to give the most expensive. Whether a person pays 10 or 100 thousand for an icon, it will equally protect the couple and serve as their faithful helpers in their good deeds.
Advice! Sometimes stores offer discounts on defective items. It is not forbidden to buy attributes of this kind; you just need to take into account the degree of deformation when purchasing.
After the wedding
After the celebration, people often wonder where to put all the wedding attributes, including icons. As a rule, the shrines with which the man and woman were blessed during the ceremony remain with the newly made spouses.
The images are left in the house where the newlyweds will live, and if the couple moves, they take them along with other things to their new place of residence.
Note ! The face of Jesus is placed on the right side of the face of the Virgin Mary. You can place the candles that were used at the wedding nearby and light them on your anniversary or on other important occasions.
You can place the shrines in the Red Corner, a specially designated home iconostasis in the living room or kitchen-dining room, or hang them over the newlyweds’ bed in the bedroom. The main rule of placement is that it should be convenient to approach the iconostasis to offer prayer. It is not worth hiding icons from guests or putting icons in a box, because this is considered a bad omen, and priests call such an act hateful to God, since they occur from the desire to conceal, hide.
The entire subsequent life of the newlyweds takes place under the auspices of wedding icons. In difficult times, the spouses sincerely pray before the images of the Lord and the Mother of God, asking them for the gift of children, for help, and grace. You should not forget about icons on happy days, so that not only on major holidays you can thank them from the bottom of your heart, thank them for peace, prosperity and joy in the family.
