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Marriage: Gr. 6 - Gr. 8

Resources:

Objectives:

  • Definition of Matrimony
  • Institution of the Sacrament
  • Necessity and Purpose of Marriage
  • Visble Acts and Invisble Grace


Definition:

  •  The sacrament of matrimony is the church service that unites the bridegroom and the bride with the divine grace of God, which resembles the unity of Christ and the Church.
  • The man takes on the responsibility of being the head of the Church (their family) and the woman represents the Church.
  • In the Orthodox faith, marriage is not just the union of a man and a woman.  It is not only about the lives of two persons coming together but it is the initiation of their home, that is their own Church and Kingdom of God. As such, we take it very seriously and look at it with honor. 


Institution of the Sacrament

  • Creation of the World
    • From the very beginning, God instituted matrimony at the creation of the world:
      •  “ God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He them; male and female created He them, and God said to them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Genesis 1: 27, 28)
      • “And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18)
    • God intended for man and women to live together in union with him.
  • New Testament
    • Christ further confirmed this sacrament in the New Testament when he attended the Wedding at Cana of Galilee.
    • When the Pharisees were questioning Christ about divorce and the necessity of marriage:
      • When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there. 3 Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” - Matthew 19: 1 - 6 


Necessity and Purpose of Marriage

  1. Union between the man and woman
    1. Matthew 19: 1 - 6
    2. Homily of St. John Chrysostom: “He who made them at the beginning made them male and female,” that is, they sprang from one root and came together as one body, “or the two shall be one flesh.”
  2. Preservation and growth of mankind - Procreation
    1.  “ God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He them; male and female created He them, and God said to them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Genesis 1: 27, 28)
    2. Marriage is needed to be able to keep the chain of humankind
  3. Spiritual strength and immunity against adultery’
    1. "It is good for a man not to touch a woman, not to marry.  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband ... For it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (1 Corinthians 7)
    2. The sacrament of Matrimony helps protect us from falling into sexual immortality or being dishonest to our spouse. That is the mystery of the sacrament and the invisible grace that bestows upon the couple during the ceremony. 


The Outward Signs and Invisible Grace

  • The bridegroom and bride declare in front of the church their commitment to each other 
  • During the ceremony, the priest prays specific rites and prayers for the Holy Spirit to come down and unite the couple with the Lord.
  • The priest also anoints the bridegroom and the bride during the ceremony, similar to how a priest anoints a baby with Myron during Chrismation. The invisible grace sanctifies the couple and makes their marriage Holy.

 

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