On the history of the liturgical side of the sacrament of marriage

All seven Divinely established church sacraments were grouped in patristic antiquity around two sacraments as their centers. Being essentially separate acts, they were, however, adjacent to liturgical practice or to baptism, or to the Eucharist, and had a very close connection with these two sacraments, either in time or in the purpose of their performance. 1) According to the time of celebration, they were combined: with baptism - anointing, with the Eucharist - public repentance, priesthood and marriage. Confirmation took place immediately after baptism, in the same building, that is, in the baptistery. The act of remission of sins in repentance, which in ancient times had a predominantly public character, was performed during the liturgy and consisted of kneeling and laying hands of the priest on the heads of the penitents, after which they, along with all the faithful, were allowed to listen to the liturgy of the faithful and to receive Holy Communion. Tain. Initiation into hierarchical degrees, as with us now, was also performed in direct connection with the liturgy, so that the Eucharist was, as it were, the conclusion of the sacrament of the priesthood. Marriage was celebrated in ancient times in connection with the sacrament of the Eucharist, in which those married, after prayer and the blessing of the priest, began immediately, that is, at the liturgy. 2) The Eucharist for private repentance and for the consecration of oil was the goal and necessary (although not immediate in terms of time) completion. Thus, private repentance, although it was not performed during the liturgy, nevertheless, having received absolution from sins, on the next day after that, as with you now, they communed with St. Tain. In the same way, the anointing of the sick, although the timing of its execution was not connected with the liturgy, usually also led to communion; After anointing, the sick received instructions from St. Secrets. The sacrament of the Eucharist was thus the completion of both private repentance and anointing. Such a close connection with baptism and the Eucharist of the other five sacraments in liturgical practice - a connection that there is no sufficient reason to reject - had, in our opinion, no small influence on the historical fate of both the liturgical side of the sacraments and the disclosure of dogmatic teaching about them. The liturgical connection of confirmation with baptism, and of repentance, priesthood, marriage and consecration of oil with the Eucharist was, in our opinion, among other things, the reason for the underdevelopment in the ancient period of the ritual side of the sacraments connected with these two sacraments. In fact, it was difficult to surround the sacrament of confirmation with numerous rites when it was performed in connection with baptism, which had in ancient times, especially in the 3rd and 4th centuries. a very numerous circle of rituals and, in addition, when baptism was usually followed by the celebration of the liturgy. Further, given the duration of the ancient liturgy, it was inconvenient to lengthen it by introducing into it any extensive sequence of dedication or a wedding similar to ours. It was also very natural, with all respect for anointing as a grace-filled means, without prolonging its implementation, to hurry with the parting words of the sick person, giving him “the guarantee of incorruptibility and immortality,” as the ancient church fathers often called the Eucharist: and in this case, the Eucharist, being the most important final act of preparing the patient for the transition to another life, prevented, along with the patient’s condition, the development of the ritual side the preceding act, i.e. anointing. The only exception in this case is the sacrament of repentance, which its connection with the liturgy did not prevent from developing quite widely; we mean public repentance; here the circumstances and needs of the time were obviously stronger than the inconveniences arising from its close connection with the liturgy. But this close connection with the crossing and the Eucharist of the remaining sacraments, which, in our opinion, had an impact on the slowdown in one case (concerning the sacraments of marriage and consecration of oil) and on the complete cessation of the development of the ritual side in the other (concerning the sacraments of confirmation and priesthood), had some consequences for the history of the disclosure of the dogmatic teaching about the sacraments. It seems to us that it can be recognized as one of the reasons, of course far from the main one, of the phenomenon that we encounter in the history of the dogmatic formula concerning the sacraments. In addition to other important reasons 2, the later formation of the dogmatic formula concerning the septenary number of sacraments was, perhaps, influenced by the fact that liturgical practice highlighted two sacred rites - baptism and the Eucharist; placing them in a particularly prominent place, she thereby seemed to leave in the shadows, in the background, other sacred rites that stood in close connection with them, although these five sacred rites were considered very important sacred rites, coming out of a number of simple rituals. This must be said in particular about the Eucharist and the sacraments that were in close connection with it. The Eucharist, rightly always considered the greatest of the sacraments, the sacrament of the sacraments, due to the presence in it not of grace only in a visible sign, but of the true flesh and blood of Christ the Savior Himself, naturally could, as it were, overshadow the other sacraments: repentance, priesthood, marriage and the consecration of oil, and liturgical practice further contributed to the separation of the Eucharist at the expense of other sacraments and leaving the latter out of rank with baptism and eucharist. Thus, the well-known liturgical practice did not remain, one might think, without influence both on the history of the formation of the successions of the sacraments, and on the history of the disclosure of the dogmatic teaching about them. In the first case, it can explain the slowness in the formation of the successions of some sacraments (marriage and consecration of oil) and even a complete stop in the development or expansion of the ritual side of others (confirmation and priesthood); in the second case, the slowness in the formation of the dogmatic formula: “there are seven sacraments of the church.” The extent to which liturgical practice influenced the historical fate of the ritual side of the sacraments will be shown by a sketch of the history of the succession of marriage, which is the subject of this article. Our marriage sequence consists of two separate sequences: the “betrothal sequence” and the “wedding sequence.” I. Let's start with the “wedding sequence.” Our wedding can be divided into two parts. The first part consists of Psalm 127 with the chorus “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee,” from the litany, from three lengthy prayers of the priest, from the laying of crowns with the words “the servant of God is married to the servant of God in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy. Spirit,” the priest’s threefold blessing and the proclamation to them: “Lord our God, crown me with glory and honor.” The second part contains the reading of the Apostle and the Gospel with well-known choruses, an ekteniya (“everyone chants as in the liturgy after the gospel”), a priest’s prayer, a new ekteniya (“intercede, save, have mercy... the day of all is perfect as in the Liturgy of Zlat. and Vas. V. after the Cherubim or before the Lord’s Prayer, as in the Liturgy of Presanctification), the exclamation of the priest “and grant us without condemnation,” singing the Lord’s Prayer (with the usual conclusion in the liturgy: for Thine is the kingdom, peace to all, bowing heads), the prayer of the common cup and the offering of this cup to the newlyweds, walking around the lectern with the singing of St. song (Isaiah rejoice in the rest), removal of crowns with well-known words, two final prayers and dismissal. Of these two parts of the wedding sequence, the second part attracts special attention, presenting a striking similarity to the liturgy of the presanctified saints. Darov. This part of our wedding is undoubtedly the most ancient part of it. From ancient times we have enough evidence to affirm the existence of a close connection between the celebration of marriage and the celebration of the liturgy. In addition to the not entirely clear indications of this found in Clement of Alexandria 3, Timothy Bishop. Alexandria 4, Paulinus Bishop of Nolan 5, we have very clear and decisive evidence of this in the famous words of Tertullian: “Where, he says, can we get the strength to describe the happiness of that marriage, which unites the Church, seals the offering, seals the blessing, the angels testify, the Father affirms” 6. From this extremely remarkable testimony it undoubtedly follows that in the ancient church the celebration of marriage was in the closest connection with the Eucharist. The first expression: marriages “conciliates the church (conciliat ecclesia)” generally means that the marriage takes place in the church according to its prayers, the second: “confirms the offering (confirmat oblatio)”, that its celebration is closely connected with the liturgy, which is indicated by the word oblatio, the third: “seals the blessing (obsignat benedictio)”, - that the essence of the wedding lies in the blessing (with the invocation of the name, of course) Holy Trinity) a priest who places a seal on the spouses, just as a person is sealed by the grace of God in baptism: obsignat is an expression related to signaculum σφραγὶς, and this latter was used to designate both baptism and especially confirmation. In the light of such clear and decisive testimony, the above-mentioned not so clear testimonies of other church fathers and writers, which place marriage in a close connection with the Eucharist, or, as they put it, with the “participation of incorruptibility,” with the “making of an offering,” with the “sweating of Christ,” acquire significance. It is not clear from Tertullian exactly when marriage took place in the first centuries, before the communion or after the communion of those getting married: his words can be understood one way or the other, although it is more natural to understand based on the words “consolidates the offering” - in the sense that the church sacrament of marriage preceded the communion of those being married. In this case, the words of Paulinus of Nolan: “drink, O Christ, the new couple, united by the holy primate,” more clearly indicate the time of the blessing of the marriage, namely, that the prayer over the newlyweds was said by the priest before the communion of their holy Mysteries, after which, probably, the final prayer was still read, which Tertullian may have meant, when, after the words “he seals the offering,” then added: “Seals the blessing.” In full agreement with these testimonies of deep Christian antiquity are the remains of liturgical monuments that have reached us. For example, marriage prayers have come down to us in the sacramentaries of Popes Leo the Great, Gelasius and Gregory Vel. In these sacramentaries, marriage prayers are placed in the very canon of the liturgy, just before communion, after which the newlyweds accepted, another prayer was said over them 7. These remains of antiquity are dear to us in many ways. They show not only at what point in the liturgy the celebration of marriage was timed in ancient times, but especially that the celebration of marriage in the first centuries was included in the liturgy itself, that marriage prayers formed part of the liturgy of the faithful after the consecration of St. Darov. The totality of all the circumstances and historical data, not only those stated above, but also those cited below, allows (despite the relatively late time to which these sacramentaries belong to scientists 8 to think that this is exactly what happened in the first centuries of Christianity. The combination of the wedding with the liturgy did not allow, of course, the former to expand in the volume and number of prayers and rituals. Probably, the entire wedding that took place during the liturgy consisted of the singing of a decent psalm, one or two prayers, a blessing in the name of St. Trinity, joining hands and walking around the throne on which the consecrated were presented, at the same liturgy, St. Gifts. This was joined somewhat later by the ritual of putting on wreaths in the east and laying veils in the west. “We come to this conclusion by comparing various evidence from patristic works from the 2nd to the 5th centuries. 9 Clement of Alexandria speaks of “the laying on of the hand of the presbyter” and of “the consummation of marriage by the word (prayer).” Gregory the Theologian - about “the combination of young hands with the hand of God” and about singing Psalm 127 10, John Chrysostom “about prayers and blessings”, Innocent I “about the blessing that the priest places on those getting married.” But especially fully depicts the celebration of marriage by St. Peacock Bishop Nolansky in his wedding greeting to the son of Bishop Memor: “The sacred children of the priest are bound by a venerable obligation 11... Let the father bishop himself bless you: let him himself begin with sacred chants before the faces of those chanting. Most honorable Father Memor, lead your children to the altar of the Lord and hand them over with prayer with your holy hand. But...what kind of person is this person walking in quiet footsteps from afar? This is a man rich in many gifts of Christ the Lord, a luminous man, Bishop Emilius. Remembering his duties, in accordance with the legal order, Memor transfers his dear children into the hands of Emilius. And he, bowing the heads of both under the peaceful yoke of marriage with his right hand, places a covering on them and sanctifies them with prayer. Christ! Hear the priests praying and confirm pious vows through prayerful sacred acts. Give drink, O Christ, to the new couple, united by the holy primate.” In this greeting from St. Peacock, - in addition to the pronouncement of the obligations by the newlyweds, in addition to hymns, bringing the wedding couple to the altar, bowing their heads and praying - mention is made of the laying of the wedding veil, which in the West replaces the equivalent Eastern rite of laying wreaths on the Heads of the newlyweds. There is reason to think that in the first three centuries these rites were not accepted as church rites and that Christians avoided veils and wreaths due to their widespread use in paganism. Binterim 12 rightly notes that only from the 4th century. It became a custom for the priest to place a veil on the newlyweds, and that until that time, if a veil was used, it was only by the bride (as Tertullian says 13, who came to the altar with the veil already on her face. Numerous testimonies from the first three centuries also speak of the absence of the use of wreaths by the first Christians in general and during marriages in particular 14, which is very understandable and natural. The widespread use of wreaths in paganism and, moreover, the use closely associated with mythology (wreaths on the gods, on the winners of games, on cups and cups) should have inspired Christians with an aversion to the use of these decorations during marriages. Only after Christianity triumphed over paganism did Christians begin to use wreaths 15 and even adopted them as part of church rites, so that St. John Chrysostom already spoke about laying crowns in church on those getting married “as a sign of victory over voluptuousness” 16. If we accept that in the description of the triumph of virgins - contained in the work of St. Methodius of Patara “The Feast of Ten Virgins” - images of the heavenly triumph of virgins are taken by St. father from the church wedding ceremony used at that time, then we can assume the use of wreaths already at the end of the 3rd century. This description is so remarkable that, together with the words of Tertullian and Paulinus of Nolan, it deserves special attention. “Here,” says St. Methodius, our triumph, beautiful virgins! This is the reward for a pure feat of chastity. I pledge myself to the Word and accept as a gift the eternal crown of incorruption; having placed a crown on my head, I adorn myself with the bright and unfading flowers of wisdom. I go around with Christ, who rewards the heavens, around the beginningless and immortal King, I become the light-bearer of unapproachable lights and sing a new song with the face of angels” 17. In this image, in addition to the laying of crowns, attention is drawn to the mention of the circumambulation of the Tsar (i.e., the throne) with candles and the singing of St. songs: this is a new detail that complements the overall picture of a wedding in an ancient church. Based on a comparison of various fragmentary evidence that has come down to us from the 2nd to 5th centuries, we tried to restore the wedding scheme in these first centuries of Christianity, which, in our opinion, consisted of the above parts. But speaking about the composition of a wedding in the ancient church, one should not forget the significant amount of freedom provided in the ancient church to the primates of the church regarding both the number and volume of prayers and chants, as well as regarding the increase or reduction in the number of rituals that are not essential for the sacrament, and therefore the components of a wedding in the church that we have calculated above should be looked at as the most common norm for churches to perform this sacrament, which allowed minor changes and deviations from it. In a word, with the subsequent wedding it was, one might think, the same as with the liturgy. In addition, it is probable that the great saints of the East, St. Basil and John Chrysostom, who did so much, according to the testimony of St. Sophronius 18, for the organization of the entire divine service of the Eastern Church, the church wedding ceremony was not left without attention. Unfortunately, from the liturgical monuments of the Eastern Church, not a single monument relating to the wedding has come down to us from the IV, V and VII centuries, not to mention the first three centuries. Only from the 8th century. One short prayer has been preserved during the laying of crowns, placed in the epistle of St. Theodore the Studite to Simeon 19. Citing this prayer, St. the father makes it clear that he is not citing a prayer of his own composition, but a prayer that was used in his time during divine services; It is he who notes: “I present the prayers that are used during the laying of crowns not for teaching, but for renewal in memory; it is very remarkable that this very short prayer concentrates the content of two of our prayers (out of the seven included in the sequence of our wedding), namely the third (before the laying of crowns) and the fourth (after the Gospel and the litany), i.e. those same prayers which, as we will see later, in the most ancient liturgical monuments that have reached us are invariably the main and almost the only ones, since they are joined only by one more short prayer of our common cup. If the prayer given by St. Theodore the Studite, is not the result of an artificial union of St. fathers of the two prayers used in church services of his time, then it can be thought that this is the only prayer that has been used at weddings since ancient times, except, of course, the formula of blessing (in the name of the Holy Trinity), psalmody (Ps. 127) and, perhaps, a short actenia. Soon, however, in the same 8th century. or in the next 9th century. there was an increase in prayers, at first very insignificant; It is precisely this prayer mentioned by Theodore the Studite that was divided into two, and in addition, a third prayer appeared - the prayer of the common cup, unless it did not exist before. Of the two wedding sequences that have come down to us in the ancient Barberine lists and placed by Goar in his Euchologion, the first 20 is the most ancient (8th or 9th century) and brief consists of one actenia (similar to our first actenia 21, but shorter than ours), from our 3rd prayer (before putting on crowns), from laying on crowns, joining hands, alms of peace (priest), from bowing heads (diac.), from prayer (our 4th, which is read for us after the Gospel) and from the prayer of the common cup (our 5th). Thus, this following is three times less than ours: it does not contain our first two lengthy prayers, nothing is said about what the priest says when putting on the crowns, there is no reading of the Apostle and the Gospel with an ectenia, there is no ectenia before the Lord’s Prayer, just as there is no Lord’s Prayer itself with a well-known exclamation, nothing is mentioned about walking around the lectern while singing a well-known song, there is no prayer after removing the crowns and the final one prayers. This sequence is striking in its extreme simplicity. It has such a form and volume that it could easily be performed during the liturgy. Particularly characteristic here is the absence of the reading of the apostle and the gospel, easily explained from the assumption that the wedding according to this list took place during the liturgy before communion, therefore, when both the apostle and the gospel had already been read, repeating the reading from which seemed to be a violation of the harmony and established order of church services. The liturgical monuments we present below belong already to that transitional time when the wedding is separated from the liturgy into a new church service, while trying to arrange for itself to follow the model of the liturgy, in close connection with which it was celebrated for so many centuries. It is very interesting to trace the phases of development that the wedding sequence went through until the moment when it appeared in its present form. Greek and Slavic liturgical monuments of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries give us the opportunity to do this. Of the Greek monuments, we mean first of all the follow-up to the second Barberine list and the follow-up to the Cryptoferrato list of the 13th century. The second of the ancient sequences cited by Goar, from an unknown time, 22 is somewhat more extensive than the first. After the incense and the proclamation “blessed is the kingdom,” there follows: a short litania, reading of the apostle and the gospel with the prokeimenon (“The Lord is my illumination”) and a verse before the gospel (“thy wife is like a fruitful vine”), litania after the gospel (“wisdom, the face of all,” similar to ours, but more extensive), our 3rd prayer (before putting on the crowns), while laying the crowns, the priest says: “the servant of God is crowned with a crown of incorruptibility in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... places the right hand of the bride in the right hand of the groom”, deacon: “wisdom”, singer: “Crown them with glory and honor”, verse: “thou hast placed crowns on their heads”, deacon: “Let us pray to the Lord”, the priest says a prayer (similar to our 2nd prayer, but shorter than ours), then the prayer of the cup, the singing of the song: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee,” and the verse: “Blessed are all who fear the Lord (Ps. 127) and finally the prayer (our 4th, placed after the Gospel). Although this sequence also lacks much compared to our wedding, in any case this second edition of the wedding sequence is much more complex than the first and closer to ours. Here, in addition to the litany that is superfluous to the previous list, in addition to the mention of the priest pronouncing famous words when laying crowns and the singer singing famous verses, special attention is drawn to the reading of the Apostle and the Gospel with well-known choruses, as well as the priest’s recitation, in addition to three short prayers (as in the previous list), another more extensive one, somewhat approaching in volume to our second prayer. Not to mention the fact that in the sequence under consideration, Ps. 127 is supposed to be sung with the refrain: “Glory to Thee, our God,” and what’s remarkable, not at the very beginning of the wedding, as with us, but at the end of it, after partaking of the common cup. If the previous list undoubtedly testifies to the transformation of the wedding into a sequence separate from the liturgy, but does not reflect the centuries-old connection between the wedding and the liturgy (as is always the case: at the first stages of a new stage of existence, the past is always forgotten), then one of the Greek wedding sequences, which came to us from the 13th century. in the so-called crypto-ferrat list 23, loudly speaks of the past close connection of the wedding with the liturgy, although, just like the previous list, it undoubtedly declares the separation of the wedding from the liturgy. According to the Crypto-Ferrate list, at the beginning of the wedding, as with us, Ps. gates, and at the holy table there is a chalice having presanctified (St. Gifts), two crowns and a glass vessel filled with wine"; then, as with us (with the omission of only the question and “bless the Lord”), the first litania (ours, only somewhat shorter), our 3rd prayer (the first and second are not present), the pronunciation twice over the groom and then over the bride when putting on the crowns: “Lord our God with glory” (there are no words: “the servant of God is married”, there is no reading of the apostle and the gospel with well-known refrains), joining of hands, peace to all, your heads, prayer (our 4th, laid down for us after the Gospel; there is no ectenia after this prayer, there is no “grant us without condemnation”, the Lord’s Prayer is not prescribed), after this it is said: “and holding the cup he proclaims: the presanctified holy holy one and communes them,” then follows the prayer of the common cup, the conclusion is noted: “then holding the cup, he gives it first to the husband, then to the wife and he does this up to three times and gives the cup to someone or, as some (do), breaks it and then leaves.” There is no walking around the lectern with the singing of famous saints. song, our two prayers (6th and 7th) and conclusion. This list, presenting a remarkable simplicity of prayers (only three), being in this respect quite similar to the ancient Barberine one (8th century), testifies to the desire of the wedding ceremony to be transformed into the likeness of the liturgy of the presanctified saints. Darov. But his desire in this list appears only in embryo, since here, apart from the beginning of psalmody, there is no reading from the New Testament of St. Scriptures and proclamations: “the holy presanctified to the saints” - there are still no other details that bring the second half of the wedding closer to this liturgy: there is no liturgy before the Lord’s Prayer, this prayer itself with the exclamation: “and make us worthy.” The path indicated by the considered liturgical monument is followed by Slavic monuments of the 14th and 15th centuries. Thanks to handwritten service books and missals of the 14th and 15th centuries, preserved in our Moscow Synodal Library and described by K.I. Nevostruev 24, as well as data represented by the works of Simeon of Thessalonica, we have the opportunity to trace the gradual development of our wedding rite from the 14th to the 15th centuries. According to some monuments of the XIV - XV centuries. the first part of our wedding was less extensive than ours now, having a similar appearance to what it had in the Greek monuments we examined, and the second was nothing more than the second part of the presanctified liturgy. In this case, we mean the service books of the Moscow Synodal Library No. 344 (Kiprianov) and 345. Here we also do not find the first two large prayers at the beginning of the wedding, but there is only a relatively short third one, there is no reading of the Apostle and the Gospel and there is no walking around the lectern singing “Isaiah rejoice,” but there is communion with the presanctified saints. gifts with various exclamations, very characteristic: these are the larger features of difference from our wedding rite. In general, the wedding of that time was undoubtedly shorter than ours 25. – In particular, the wedding then consisted of the following. It began, as it does now with us, with the singing of Ps. 127 26, then litania (as with us), prayer (our third), the laying of crowns with the words: “Lord our God with glory, etc. 27, before joining hands, prayer (now placed after the Apostle and the Gospel, which were not supposed to be according to this sequence), Our Father 28, let us take in, the presanctified holy saint, “I will receive the cup of salvation” (singers), communion of St. the mysteries and then the prayer of the common cup and partaking of it 29 . After communion, further actions are described 30 as follows: “the same, leading to the bench, proclaims: Lord, Lord, look down from heaven and visit the sons of men.” This is proclaimed three times with the singing of verses. Then, for glory and now, “rejoice with joy through the Angel” (troparion). Finally it says: “I’ll put you on the bench.” In conclusion, he pronounces the prayer intended for the permission of the crowns. Instead of the blessing that is now given after the removal of crowns (“Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, etc.), then 31 the apostolic greeting was used: “brothers, rejoice in the Lord always.” The description of the wedding by Simeon of Thessalonica is essentially similar to the mentioned Slavic service books, since here the first two and last two prayers are missing, as well as the reading of the apostle and the gospel. Having said at the beginning that the newlyweds are led to the altar with the singing of Ps.127 32, holding candles in front of the altar and all the clergy having candles in their hands, then he speaks about the ectenia, the first prayer (our 3rd), about putting crowns taken from the throne on the heads of the husband and wife 33 with the pronunciation of the words “Lord our God” 34, about the second ectenia 35 and about the second prayer 36 (this prayer is the same as our 4th after the Gospel). Further: “we are vouchsafed without condemnation, Our Father (everyone sings), the cry of peace to all, the bowing of heads, prayer over the common cup (the same as ours), the exclamation (“for you are blessed and glorified”), the presanctified holy place to saints, one is holy (everyone sings), the communion of St. Mysteries, then - the common cup while singing: “I will receive the cup of salvation” 37, a special litania with the proclamation of the newlyweds and the recipient, an exclamation (“for he is merciful”), an apostolic greeting (“brothers, always rejoice in the Lord” to the words: “May the God of peace be with you”). “Immediately after this, taking them by the hands, he leads them to the altar and making a circle in joy about Christ, sings with the singers a song: Holy Martyrs 38, as at the ordination, and another: Glory to Thee, Christ God... Then he adds a prayer for the permission of the crowns (our prayer for the permission of the crown) 39... Finally, calling on Christ, so that He for the sake of His mother and the saints He gave mercy to everyone and salvation allows the crowns and the newlyweds, having received his blessing, go home with joy” 40. To see how gradually 1) two large prayers came into use on the one hand and, on the other, 2) the reading of the apostle and the gospel and 3) walking around the lectern, sometimes part of the wedding, sometimes not - for this we turn to the Serbian breviary of the 15th century. The succession described by Simeon of Thessalonica is, in terms of the degree of its development, something between the successions of the 14th century. And those contained in the Serbian missal, however, coming closer to service books No. 344 and 345. The closest thing to our following is the following that is found in the Serbian missal of the 15th century. 41 Here we find, although not exactly in the same order and form as ours, the first two prayers (combined into one, however) and the reading of the Apostle and the Gospel. This sequence 42 begins with litany and prayer (our 3rd), then follows the laying of crowns. It was performed as follows: Psalm 20 (“Lord by Thy strength”) was sung, crowns were laid three times and then the priest said: “Lord our God, who crowned the holy martyrs with glory and honor, Thou now also crown thy servant Onsitsa and thy servant Onsitsa” 43 . After the laying of the crowns, reading the Apostle and the Gospel. After the Gospel there follows a very lengthy prayer, which combines both prayers, now read at the beginning of the wedding. At the end of this prayer - (deacon) “let us love one another”, (choir) “Father and Son”..., the priest kissed both and they kissed each other with the words: “in our midst is Christ and is and will be.” Then prayer (as we have after the Gospel), the Lord’s Prayer, communion of the presanctified saints. Gifts, and immediately followed by a prayer for the communion of the holy cup, the greeting: “brothers, rejoice in the Lord,” walking around the lectern three times while singing: “Lord Lord, look down from heaven and see and visit your grapes, which Thy right hand has planted, O Lord” 44. In conclusion, two prayers are offered for the removal of the crowns 45. So, the consideration of the most important paternal testimonies and liturgical monuments related to the ritual side of the sacrament of marriage, we hope, has undoubtedly shown what an important influence on the entire subsequent historical fate of the succession of the wedding and on its current form the celebration of the sacrament of marriage during the liturgy, in direct connection with it, had in the first centuries of Christianity. It is clear, after all of the above, why in our breviary before the betrothal it is noted: “according to the divine litugy, the priest stands in the sanctuary, those who want to marry are about to marry,” why, finally, even in the Roman Catholic Church there is still a missa pro sponso et sponsa, although this is a special service, not part of the wedding itself. In particular, the following conclusions follow from all of the above: The oldest parts of our wedding ceremony must be recognized as our third prayer (before the laying of crowns), containing the remembrance of God’s institution of the sacrament of marriage in paradise, and the fourth (after the Gospel), pointing to the sanctification of marriage in the New Testament. Next is the singing of Psalm 127 and the communion of the common cup (instead of the communion of the Holy Gifts) and the blessing of the newlyweds in the name of the Holy One. Trinity. Less ancient: laying crowns with the utterance of famous words, walking around the lectern with the singing of famous saints. songs, the prayer of the common cup and some of the liturgies, namely the litany before the Lord's Prayer with the well-known exclamations of the priest, the singing of the Lord's Prayer itself, although the latter particulars vividly recall antiquity (we mean the ancient custom of celebrating the sacrament of marriage during the liturgy). Even less ancient: the first two prayers, readings from the Apostle and the Gospel with well-known refrains, as well as the last two prayers (6th and 7th) after the removal of the crowns. Let’s not even talk about the prayer for the permission of the crowns on the eighth day. II. The betrothal sequence, according to our liturgical practice, takes place in direct connection with the wedding, constituting something inextricable with the latter. Meanwhile, in fact, it is something completely separate from the wedding ceremony and in ancient times it hardly even existed as a church rite. True, the leading Christians, accustomed to doing nothing without the blessing of the church, the bishop and the elders, in all likelihood, very soon began to turn to the clergy with requests - to bless the wedding contract, which, according to Greco-Roman laws, they were obliged to perform in the presence of civil officials. And these contracts consisted of the following: 1) written consent was given by both parties to enter into marriage in the presence of witnesses on both sides; 2) a record of the dowry was drawn up, signed and sealed by those present, and a penalty was assigned to the party who refused the marriage; 3) gifts were offered on the part of the groom, usually called pledges, between which the groom usually brought a ring to the bride; Moreover, 4) the groom solemnly gave the bride a kiss and finally, both of them, knowing their union, joined hands. Such contracts were sometimes concluded several years before marriage. It is very likely that leading Christians, before concluding such a contract or after it, came to the bishop or elders, asking for their blessing to enter into the betrothal. True, there are no clear indications of this from the first three centuries. Although Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria speak about the ring 46, as well as about tabulae nuptiales, direct conclusions cannot be drawn from their words in favor of church betrothal. The ring is spoken of in such a way that it is clearly understood that the ring was given by the groom himself to his bride, and about tabulae nuptiales, although it is noted in Tertullian regarding marriages to idolaters: “Shall we really present before the Lord's tribunal marriage records (tables) from such a person? And are we really going to testify that the marriage that was forbidden by the Lord himself was legally performed? 47 - but nothing follows from these words except that the church was given knowledge of the betrothal and the marriage records or marriage contract, drawn up in the presence of civil officials, was presented to the leaders of the church by persons who wanted to complete their betrothal by receiving grace in the sacrament of wedding. Nevertheless, one cannot completely deny the existence of a custom, although not universal and not legalized, to resort to the prayers of the church and the blessing of the priest before a betrothal or after a civil betrothal, for a certain time before a church marriage. More data represents the period from the 4th century. At this time, undoubtedly, along with civil betrothal, there was also church betrothal. Nothing else other than this can explain, for example, the rules of the (11th) Council of Ancyra (314 - 315): “virgins who were betrothed and then abducted were destined to be returned to those who had previously betrothed, even if they had suffered violence from their abductors.” It is hardly possible to explain the origin of this church rule without the assumption that the church in this case protected not only a purely civil action, which would therefore require protection solely on the part of the civil authority, but also a church act, which therefore required a kind of protection on the part of the church authority. The circumstances in which the church was then (meaning the triumph of Christianity) contributed to the fact that the church put its stamp on actions that belonged to the civil sphere. Pope Siricius, a contemporary of St. John Chrysostom, also notes that a betrothed girl cannot be taken into marriage by another, for [for] Christians it is considered sacrilege to violate the blessing given to the bride by the priest 48. These words and the rule (98) of the sixth ecumenical council, which prescribed: “whoever takes a betrothed wife into marriage while still betrothed shall be subject to the guilt of adultery,” undoubtedly testifies that, along with the civil one, there was also a church betrothal, or, better to say, the civil custom of a marriage contract was completed with the prayers of the church. But, given the undoubted existence of church betrothal from the 5th century, it cannot be stated with certainty that from that very time church betrothal was mandatory for all Christians; their freedom was not given to the decision of the question: whether to complete the civil act with a church blessing or to be limited only to the civil one. From the above data, only one thing follows with certainty: if the betrothal was performed in the church, then it was indestructible, but in case of violation it led to church punishment: but this circumstance does not at all speak in favor of obligatoryness for all, except for civil, also church betrothal. There is every reason to think that church betrothal before the 10th and 11th centuries. was submitted to the desire and will of everyone. We have positive facts that indicate that Emperor Leo the Philosopher around 900) began, and Alexei Komnenos (1081 - 1118) completed the reform of civil laws on marriage, making it mandatory for everyone not only to get married in a church, but also to get married in a church, so that civil betrothal, although “it still continued to exist even in the 15th century. 49 - demanded, as an indispensable condition for its full legality, the completion of its church betrothal 50. This is best seen from the following words of John Bishop of Citras: “The new laws of the two kings Leo and Alexei Komnenos made up for the lack of previous laws on betrothal and marriage. Ancient laws allowed betrothal at the age of seven by consent and with a written contract. And the new laws appointed a later betrothal for the bride and groom and determined that the betrothal should be approved by nothing other than a sacred ceremony, and if the betrothal is performed incorrectly, then it is recognized as invalid and as if it had not happened” 51 . Probably at the same time, i.e. from the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century, betrothal began to take place at the same time as the wedding. There is no doubt that this was the case at least in the 15th century, as can be seen from Simeon of Thessalonica 52. It could hardly have been otherwise: as soon as early betrothals, several years before marriage, were prohibited by law, as soon as civil betrothal had to be performed shortly before marriage, it is very natural that, in order to avoid double church services, they began to coincide with the approval of civil betrothal required by law by church betrothal - to wedding day and thus perform the church betrothal and wedding on the same day. And all the above circumstances are important for us in the sense that they shed some light on the emergence and further fate of the “betrothal sequence,” as something hitherto, at least according to liturgical books, separate from the wedding sequence, although it is now taking place in practice in the closest connection with the latter. If the church betrothal arose from the very natural need of the betrothed to civilly approve their civil contract, i.e., the mutual agreement and marriage conditions, with the blessing of the church and the prayers of the church, and if this confirmation is not something essentially included in the sacrament, if, finally, this ecclesiastical approval of the civil act was left for a long time to the will of everyone, then until a certain time there might not have been a precisely defined sequence of the betrothal. This is exactly how it was supposed to be until the 4th century; in the first three centuries, in all likelihood, it depended on the discretion of the bishop or presbyter, to whom the betrothed came for a blessing, to clothe the blessing taught to him in one form or another, which is in complete harmony with the great freedom granted before the 4th century. leaders of the church in arranging the entire divine service. Even when church betrothal began to become part of a more general and permanent custom, i.e. from the 4th century, and when the norm and formula for performing a church blessing began to be developed, this formula was hardly distinguished by the complexity of rituals and prayers. Until the 6th or 7th century. the subsequent betrothal hardly went beyond the narrow framework of one short prayer, the blessing of the rings and the formula in our family: “the servant of God is betrothed... in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy. Spirit." The liturgical monuments of the betrothal that have come down to you do not go back in their antiquity earlier than the 8th century; we find them in the same lists - the most ancient Barberine (U.S. century) and Crypto-Ferrate (XIII century) - in which we find the sequence of the wedding 53. The betrothal sequence in both is much shorter than ours. Our betrothal ceremony consists of three prayers, of which the third and last is quite extensive, of two litanies and of putting on rings with the utterance of the famous words: “The servant of God is betrothed.” All this is arranged in the following order: after the incense and the well-known beginning (“bless the Lord”), the ektenia (quite lengthy), then the first short prayer (“Eternal God”), peace to all, bowing of heads, the second prayer (also very short: “Lord our God, from the tongue of the Church”), putting on rings with well-known words and a triple blessing, the third lengthy prayer (“Lord our God to the youth Patr. Abraham") and ektenia with an exclamation. As one would expect, in the ancient lists there is no third lengthy prayer, but only the first two short ones. According to the Barberine list (8th century), the entire sequence consists only of these two prayers with the words of the deacon: “your heads” 54; there is no third prayer in it, no litanies, not even words; “The servant of God is engaged,” words that, however, are not found in some other ancient sequences. According to the crypto-ferrat list (XIII century), there is already our beginning and our first ectenia (albeit in a modified, shortened form), the first and second prayers (like ours, with bowing of heads after the first), putting on rings, with the utterance of certain words and the change of both rings. In this list there is neither our third prayer nor the ecteny that follows it. This list also contains detailed instructions, similar to those printed in our missals regarding what the priest does, how the betrothed become, what rings are placed, how they change, and the like. The description of the betrothal by Simeon of Thessalonica (in the 15th century) is completely similar to the previous one, with the only difference being that putting on the rings (without uttering any words, however) occurs after the first prayer, so that the second is the final one; There is no third prayer in the ecteny. It is remarkable that the words: “betrothed,” etc. are not indicated in Cyprian’s service book (XIV century), in which the sequence is generally similar to the description of Simeon of Thessalonica; in the Cyprian service book the second prayer is the final one 55. As for our third prayer, we do not find it in the service books and missals of the 14th–15th centuries; in service book No. 345 (XIV century) there is indeed a third prayer, but not ours 56. It is also noteworthy that in the Serbian missal (XV century), in which the sequence of betrothal is set out similar to the sequence in the Cyprian missal, at the end of the betrothal, the communion of the cup is assumed, if not the wedding follows on the same day. From the above it follows that in following the betrothal we must recognize our first two short prayers as the most ancient. The utterance of the words: “the servant of God is engaged” and the first actenia are less ancient. The third prayer and the second, final actenia are of later origin. In conclusion, let us say a few words about the purpose of this article. By presenting to the attention of readers several data collected by us and, if possible, put into connection for the history of the succession of the marriage, we do not at all pretend to be a comprehensive consideration of the subject and the completeness of the historical material, leaving this to future special historical and archaeological research, the appearance of which would be very desirable; just as we are alien to the idea that our conclusions do not need any changes, in view of those unknown to us or omitted by us from attention. We only wanted, with our general outline of the history of the succession of the sacrament of marriage, to give the subject such a formulation of the study, which seemed to us more scientific, instead of providing fragmentary historical information about certain particulars in the celebration of the sacrament of marriage (such as: about the ring, crowns, walking around the lectern, the common cup, etc.), which until now, as far as we know, has limited our study of the liturgical side of the sacrament of marriage. The sacrament of anointing, however, was closely connected with another sacrament, namely the sacrament of repentance - not repentant only in its character (as a result of which in the most ancient testimonies, for example, in Origen, in other fathers and in the first dogmatic formulas, for example, in the monk Job of the 13th century, it is compared with repentance), but also in the time of its commission. It was preceded by repentance and ended with the Eucharist. The reasons are indicated in detail in our essay: “Dogm. the doctrine of the seven church sacraments in the works of the ancient fathers and writers. church." St. Petersburg. 1877 Strom. I. III, p. 10. Proving that marriage is not a sin, Clement says that “sin (that is, if marriage is a sin) cannot participate in incorruption, which is righteousness.” For Clement, as for other fathers of ancient times, ἀφϑαρσία was a term designating the Eucharist, and δικαιοσύνη of Christ himself. If someone calls a clergyman for a marriage ceremony and hears that this marriage is illegal... then should the clergyman listen to them or make an offering (προσφορὰν). See channel. Answers Tim. Ep. alex. question II. Book of Rules. Patr. curs. compl. t. LXVpoem. XXV. Epithalam. p. 633 vers. 1, 2, 11 etsecu., 190 etsqu. “Christ! Hear the priests praying and confirm pious vows through prayerful sacred acts. Give drink (imbue), Christ, to the new couple united by the holy primate and help chaste hearts by accepting the lifting of pure hands.” By the words “give Christ a drink” we most likely mean the Eucharist. Daniel, Cod. liturg. t. 1, p. 257–262. Compare, Binterim, Die vorzüglichsten Denkwürdigkeiten. Mainz 1830. B. VI, Th. 2, p. 80–92, where two prayers from the Gallican Sacramentary are given, but without the missa. If we agree with learned critics that the sacramentary of Leo the Great was compiled not by him, but by someone else at the end of the 5th century, but the oldest copy of the sacramentary of Gregory Vel. dates back to 800, then we have the opportunity, on the basis of these monuments, to form an idea of ​​how weddings were performed in the West until the beginning of the 9th century. and from here draw a conclusion to the most ancient practice and the Eastern Church, at least until the 6th or 7th century. These testimonies are collected in the article: “On church blessings and weddings - against newlyweds” (Appendix to the Works of the Holy Fathers. M. 1858, part XVII). See the testimonial quotes below in this article; we will only quote what is not there. Migue, Curs. compl. t. XXXVII (Euseb.amico ep. 231, p. 374). In a letter to his friend Eusebius, who is about to get married, St. Gregory, refusing to attend his wedding due to his painful condition, remarks: “Let others depict the beauty of the maiden... And I will sing you a wedding song. The Lord will bless from Zion, He will unite your marriage and the sons will see your sons (Ps. 127:6,7).” The words omitted here are quite remarkable; they can characterize the content of prayer during marriage in the 5th century. “May you dream of peace, chastity and piety. God sanctified the work of this union with his own lips, and made the first couple of people the divine right hand. The couple is indissoluble! live, always remembering me; Let the venerable cross be your yoke. May you be bound by the love with which the Church embraces Christ and with which Christ mutually loves his Church.” Compare with the last expressions. reasoning of St. Cyprianaep. Carthaginian about the Eucharist, as, among other things, expressing the idea of ​​the unity of the Church (Dogme. teaching on the sacraments in the works of the most ancient fathers, and church writers before Origen, pp. 372–373). Binterim, B. VI, Th. 2, r. 155. Tert., Devel. virginibus: tegantur virgines solae ad hoc nuptum venientes, nec antequam cognevernit sponsos (p. 4). Atqui etiam apud ethnicos velatae advirum deducuntur (p. 11). Just., I Apol. c. 9; minute. Fel., c. 12; Clem. alex., Paed. I. II, c. 8; Tert., Apologet. c. 43. Decor. Milit. c. 13 etc. 5. About the use of wreaths, it is not known whether as an ordinary wedding custom or as a church rite, St. Gregory the Theologian in the above epistle to his friend Eusebius. See cit. In the above article “Approx. to Creation St. father." See Pis. St. father and teaches. churches related to the istol. right theologian (SPB. 1855, vol. 1, p. 286): “some of the divine fathers composed prayers and offerings and the complete observance of sacred services, such as. Glorious among the saints Epiphanius and the great Basil and the divine Chrysostom.” See Binterim, B. VI Th. 2. This prayer reads as follows: “Thou Lord, send down Thy hand from Thy holy dwelling and unite Thy servant and Thy maidservant and mate them in one mind, crown them in one flesh (see our 3rd prayer), - them whom You please to unite with each other, show their marriage to the honest, keep their bed undefiled, keep them blameless cohabitation is favored to remain” (see our 4th prayer after the gospel). M. S. Barbor. S. Marci (Goar – Ευχολογ, edit. Paris 1647, p. 391 – 395). For the antiquity of this manuscript see ad lect. proemium. Gohar dates it back to the 8th century. It is inscribed: Εὺχὴεἰςγάμους; the word εὺχὴ is very characteristic. It is remarkable that this contains a petition for the blessing of the crowns. Barber. secundum sub No. 88 (Goar–edit Paris, p. 395–396). For this list, see the same preface. Caption: Ἀκολαυϑἱατοῦγάμου). The composition of the sequence according to this list (although it is not printed by Gohar) is quite clear from Gohar’s variae lectiones, which he appended to the current marriage sequence (see Gohar - edit. Paris, p. 394). For the antiquity of the manuscript, see its previous page. to the reader. We use the latest volume of “Descriptions of Glories. handwritten Moscow Synod. Bible Dept. third: Liturgical books (part one).” Moscow, 1869. Christ. Read No. 1–2, 1880 If we take into account that the first two prayers, which were not read then, and the apostle and the gospel make up five whole pages in our large-format edition of the missal, then it is clear how much earlier the wedding of that time took place than ours. Only without the chorus: “Glory to Thee, our God” (No. 344); sang this entire psalm (No. 345); according to the psalm there are no questions for the bride and groom (ibid.). There are no words: “the servant of God is getting married” (No. 144). V No. 145, when laying crowns, the priest pronounces the words of the psalm: “Lord our God, you have crowned us with glory and honor, and you have placed your hand over your works,” and so on according to the psalm. Then a short prayer: “Lord our God, who You crowned Your holy martyrs with glory and honor, Thou now crown Thy servant with a crown of glory and honor, a crown of peace, a crown of joy, to Thy praise and glory.” Troparion. “Isaiah rejoice” and others with walking around the lectern three times is not allowed (No. 345 and No. 344). In Cyprian’s service book (No. 341) according to the “Our Father,” the priest takes the chalice, “in it is the essence of the presanctified,” the deacon “let us look in,” the priest “the presanctified holy to the saints”; then he communes; the singers sing “I will take the cup of salvation.” Having taken St. Gifts to the throne, he then gives the common cup, having first said a prayer over it (the same as now), and when everyone has drunk, “they break the glass.” Nothing is said about the chorus “Glory to Thee our God.” “These crowns are accepted by the recipient of chastity and like-mindedness standing behind, who replaces them with a father and mentor in like-mindedness and good marriage” (p. 357). They are hinted at by the words: “I pray to the Lord and God of all to crown them with glory and honor.” “Having again asked for peace, he adds a second prayer.” The word "world" is his term for ectenia. On this occasion, he notes that marriage is actually the business of the bishop, but “is however granted to the priests with permission and, moreover, for each case of marriage.” Right there. At the same time, Simeon of Thessalonica makes the following remarks: The end of every sacred rite and the sealing of every sacrament is sacred communion. And the church does a wonderful job preparing the holy gifts. Unworthy of communion, such as bigamists and the like are not given divine gifts, but only a common cup - for sanctification in part, good fellowship and unity in the blessing of God” (pp. 359–360). It is remarkable that “Isaiah rejoice” was not sung. He does not mention our second prayer for the permission of the crowns (“the consonant has reached”, etc.). “And I eat the wife by the right hand and gives it to the husband in the right hand and then reads the apostle and the gospel.” The apostle read not the same as now, namely not from Ephesus 5, but from 1 Cop. 7: 7-14. “The priest speaks to him on his right hand: “Lord, look upon me,” etc. - instead of: “Isaiah rejoice,” and so on. One of them is the same as ours (“Lord our God came to Cana of Galilee”), the other is inscribed: a prayer to adorn the bride: “Lord, Lord, the devil of splendor”... Tertullian speaks several times about the ring, but his words are especially remarkable: cum aurum null anorat praeter uni codigito, quem sponsua opp ignoras set pronubo annulo (Apolog. c. 6). Clement of Alexandria says the same thing (Paed. I. III, p. 11). Ad uxor, l. II, p. 3. Nunquid tabulas nuptiales de illo apud tribunal Domini proferemus? Et matrimonium rite contractum allegabimus, quod vetuit ipse? In another work (De virg. velandis c. 12) Tertullian distinguishes tabulae nuptiales from tabulae sponsales, noting: hae sunt tabulae priores naturalium sponsalium et nuptiarum. See y Bivterim the testimony of St. John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine and others, as well as Christian pastors about tabulae nuptiales. Epist. ad Himerium, c. 3 et 13. Simeon of Thessaloniki writes: “When the day comes when it is necessary to write, a meeting of honorable persons for witnessing takes place... that an agreement on a legal marriage is made. For this purpose, an official is also appointed, who writes the terms and places the seals of those agreeing in the form of a cross..., and the future spouses and their parents sign the cane, thereby expressing their voluntary consent and the fact that Christ combines them. That's why they first worship Him and then they take the trouble...; These contracts are called godparents and they cannot be terminated without any legal reasons... When the time has come for the marriage, the bride and groom come to the church” and then the church betrothal is described. Holy Scriptures of St. fathers and teaches. churches about rights. theologian St. Petersburg. 1856, vol. II, p. 353. We use the above-mentioned article Approx. to creation, St. father (About the church's blessings in marriage against newlyweds). This article quite thoroughly proves that it was from this time that church betrothal was an indispensable condition for legal marriage. See ibid. (pp. 263–263). Quite a few other data are given that prove the above idea (see, for example, the law of Leo and Constantine in the 8th century, p. 268 and other facts). “When the time for marriage comes, the bride and groom come to the church... The priest, having put on sacred clothes, first places on the sacred meal an iron ring as a sign of the strength of the husband and a gold ring as a sign of the tenderness and purity of the wife; then – the presanctified saints (Gifts)”; with the last expression he indicates preparation for the wedding; then the betrothal is described, followed by the wedding, at which there was the communion of these prepared presanctified saints. Gifts with the proclamation: presanctified matchmaking to the saints. See the writings of St. fathers, relative to right Bog., pp. 353–359. See Gohar for the Paris edition, pp. 383 – 384. For crypto-ferrat, see his variae lectiones. Here is the entire sequence as it was printed by Gohar. And here in the inscription, just as in the inscription of the wedding according to the same list, the word εὐχή is placed. Καὶ τοῦ διάκονος λέγοντας. Τὰς κεφαλάς ἐκεύχεται ό ίερεύς. Κύριοί όθεός ήμῶν ότὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν. See "Description". handwritten M.S.B.”, p. 24 (remark about another service book No. 345, related to Kiprianov). It begins: “We cut you off, Master Lord God Almighty.” You might be interested in: