Wedding Bells

Sunday our good friends Gabriel and Monika got married! They are both strong believers in Jesus and are a part of our Bible studies here in Prilep. Gabriel has a protestant background but Monika is Orthodox, so the wedding ceremony was very Orthodox!

We have lived in Macedonia for a long time and we've been to several wedding ceremonies, but they have been either purely protestant or mixed. Actually, often only family and very close friends are invited to the ceremony (if there is one at a church) -- so we were very honored to be invited. Many Macedonians only register at the civil office and then some couples take pictures outside of a church building. But often when people say they are going to a wedding, they mean that they are going to a restaurant to celebrate someone's marriage, with dinner and folkdancing.

Anyway, until yesterday I had never been to an Orthodox wedding ceremony -- a completely Orthodox ceremony. We all squeezed into the small building and stood watching while the priest chanted blessings on the couple. He gave a very brief sermonette and then led them in some wedding traditions, like lighting a candle and holding it on their shoulders during the ceremony; placing wreaths (sometimes crowns) on their heads and trading them back-and-forth three times; kissing the Bible; making the sign of the cross with the rings three times and then kissing them before placing them on their fingers; the bride, groom and two witnesses held hands and followed the priest around the altar three times while the priest chanted and dispensed incense. I'm not sure yet of the meanings of all these traditions, though obviously kissing the Bible shows devotion to the Word of God.

Two things that I noticed were very different from Protestant weddings: first, after crossing the rings three times, the priest was the one to place the rings on the fingers of the groom and bride. The second big difference was that no vows were exchanged. The bride and groom said nothing at all the whole time (except to confirm that they were not related more closely than 4th cousins and that they were entering marriage willingly rather than being forced!). Kyle and I speculated that perhaps words are not necessary because the very act of having a church ceremony is the vow (since few do it).


Of course, the Bible itself does not tell us how a wedding ceremony should look. The most important thing is to commit your life to your new spouse and to God. Gabriel and Monika have done that and we were so blessed to be able to join them on such a special day!
We love you Gabi and Moni! May God bless you both as you grow daily in love for each other through Christ Jesus, the One who shows us what True Love is!