Contents
- Wedding Preparation.
- Catholic wedding of representatives of different faiths.
- When can I get married?.
- Who can’t get married.
- Wedding ceremony.
The Catholic and Orthodox Church, according to priests, are very close to each other. But at the same time they have a number of differences that you need to know if you decide to get married in a Catholic church.
Wedding Preparation.
Catholics know that it is necessary to come to the church three months before the ceremony. During this period, the newlyweds are preparing for the wedding in the Catholic Church. A priest tells them about marriage from a Catholic perspective. There is even a special book on how to hold ten meetings with newlyweds who want to get married according to the Catholic rite.
During this peculiar training before the Catholic wedding, young people study the understanding of the family in the Catholic faith and, if they did not know, prayers: “Our Father”, “To the Virgin Mary”, “I Believe”.
Priests believe that such a "school" is very important for young people, because the Catholic faith is very strict. For example, the great sin is the use of contraceptives (condoms, spirals, pills). They explain to the newlyweds the sinfulness of these methods and talk about the natural method of family planning, from the perspective of the Catholic faith.
The wedding is held only after marriage.
Catholic wedding of representatives of different faiths.
At the wedding of representatives of different faiths, for example, Catholic and Orthodox, there are some nuances that you need to know before passing the rite. Children born in this marriage must be baptized and raised in the Catholic faith..
Newlyweds must know and accept this..
The priest who prepares the bride and groom for the ceremony must obtain permission to marry such a couple. He fills in special papers on which the newlyweds must confirm their promise of raising children. The representative of the Catholic faith - to sign the promise, and the Orthodox - under the notice of this promise. Bishop gives permission for a wedding in the Catholic Church.
Special permission is also necessary in the case of a Catholic marriage with a Muslim, Jew, or atheist. The differences between these cultures, the difference in worldviews are very large, and young people are necessarily explained the possible consequences of such a marriage.
When can I get married?.
Unlike Orthodox wedding traditions, a Catholic wedding can be performed on any day, even during Lent. The only rule is not to celebrate the wedding (do not hold a festive celebration) if the wedding is held in fasting.
Who can’t get married.
They do not conduct a wedding ceremony in the Catholic Church for blood relatives, as well as for people married to a third party. Here, too, there is a difference from Orthodoxy. There is no divorce in the Catholic Church. If one of the newlyweds was previously married, even in the Orthodox Church, he cannot be married according to the Catholic rite.
In preparation for the wedding, the priest asks the newlyweds questions, trying to find out possible obstacles to marriage. Such an obstacle may be impotence of one of them. Moreover, it is specified that it is precisely the inability to have sexual intercourse, and not infertility. A marriage is considered invalid if the priest performed the wedding ceremony without knowing this fact..
Wedding ceremony.
The Catholic wedding begins with the liturgy, prayer and sermon, which the priest once again emphasizes the importance of this step for the bride and groom.
After, he asks the newlyweds three questions:
Have you come here voluntarily and freely want to form a marital union?
Are you ready to love and respect each other all your life?
Are you ready to lovingly accept children from God and raise them according to the teachings of Christ and the church?
If the answer is “yes” to all questions, the priest prays for the descent of the Holy Spirit into a pair of newlyweds. After this, the newlyweds speak each other's oath.
At the wedding ceremony in the Catholic Church, you can do without wedding rings. If the newlyweds want, the priest will bless the rings, but the main rite is the utterance of the conjugal oath and the receipt of grace.
