Weddings in the Orthodox Church are a rite in which the marriage is blessed; because we crown the couple as part of the ceremony, it is also sometimes known as crowning. The candles held by the bride and groom represent the couple’s faith and their willingness to follow Christ, the Light of Truth and to have their new life together lighted by the teachings of His Church. The crowns reveal that the couple in their union with Christ participate in His kingship, as well as symbolizing martyrdom, as the couple dies to themselves and begins to live for one another and giving their joint life to Christ. The epistle gives the Christian vision of marriage and the Gospel recounts the wedding at Cana. The common cup symbolizes the common life together of the couple, their sharing of joys and sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and fears. The Dance of Isaiah signifies that the couple has been set apart from the world to live a life in Christ together.
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