Avatamk
God's combination of man and woman into one flesh occurs in the Sacrament of Marriage.
The grace of the Holy Spirit invisibly unites two separate human beings into a single spiritual whole, just as two separate substances, such as sand and cement, uniting with the help of water, become a qualitatively new, inseparable substance. And just as water, in this example, is a binding force, so the Grace of the Holy Spirit is in the Sacrament of Marriage a force that binds a man and a woman into a qualitatively new, spiritual union - a Christian family. Moreover, the purpose of this union is not only procreation and mutual assistance in everyday life, but mainly, joint spiritual improvement, multiplication of Grace, because the Christian family is the Little Church of Christ, Christian marriage is one of the forms of serving God.
Instruction is preparation.
Newlyweds, feeling love for each other, should try in every possible way to strengthen their close spiritual connection. The sacrament of wedding creates an internal union containing peace within itself. Those. in this union lies the foundation of peace, and the union itself is the fruit of love. Primordial people, Adam and Eve, lived with such love, when God was constantly present next to them, and they themselves were in constant communication with God. Having sinned, a person lost this love and such a union. However, God did not leave man, but came with His love, united with man and in this unity created in people everything necessary for the reign of peace.
Jesus Christ in His prayer addresses the Father with the words: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in Me: that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they also may be one in Us” (John 27:20-21).
The principle of achieving unity is the fulfillment of love. Love manifests itself in the desire to ultimately achieve the desired union. If we fulfill this passionate desire for the base, vain, worldly needs, then we waste God's gift, and this is no longer love. Just as there is no darkness in light, so in love there is no place for negative manifestations, therefore, love strives for goodness, happiness, peace, sincerity, in the end, for everything that gives us a positive impulse, elevating a person above base desires. God Himself dwells in love and sanctifies it with Himself. Jesus spoke about this ultimate happiness of unity like this: “Holy Father! Keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, just as We are” (John 17:11), “And the glory that You gave Me I have given to them: that they may be one, just as We are one. . I am in them and You are in Me; that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them as You loved Me. Father! Those whom You have given Me, I want them to be with Me where I am... so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:22–24, 26).
Family is divine love in miniature, the formation of which the Church establishes with the holy sacrament of Wedding (Armenian psak). By this sacrament, two individuals distant from each other, a man and a woman, receive divine blessing, unite with each other in a mysterious way, become one flesh and, taking the path of eternal living together, following the example of Christ and His Church, devote themselves to efforts to succeed in achieving the kingdom of God so that you and your family can enter it.
Wedding rite in the Armenian Apostolic Church in Russian translation
Sometimes we misperceive the sacrament of marriage, looking at it only with carnal eyes. Therefore, it is necessary to be well aware that in addition to the physical, marriage contains the principle of spiritual support based on love.
The first woman was created not only for procreation, but God said: “It is not good for man to be alone; Let us make him a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18). God gave man a friend of life, therefore, loving each other does not mean admiring each other, but having spouses have one goal, moving towards it together, and on this path supporting and being helpers to each other.
Wives and husbands need to remember the words of the Apostle Paul:
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body. But just as the Church submits to Christ, so do wives to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her...” (Eph. 5:22-25)
The sacrament of marriage is the closest union ever concluded that two people can establish. Neither family nor friendship can create such a degree of intimacy between two people.
God, who created man, also called him to love, the fundamental and innate calling of every person. For man is created in the image and likeness of God, Who Himself is Love. Since God created man as male and female, their mutual love becomes a model of the absolute and unbreakable love that God loves for man. She is good, moreover, very good in the eyes of the Creator. This love, blessed by God, is destined to bear fruit and be embodied in the common task of preserving creation: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28).
Holy Scripture states that man and woman were created for each other: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Woman, “flesh of his flesh,” that is, his creation, his closest equal, was given to him by God as help, thus representing God, Who is “our help.” “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife; and the two will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:18–25).
The Lord Himself indicates that this means the indestructible unity of two lives, recalling what God’s Plan was “in the beginning”: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6). No human union can make a man or woman a family for the kingdom of God except marriage, which by the holy sacrament of the Church is fulfilled by God's blessing and becomes part of His kingdom.
On this path, couples must not only maintain external decorum, but also internal dignity - spiritually. God is love, and our bliss is realized by union with God in love, therefore, there is no love, no blissful union where there is no God's blessing. And unity for the sake of pleasure, apart from love and truth, cannot be part of the implementation of God's kingdom in this world. So in marriage, the goal should not be the carnal, but the spiritual. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, speaking about true marital love, emphasizes the great importance of marriage: “This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church” (Eph. 5:32).
The Church does not insist on the exclusively spiritual nature of family happiness; She also recognizes its worldly component, while rejecting slavish service to the principle of “enjoy.”
Sacrament of Wedding
“He who created man and woman in the beginning created them and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matt. 19:4–6).
The Sacrament of Marriage was established by God back in Paradise (Genesis 2:18,22–24).
In the Christian Church, during the sacrament of wedding, a man and woman, through prayer and the blessing of the priest, unite with the goal of creating a family and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift strengthens their unity as an indestructible union all the days of their life together, so that they can give birth to children and raise them in the Christian spirit.
“Great is the mystery” (Eph. 5:32) of this union concluded on earth, since the Christian wedding and family are a miniature image of the great and ineffable heavenly sacrament: the indestructible union of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. Just as a groom, leaving his father, goes to his bride, so Jesus, leaving the Fatherly Throne, came to His bride, the Church, and was indissolubly united with her.
An example of the implementation of this divine love is the Christian family, the formation of which the Church assures with the holy sacrament of Wedding. By this sacrament, two, a man and a woman, receive a divine blessing, are mysteriously united with each other, become one flesh and, taking the path of eternal life together, following the example of Christ and His Church, devote themselves to efforts for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
On this path, couples must not only maintain outward decency, but also internal piety. So in marriage the carnal should not prevail, but the spiritual. In particular, during the Wedding, the rings that are placed on the finger of the bride and groom are a sign of the inviolability of their union, and burning candles are a sign of spiritual joy and a gift sent from above. The crowns placed on the heads of the newlyweds are a sign of their chastity, since the Wedding is sacred, and it is necessary to beware of adulterous aspirations. They drink wine as a sign that they will experience both the joys and sorrows of a shared life together.
Conditions of marriage
On the eve of creating a healthy and strong family, the Church invites young couples to consider the following conditions.
One of the most important goals of marriage is procreation. Therefore, physical health is necessary for marital relations. Based on health concerns, it is prohibited to marry misogynists, eunuchs, and those who are known to be infertile.
Maturity and adulthood are also necessary both for the physical and spiritual health of the new generation, and for the affirmation of the idea of love and morality. In this case, the woman must be mature (17 years old), and the man must be older than her (20–25 years old). Family connections are also important. In the 13th century, the Armenian Church established that those marrying should be seven generations apart from each other (a son is one step or one generation away from his father, a grandson is two degrees, i.e. the number of births between two persons is calculated in steps or generations; two brothers or sisters are separated from each other by two knees, husband and wife are not separated by knees, because they are one body).
The Church considers it necessary that a guy and a girl who want to get married be baptized and confirmed. The Church prohibits the marriage of a Christian (Christian woman) with a woman of a different faith (non-believing person), except for the case when she (he) accepts Christianity.
The basis of mutual love is common faith, since the spiritual growth of people is achieved through faith. The man is the head of the house, the woman is his heart, so that the head and heart are bound by mutual consent with love and devotion.
It is necessary that the sacrament of Wedding be performed by a priest in the church, in the presence of witnesses (Armenian khachekhbayr, kavor) and people. A wedding that takes place in secret is considered invalid. The wedding can be repeated if one of the spouses passes away. The Church allows the sacrament of Marriage to be performed only twice: “The Canon of the Virgin Wedding” and the “Canon of the Second Wedding.” A third marriage is not permissible.
Weddings are prohibited on the following days:
1. on all Sundays of the year without exception, 2. on all Wednesdays and Fridays (except for Wednesdays and Fridays between New Sunday and Ascension), 3. on the days of All Souls, following each of the five great holidays, 4. on Christmas holidays , The Naming (or Circumcision) of the Lord, the Presentation of the Lord, the Annunciation and the Ascension, 5. on all days of Great Lent and the first eight Easter days, 6. on all five days of each weekly fast: Advanced, Transfiguration, Assumption (Holy Mother of God), Vozdvizhensky, Christmas Pentecost and Nativity.
The wedding can be performed when the forbidden day is approaching evening, provided that the next day is not forbidden. The wedding is indissoluble neither by the state nor by any other human power: “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6). Just as it is impossible to separate Christ from His Church, it is also impossible to separate a man from his wife. The Church, interpreting the Gospel lines about marriage (Matt. 5:32, 19:3–10, Mark 10:2–12, Luke 16:18), dissolves marriage only on the grounds of adultery.
Conditions for divorce
The Armenian Church, considering a legal marriage inviolable, nevertheless allows divorce when one of the spouses:
1. committed adultery, 2. is sick with an incurable and contagious disease, 3. is possessed or insane, 4. has been missing for seven years. A wedding is invalid when 1. it was performed secretly, 2. it was performed by force, 3. the person getting married has a legal spouse.
Infertility is not a reason for divorce. A change of religion is also not a reason for divorce, but it is permissible if there are cases of religious violence.
The Sacrament of Marriage is performed by the Church, whose head is the Catholicos and only she has the power to dissolve the marriage union.
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them” (Col. 18–19).
Author: Lucas Vahan Zakarian
Translation: Marianna Arzangulyan
The Rite of Wedding of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Russian translation
Modest Armenian wedding
The list of wedding events is of the usual nature for us: a revelry at the groom’s house, a revelry at the bride’s house, a wedding in a church, a photo shoot and, most importantly, fun (where 400 guests were announced).
At such “modest” Armenian weddings, many relatives gather, some of whom you have never met before or saw in unconscious childhood. This is how I met my cousin, who is about my age, with whom we hung out in the summer and whom I had not seen for 15 years before the wedding. It was very cool!
The main celebration left only pleasant impressions (especially since I had a VIP seat with an excellent view of everything): a wonderful host, excellent organization of the event, traditional dances, violins, songs and a cake taller than me. Overall, a wonderful evening, the atmosphere of the event was very positive and extremely happy.
You are next
Armenian weddings are very family-oriented (which makes sense) and are strongly anti-unmarried. All unmarried people are given special things with sweetness inside, for good luck, in order to attract marriage, so to speak. The shape and type of things are not regulated, so this is also the beauty of an Armenian wedding - to see in what form this thing will be made.
I also noticed a slight difference: if at weddings in Russia the girls are more or less eager to catch the bouquet (and not all of them lately), then the guys are somehow less enthusiastic about the pendant. In Armenia, firstly, the groom throws away not a pendant, but a micro-bouquet that he had in his breast pocket all evening, and secondly, the rush among guys to catch him is no worse than among ladies.
