Arabic original here.
Weddings
The crown in the Christian marriage service is the one that the holy martyrs receive after having committed to Christ to the point of death during their entire life. Thus we have in the wedding service the hymn "O Holy Martyrs..."
In the past, the crowning took place in the divine liturgy.
If, today, it is sometimes held during the liturgy, it can be very much abbreviated from the usual unnecessary social spectacles.
The Church forbade it from being held on Saturday evenings because marital relations are not proper the night before receiving the Eucharist.
This is in addition to the fact that for the most part the people taking part in the wedding would not come to the divine liturgy on Sunday.
Today, the Church does not prevent the wedding ceremony from being held on Saturday, given the currently predominant social customs known to all. However, she strongly advises the faithful not to get married on Saturday evenings.
* * *
On a practical level, there is a harmful confusion regarding the sacrament of marriage and the accompanying preparations and activities that damage the understanding and sanctity of the sacrament.
This includes immodest clothing and wasteful and extravagant spending on dinners, cocktail parties and their accoutrements.
All these displays have come to overpower the atmosphere of the prayers and the sanctity of the wedding.
The Holy Bible commands women to constantly guard their modesty when it says, "Women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing" (1 Timothy 2:9).
In this context, we must remind priests and parishes of the necessity of holding the service of the holy sacrament of marriage in churches, insofar as it is possible in their parishes, and not in resorts or public gardens...
Moreover, they must heed the times when the sacrament cannot be performed, I mean in particular the periods of Advent, Great Lent and the Dormition Fast...
* * *
Beloved, these ecclesiastical and paternal recommendations are not intended to overwhelm members of the Church with strict canons. Rather, they are intended to guide our children toward the necessity of keeping our holy Christian traditions and keeping them from being swept away by damaging, worldly social customs.
We must remain the good leaven in this world that is drowning in materialism and harmful lusts.
Try these sound Christian ways, even if they seem narrow in today's world, and you will taste true joy in Christ God, who will never be taken away from you.
+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, al-Koura and their Dependencies
Weddings
The crown in the Christian marriage service is the one that the holy martyrs receive after having committed to Christ to the point of death during their entire life. Thus we have in the wedding service the hymn "O Holy Martyrs..."
In the past, the crowning took place in the divine liturgy.
If, today, it is sometimes held during the liturgy, it can be very much abbreviated from the usual unnecessary social spectacles.
The Church forbade it from being held on Saturday evenings because marital relations are not proper the night before receiving the Eucharist.
This is in addition to the fact that for the most part the people taking part in the wedding would not come to the divine liturgy on Sunday.
Today, the Church does not prevent the wedding ceremony from being held on Saturday, given the currently predominant social customs known to all. However, she strongly advises the faithful not to get married on Saturday evenings.
* * *
On a practical level, there is a harmful confusion regarding the sacrament of marriage and the accompanying preparations and activities that damage the understanding and sanctity of the sacrament.
This includes immodest clothing and wasteful and extravagant spending on dinners, cocktail parties and their accoutrements.
All these displays have come to overpower the atmosphere of the prayers and the sanctity of the wedding.
The Holy Bible commands women to constantly guard their modesty when it says, "Women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing" (1 Timothy 2:9).
In this context, we must remind priests and parishes of the necessity of holding the service of the holy sacrament of marriage in churches, insofar as it is possible in their parishes, and not in resorts or public gardens...
Moreover, they must heed the times when the sacrament cannot be performed, I mean in particular the periods of Advent, Great Lent and the Dormition Fast...
* * *
Beloved, these ecclesiastical and paternal recommendations are not intended to overwhelm members of the Church with strict canons. Rather, they are intended to guide our children toward the necessity of keeping our holy Christian traditions and keeping them from being swept away by damaging, worldly social customs.
We must remain the good leaven in this world that is drowning in materialism and harmful lusts.
Try these sound Christian ways, even if they seem narrow in today's world, and you will taste true joy in Christ God, who will never be taken away from you.
+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, al-Koura and their Dependencies
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