Wedding ceremonies 

The sacrament of marriage consists of two parts: engagement and wedding.

During a betrothal the priest hands over the couple the lighted candles — a symbol of pleasure, heat and cleanness. Then he puts on rings first to the groom and then the bride, and three times changes them in front of the Sacred Trinity. As a rule the ring of the groom should be gold, the bride’s ring should be silver. After a betrothal the couple go to the temple middle. The priest asked them about their agreement to get married.

After that three prays the ornate crowns are taken out and put on the heads.

The bowl with wine (a symbol of a vital bowl of pleasures and griefs which should be divided till the end of the days) is brought. The priest gives the wine to the couple three times. Then he connects their hands and leads round altar stand singing wedding troparion three times.

At the end of sacrament everybody stand at the Imperial gate of the altar where the priest says an edification word. Then relatives and friends congratulate a new Christian family.

There is a superstition that fallen ring or the gone out wedding candle tells possible misfortunes, a difficult life in marriage or early death of one of spouses. The superstition is that who the first of the spouses will stand on the spread towel, will predominate in a family. Somebody thinks that it is impossible to get married in May. And others but don’t worry accidents happen.