When did Joseph marry Mary?

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Order of Betrothal After the Divine Liturgy, while the Priest is in the Sanctuary, the Bride and Groom enter and stand at the doors of the Narthex (vestibule); the Groom on the right and the Bride to his left. In the center of the Nave, before the Royal Doors, have been placed on a table the Holy Gospel, the Holy Cross, the rings, candles, the Crowns, and the Common Cup containing wine. The priest, together with the Deacon, goes to the entrance of the Narthex. He blesses the Bride and Groom and leads them into the Narthex.
**Deacon. **Bless, Master.
Priest. Blessed be our God always, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
**Choir. **Amen.
**Deacon. **In peace let us pray to the Lord.
**Choir. **Lord, have mercy. [This response is sung after each petition of the Litany of Peace.]
**Deacon. **For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord:
For the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord:
For this holy house, and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord:
For the Holy Orthodox Patriarchs, for our Metropolitan N., for our Bishop N., for the honorable Priesthood, for the Deaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and the people, let us pray to the Lord:
For the President of these United States, for those in authority, and for all god loving people, let us pray to the Lord:
For the servant of God, N., and for the handmaid of God, N., who are now being betrothed to one another, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord:
That they may be granted children for the continuation of their generation, and all their petitions which may be for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord:
That He will send down upon them perfect and peaceful love, and help, let us pray to the Lord:
That He will preserve them in oneness of mind and in steadfastness of faith, let us pray to the Lord:
That He will bless them with a blameless life, let us pray to the Lord:
That the Lord our God will grant them an honorable and pure marriage let us pray to the Lord:
For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger and necessity let us pray to the Lord:
Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and keep us, O God by Thy Grace:
Commemorating our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady, Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, with all the Saints, let us commend ourselves, and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.
**Choir. **To Thee, O Lord.
**Priest. **For unto Thee are due all glory, honor, and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages,
Choir. Amen.
con’t
 
**Priest. **OLord our God, who went with the servant of the Patriarch Abraham into Mesopotamia when he was sent to seek a wife for his master Isaac and, by the means of drawing of water at the well, revealed to him that he should betroth Rebecca; Do Thou Thyself bless the betrothal of these Thy servants, N. and N., and confirm the word they have spoken. Strengthen them in the holy union which is from Thee. For Thou, in the beginning, made them male and female, and by Thee is the woman joined to the man as a helpmate and for the continuation of the human race.
Therefore, O Lord our God, who has sent forth Thy truth to Thine inheritance, and Thy covenant unto Thy servants our fathers, even Thine elect from generation to generation. Look Thou upon Thy servant, N., and upon Thy handmaid, N., and establish and confirm their betrothal in faith, in oneness of mind, in truth and in love.
Thou, O Lord, declared that a pledge should be given and confirmed in all things. By a ring was power given unto Joseph in Egypt; by a ring was Daniel exalted in the land of Babylon; by a ring was Tamar’s integrity revealed; by a ring did our heavenly Father show compassion upon His son, for He said, put a ring on his right hand, and kill the fatted calf, and let us cat and rejoice. Thine own right hand, O Lord, armed Moses in the Red Sea. By Thy true word the heavens were established, and the foundations of the earth were made firm. By Thy mighty word and Thine uplifted arm, the right hands of Thy servants shall be blessed. Therefore, O Master, do Thou now Thyself bless this putting on of rings with Thy heavenly benediction: and let Thine Angel go before them all the days of their life.
For Thou are He who blesses and sanctifies all things, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
**Choir. **Amen.
The Order of Marriage is composed of two parts; the Betrothal and the Sacrament of Crowning. The Betrothal, being a rite, is usually celebrated in the Narthex at the Church. The exchange of rings is its distinctive act. After the Litany of Peace with added petitions for the blessing of the Betrothal, the Priest prays that they will receive perfect and peaceful love and that God will bless the Betrothal and unite them in peace and oneness of mind. The Priest then puts on the rings and they are exchanged thrice in the Name of the Holy Trinity; as a sign of their mutual pledge of integrity in love. The ring is placed on the right hand as the hand of power and of blessing. With the words of the final prayer, “let Thine Angel go before them all the days of their life,” the Betrothal ends and the next movement is anticipated. The Priest now leads the Bride and Groom into the Nave of the Church during the singing of Psalm 128. In some churches the Priest, having given the end of his stole to be held by the Bride and Groom, leads the bridal procession into the Nave. He then asks the Bride and Groom to indicate that they are entering marriage freely without coercion, and that they are not committed to marry any one else.
 
Liberian said:
Daniel,

Luke is pretty explicit that Jesus was born in Bethlehem; thus He had not been born when Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem. You are right, though, that they probably didn’t travel alone. You are also right that the Magi found them in a house (a week and a half later, if the celebration of Epiphany means anything; certainly after some interval of time); I doubt seriously that any woman (or man, for that matter) in Bethlehem would have left them in the stable with a newborn. Finally, Herod was just being thorough; the order to kill all boys two years and younger was making sure that Jesus didn’t slip through his net.
  • Liberian
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Jesus was born in Bethlehem and when the Magi found him he was living in Bethlehem. When the Magi came to Herod he asked them the exact date that the star had appeared. After he found out he had been deceived he “had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men.” If Jesus had been born only a week or two earlier, Herod would have had no reason to have children two and under killed.
 
OriginalJS said:
Jesus was born in Bethlehem and when the Magi found him he was living in Bethlehem. When the Magi came to Herod he asked them the exact date that the star had appeared. After he found out he had been deceived he “had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men.” If Jesus had been born only a week or two earlier, Herod would have had no reason to have children two and under killed.
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There’s nothing to say that the star couldn’t have appeared to the wise men well before Jesus was born.

This could have been the way it happened, in order that the Magi had sufficient time to follow it and make the long journey, and arrive in Bethlehem at or soon after the time of his birth.

But they and Herod couldn’t know how old the child was - whether he had been born at the time the star first appeared or not. To be safe, Herod decided to kill all children born since the star first appeared.
 
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