Is it possible to get married in a church while pregnant or not?
For each ritual, the canons of the church prescribe their own procedure, and especially if it concerns the consolidation of a marriage. Ideally, a couple should register their marriage at the registry office and then get married, and then have children. But how does the church view it if a pregnant woman acts as a bride?
Catholic church
The Catholic wedding ceremony in its preparation for the ceremony lasts at least 3 months and with the obligatory condition that the couple is officially registered in the registry office. As for pregnancy, the Catholic faith does not consider this an obstacle to refusing to hold a wedding ceremony.
Greek Catholic
The Greek Catholic Church is more democratic in its canons and also says that the wedding of a pregnant woman is allowed in the temple.
The only difference from the Orthodox wedding ceremony is that the whole procedure consists of 3 rituals, namely the betrothal, preparation for the ceremony and the ritual itself. Regarding the ban on getting married to a pregnant woman, there is no such thing, the main thing is that the couple is officially registered as husband and wife.
Orthodox
The Orthodox Church also allows the wedding of a pregnant woman, the only condition is the presence of a marriage registration certificate at the registry office. After all, if a person, man or woman, cannot legally take responsibility for another, then what kind of marriage, spiritual and personal responsibility can we talk about?
Is it possible to get married while pregnant?
If you look into history, then in Rus' there was a strict and sometimes even puritanical attitude towards marriage. Today everything has changed dramatically. Many couples prefer to live without any formalization of their relationship at all. It often happens that pregnancy occurs before marriage registration and church wedding. How do clergy and Orthodoxy relate to the wedding of pregnant women? Is it even possible to do this?
If the future spouses are Orthodox Christians, then not only the official registration of the marriage in the registry office, but also the wedding ceremony in the church is of great importance for them. This ceremony is God's blessing on family relationships, a tradition that, as a rule, at weddings occurs immediately after the official ceremony. If a woman is already pregnant at this moment, then people’s opinions about the wedding are ambiguous and twofold. Some people believe that sex before marriage is associated with fornication, and they are partly right. Others are confident that it is possible to receive a church blessing for marriage during pregnancy and at any stage of family life, even when the couple has already lived together for several years and has children. Sometimes the opinions of parents of young people may not coincide on this matter. But a family is not about subservience to people’s opinions, but a voluntary union of a woman and a man, in which mutual understanding and wisdom should reign from the very beginning. This means that you need to listen to the advice of priests on this matter.
What does the church say about the wedding of a pregnant woman? Church ministers explain to young people that a wedding serves as a teaching of the blessing of Christ and the spiritual sanctification of family relationships. The rite is a great sacrament of the church. At the moment of its completion, the couple receives God's blessing to start a family and have children.
Pregnancy before marriage is a special case. And the church, first of all, focuses on the official registration of the relationship (they require a copy of the marriage certificate from the newlyweds) and the spouses’ affiliation with the Orthodox faith. In other words, only baptized men and women will be married. If their parents did not perform such a ceremony in childhood, then those wishing to get married will first need to be baptized. When only one of the spouses is baptized, then the second one also needs to be baptized.
A woman is allowed to have a wedding ceremony while pregnant, and at any stage. The clergy explain that this is not a sin. After all, according to church canons, sin is fornication. And conceiving a child is God's providence. And since it was given to him to be born in the womb, then the marriage needs to be sanctified, thus blessing the birth of the future baby. Therefore, there is no need to ask friends, neighbors, relatives about what to do, but go to church, confess before the wedding ceremony, and take communion. The pregnant woman is pure before God because he gave her the blessing of becoming a mother. She needs to attend church regularly.
As for the wedding procedure itself, it lasts about an hour. At this time, the woman will need to constantly stand, so her health may worsen in the form of surges in blood pressure. In such a case, it is necessary to give the woman the opportunity to sit down. She should have comfortable shoes and clothes that do not restrict movement and are loose. Before the ceremony, the pregnant woman must pray and ask the Mother of God for good health and patience.
After completing this ceremony, the expectant mother should attend church as regularly as possible. It is also important before giving birth, at least a month before the expected due date, if your health and well-being allows, to confess and take communion. A woman should ask for the blessing of the Mother of God for a successful delivery, assistance in childbirth, and health for her unborn baby.
Rules for the wedding of a pregnant woman
Before proceeding with the sacrament of wedding, it is important to properly prepare for it. Preparation consists not only of choosing a dress - it is important to follow a number of rules:
- Observe a three-day fast during which the future spouses limit themselves to certain foods, words and thoughts, family life, and life together.
- During this time, the couple reads certain prayers, and in front of the territory the priest conducts a conversation with the young people, giving his instructions about the norms and laws of faith.
- Before the wedding, the couple confesses and receives communion, thereby preparing for a new family life.
For the wedding ceremony, you should prepare the following in advance:
- Sacred icons, always in pairs - most of them are the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God. They can be purchased by both newlyweds themselves and their parents.
- Wedding rings are also purchased in advance as a symbol of the couple’s faith and fidelity.
- Wedding candles, preferably large ones, as well as stands for them or special scarves in which they are wrapped to protect against dripping wax.
- Pure white, or with special patterns, a towel.
An important aspect during a wedding is the preparation of clothes - after all, the bride, like the groom, should be adorned with modesty. For the bride, the dress should be modest, as closed as possible, especially if a pregnant woman is getting married, preferably a loose cut that will not restrict her movements. Don’t forget about comfortable shoes - the wedding itself takes about 40-60 minutes and it can be difficult to endure the entire ceremony.
A veil is also an important attribute, but if a woman considers it inappropriate due to her position, she can easily replace it with a white scarf.
Features of a wedding during pregnancy
The Church allows those who are pregnant to get married. But expectant mothers should definitely attend church services. As for the ritual itself, a woman should carefully monitor her well-being. After all, the ceremony itself takes 40–60 minutes, and the couple endures it while standing on their feet.
Sometimes pregnant women don't feel very well. They may experience pressure surges . Then the church ministers offer the woman to sit on a bench. You can take ammonia and tablets with you to normalize blood pressure. A wedding dress should be comfortable. It should not tighten the chest and stomach.
Before performing the sacred sacrament, the couple must confess and receive communion. The priest who will conduct the ceremony must be informed about the woman’s situation. If everything is ready, you can go for God's blessing. It is also advisable to go to the temple 40 days after giving birth. This is necessary so that the priest reads the woman’s prayers. Then you can come to the temple for the baptism of the child.
Features of the ritual
A woman carrying a child under her heart is pure before God, even if the conception occurred before marriage. After all, God blessed her with a new life, and therefore there are no obstacles to her wedding.
The main thing is faith in God and the desire to receive the blessing of the church for marriage, but not a tribute to fashion.
But the couple should take into account the existing restrictions on weddings, which in no way relate to the fact that the bride is pregnant. So the priest will not marry a couple if:
- If a couple marries 3 or more times, in this case the wedding is not permissible.
- If both spouses are baptized Christians, otherwise the priest will refuse the wedding.
- A wedding is also impossible between blood relatives of the 4th generation.
- It is forbidden to get married if the newlyweds are not registered as husband and wife with the registry office. The only conclusion from this rule is that marriage takes place in the registry office on the day after the wedding, but for this you need to have an extract from a government agency.
What does the Church think?
Wedding is a sacrament with which all Orthodox Christians should begin their married life. However, if a man and a woman are not such, that is, they are not church people, but entered into marriage according to the laws of their country and live a family life, the Church recognizes their unmarried marriage as legal and inviolable and does not consider these man and woman to be prodigal cohabitants.
But if both spouses believe and want to get married, then the Church only welcomes this, because a wedding is not just a rite, but God’s blessing to the husband and wife for their future family life. A pregnant woman, no matter what month of pregnancy she is in, also receives a blessing for marriage during the wedding, and it is impossible to see anything bad here.
People who say that getting married while pregnant is a great sin are deeply mistaken.
After all, the great secret of the birth of a new life is the Divine secret that a woman carries within herself. Fornication and adultery are considered sins, not pregnancy. True, you can often hear that the priest of one church or another refused to marry a couple where the bride was pregnant. It is not right. After all, the main thing is that young people believed and turned for God’s blessing even before the birth of the child.
The church has the right to refuse a wedding if young people have not previously registered the marriage in the registry office, since there are cases when a man or woman hides the fact that they are already married to another person. Therefore, before conducting a wedding ceremony in a church, it is necessary to present a marriage certificate, which was issued by authorities representing the state.
Signs and beliefs
The early remnants of paganism still make themselves felt in a variety of superstitions.
If a ring falls or a church wedding candle goes out, this promises unhappiness in family life, divorce, and even the death of one of the spouses. There is also a belief that the head of the house will be the spouse who first steps foot on the wedding towel. Also, many couples believe that they should not get married in May - they say the couple will suffer all their lives. But all these are rather prejudices and superstitions, because a strong and friendly family, married in a church, observing all the foundations and canons of Orthodoxy, will never suffer from any prejudices.
Summing up and giving an answer to the question posed, is it possible for a pregnant woman to get married, the church gives an unequivocally positive answer, and even strongly recommends that parents get married before the birth of the baby.
Bottom line
Weddings for pregnant women are not prohibited, but the decision to legitimize the union before God must be balanced and voluntary. When considering carrying out this ritual, consider the following points:
- you can get married only after the official marriage at the registry office;
- before the wedding it is necessary to take communion and confession;
- take into account your well-being and objectively assess your ability to endure a long ceremony in a stuffy room with specific odors.
If your health or circumstances do not allow you to get married, do not be upset.
When the time comes, you will definitely perform the ceremony and legitimize your relationship, and in this case your decision will be truly thoughtful and balanced. When using materials from thebestvideo.ru, a link to the source is required.
