Eastern Rite Weddings

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BruceJ

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Greetings, all -

I’m writing a novel in which an Eastern Rite wedding ceremony takes place. I’m not going into great detail on the ceremony in my story; however, what I do include, I’d like to ensure is accurate.

The setting is Berlin, Germany. The bride is a wheelchair-bound, 66-year old daughter of an Eastern Rite priest. I don’t ascribe a religious preference to the 70-year old groom, but he has attended services with her, if not converted. I understand his status would make a difference in the way the betrothal is handled by the Church (?)

The ceremony takes place in present-day Berlin; however, the characters of both the bride and groom are conservative and traditional. What little I’ve been able to find in open sources on the Web indicates that there is a little room for variation in the rites, but that they are largely prescribed and set by Church tradition.

If it’s realistic, I’d like them to be able to forego the six-month Crowning preparation period (as I understand it to be from what I have read), given their maturity and her experience/heritage as an ER priest’s daughter.

Can someone please give me a recap–or point me to a resource–of the ritual regarding music (is there a processional and/or recessional, and how much latitude does the betrothed couple have in selecting music?), the vows (I’ve read some forum entries that have no vows being exchanged during the Crowning, and some that say they are), and any other significant elements–not that there are insignificant parts to a wedding ceremony 🙂 !

Many thanks in advance for any help. I hope I haven’t been too vague with my questions.

Cheers! Bruce
 
And just which “Eastern Rite” do you mean?

The Byzantine liturgy is NOT the only “Eastern Rite”.

So, in which EASTERN CHURCH is this taking place?
 
I haven’t specified in the story which Eastern Rite; however, I do have him attending the seminary in Przemysl, Poland in the 1930s. Does that help? Greek Catholic, perhaps? Sorry, again, if I’m asking odd questions. It only underscores why I have come here for answers. 😉

Again, the elements of the ceremony are not detailed in the story, so it doesn’t need to be at the chapter-and-verse level. I don’t know how significant the differences might be among the wedding rituals of the various Eastern Rites.

Thanks again.

Cheers! Bruce
 
\The setting is Berlin, Germany. The bride is a wheelchair-bound, 66-year old daughter of an Eastern Rite priest. I don’t ascribe a religious preference to the 70-year old groom, but he has attended services with her, if not converted. I understand his status would make a difference in the way the betrothal is handled by the Church (?)\

**The ages of the parties don’t matter.

Assuming the groom has been baptized and either has not been married before, there should be no problem.

Please note that in the Orthodox tradition, there is a separate rite for a second marriage. In theory, it’s used if either has been married before. In practice, only if both have.**
 
Thanks much. This is a first marriage for both characters.

Can someone step me through the ceremony in general terms? I currently have a processional and a recessional written into the scene with music selected by the characters, but I don’t know if that would be authentic.

Cheers! Bruce
 
\I currently have a processional and a recessional written into the scene with music selected by the characters, but I don’t know if that would be authentic.
\

**It wouldn’t be authentic.

Ideally, the Betrothal takes place in the back of the Church (with the swapping of the rings). Then the bride and groom come together (groom on the right facing the altar) up to a table in the front of the Church called a tetrapod where the Marriage proper takes place. The highlight of this part is the crowning of the bride and groom and procession around the Tetrapod.

There are no vows in the Orthodox use, though some Eastern Catholics have interpolated them.

Also, generally speaking, in the Byzantine tradition, there are no musical instruments, though the Greeks in the USA have shown a tendancy to use organs.

You might want to visit this page, which, among other things, will give the text for the Orthodox service, which is used, for the most part, by Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine liturgical pracdtice:

saintignatiuschurch.org/marriage.html**
 
He would have to be Eastern Catholic at the time for an EC wedding. If he were Roman Catholic (which was the majority religion in 1936 Berlin), the wedding would have been Latin. (Canon Law at the time required the wedding in the Groom’s rite.) And he would have to be at least nominally Catholic; in 1917 CI, marriage to non-catholics was forbidden, and the Ukrainian parish was nominally under the local Roman hierarch’s authority. (The UGCC German exarchate is created after WW2)

Odds are she’s UGCC; there was a priest in Berlin starting in 1927, Rev. Fr. Petro Verhun, removed by the Soviets in 1945, Martyred by the Soviets in 1957, and beatified in 2001. (ugcc.org.ua/35.0.html?&L=2)
 
Aramis,

Many thanks, this is very helpful. Coincidentally, my female character’s father, the EC priest, was arrested by the Stasi in 1960 and disappeared into the Gulag, which still functioned, although at a much lower profile than during its ‘heyday’ before Stalin’s death. He and his experiences are the subjects of the sequel.

Is there a source for more detailed information on Rev. Fr. Petro Verhun to which you could direct me?

Thanks again.

Cheers! Bruce
 
\Is there a source for more detailed information on Rev. Fr. Petro Verhun to which you could direct me?

Thanks again\

**There is a book I have kicking around here I found in a used book store–yellow paperback–called YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME by Athanasius Pekar, OSBM, about the struggles of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Catholics during the Communist ascendancy.

**
 
Blessed Petro? No. Tho the beatification should include some.

However, Rev. Fr. Chris Zugger’s A Hidden Church covers the Ruthenian European Church during the time frame in question.
 
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