Crowning in Marriage
Marriage is the Mystery in which husband and wife are united as one in the communion of marriage, to reflect the love which exists between Christ and His Bride, the Church.
Guidelines | Choirs & Cantors | Epistle Readings
Guidelines
The First Steps
- Congratulations! We extend our best wishes to you both, as you begin a life-long journey, shared together as husband and wife. May you also be blessed in your decision not to make this journey alone, but to invite our Lord Jesus Christ into your marriage and to walk with Him in faith and devotion all of the days of your life. As you prepare, it worth keeping in mind the following promise made by Jesus, which also applies to marriage and family life: “For where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20).
- Belonging to a Parish. As you make preparations to establish a new family home, whether it be a house, an apartment or a condominium, at the same time, it is also important to commit to a “spiritual home,” a place of gathering, prayer, worship, fellowship and service, where a parish community will eventually become your “extended family.” If you are not currently members of any particular parish, we take this opportunity to invite and welcome you to our parish community and to make St. Josaphat’s Cathedral your “spiritual home!” To become members, simply call the parish office, or fill out one of the membership cards at the back of the church and place it in the collection basket during the Divine Liturgy
- Tentative Date and Time. Most weddings are held on Saturdays at the following times: 11:00 am; 1:00 pm; and 3:00 pm. Times however, may vary. If both parties have never been married before, a tentative date and time may be booked over the phone or in person, and later confirmed at the first interview with the pastor. If you or your fiancé have been married before, please inform the pastor or priest about your situation as soon as possible.
- Baptismal Certificate. You will need to contact the parish church where you were baptized to obtain a newly issued Baptismal Certificate. If you have any difficulties obtaining a recent Baptismal Certificate, please let us know.
- Witnesses. You will require two witnesses for your wedding. This role is normally fulfilled by the best man and maid-of-honour. At the first interview, you will need to provide the priest with the names of your chosen witnesses, along with their contact information.
- First and Second Interviews. Please bring a recent issue of your Baptismal Certificate to the first scheduled interview. The first interview provides the priest an opportunity to meet with you, to discuss your desires and plans, and to fill out the necessary forms required by Canon Law. The second interview, which may be scheduled several weeks or months later, will focus on important issues concerning married life and your readiness to enter into the Mystery of Christian Marriage, understood as an indissoluble covenant of love.
Further Requirements
- Marriage Preparation. All couples are required to take the Marriage Preparation Course offered at St. Josaphat’s Cathedral annually, in the month of February.
- Faith Inquiry. If the marriage is between a Ukrainian Catholic and a non-Catholic, it is recommended that additional sessions of instruction be taken by the couple together.
- Adult Catechumenate Program. If one of you is not Baptized and/or Chrismated and wishes to be fully initiated into the Catholic Church, please notify the priest as soon as possible. The preparation of adults for Christian Initiation begins in September and ends in March. All adults are Baptized and/or Chrismated on Holy Saturday, the day before Holy Pascha (Easter).
- Permission to Re-Marry. If you or your fiancé have been married before, and you have not yet received permission to re-marry in the Catholic Church, we will need to submit your case to the Marriage Tribunal as soon as possible. Once permission is obtained, we will be able to proceed with the scheduling of a date and time for the wedding service.
Final Preparations
- Spiritual Preparation. Marriage is a Holy Mystery or Sacrament. Please prepare spiritually for your wedding day with personal prayer, regular attendance at Sunday Liturgy, Holy Confession and Holy Communion.
- Marriage License. Couples are responsible for obtaining a marriage license from one of the Registries prior to their wedding. Please bring the marriage license to church on the day of the rehearsal.
- Wedding rehearsals are usually held on Friday night before the wedding, at 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. Rehearsals may also be held on Thursday night.
- Promptness and Attire. Please ensure that everyone arrives on time for the rehearsal and for the wedding service. Modest and proper attire is mandatory for the rehearsal and for the wedding service. Please use common sense and good taste and judgment.
- The Wedding Service. In the Byzantine tradition, the wedding ceremony (about 50 minutes) is a distinct service, which does not include the celebration of the Eucharist (Divine Liturgy). However, if you wish, the wedding service may be combined with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, allowing for the reception of Holy Communion.
- Liturgical norms. Please note that wedding services follow the liturgical norms of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Some exceptions are permitted with respect to the entrance procession, the signing of the register, and the final recession.
- Cantor/Choir. The presence of a cantor or choir for the service is essential, because they lead the congregation in all responses. Couples are responsible to make the necessary arrangements to ensure that a cantor or choir will be present at the wedding to lead the singing. See Appendix 1 for options and contact information.
- Soloists, Musicians and Other Music. If you have soloists or music in mind, please inform the priest as soon as possible. All requests for non-liturgical music will require the review and approval of the Cathedral Music Director, Dr. Melanie Turgeon. Musicians may provide instrumental music prior to the service, for the entrance procession, the signing of the register and the final recession. There is no instrumental music during the marriage service proper.
- Wreaths or Crowns. The most important moment during the wedding service is the crowning, during which the priest invokes the Holy Spirit to descend upon the couple, to unite them and to “crown them with glory and honour.” For the crowning, metal crowns or wreaths made of periwinkle may be used. The preference is to use wreaths. These can be easily prepared by your florist. Metal crowns are provided by the church.
- Icons. It is recommended that couples obtain two icons for their wedding ceremony: the icon of Christ and the icon of Mary with Child. These are placed upon the tetrapod for the marriage service, blessed, and then taken home to create the family home icon corner. Icons may be ordered from the following internet sites: www.easternchristiansupply.biz / www.uncutmountainsupply.com / www.holytrinitystore.com / www.religiousicons.com / www.antiochian.org / www.orthodoxgifts.com / www.catholiccompany.com / www.oramaworld.com / www.athineon.com / www.skete.com / www.store.ancientfaith.com / www.religiousmall.com / www.alphaomegachurchsupplies.com / www.istok.net
- Candles. The church provides candles for the bride and the bridegroom for the wedding service. However, if you prefer to use your own original baptismal candles, please inform the priest.
- Embroidered towels. It is suggested that the couple obtain two embroidered towels for their wedding. The first towel is used to bind the hands of the couple. This towel is later used to adorn the icons in the family home. A second optional towel may be used for the vows, upon which the couple kneels or stands.
- Wedding Rings. In accordance with Sacred Scripture, the Eastern Church, and Eastern European tradition, weddings rings are usually worn on the right hand. However, if you chose to wear your rings on the left hand, please inform the priest.
- Epistle Reading. As a couple, you will be able to select an Epistle reading from several options (see Appendix). A friend, a family member, or a member of the bridal party may read the Epistle for the marriage service. The assigned reader should be present at the wedding rehearsal.
- Booklets. The Cathedral will provide booklets for the wedding service in church. It is recommended that ushers distribute the booklets, to help guests find appropriate seating, and to collect the booklets at the end of the service.
- Decorations. If you wish to decorate the pews or aisles, please inform the priest. Certain decorations may be permitted. The use of tape is prohibited.
- Pictures and Video. A photographer or video operator is permitted to take pictures or to record the wedding service. Please request that the person arrive early and that he/she speaks to the priest.
- Flowers. Flowers are arranged through your florist and should be delivered to the church on Saturday morning or early afternoon. The florist should call the parish office ahead of time to make arrangements for a specific delivery time. For access to the church on the day of the wedding, please ring the doorbell at the parish office.
- Wedding Invitations. Please indicate on your invitations the exact location of the Cathedral and directions how to get there. The address of the Cathedral is 10825 97th Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5H 2M4 (on the corner of 97th Street and 108 Avenue).
- Donation to the Church. Taking into consideration the time and preparation required for weddings, couples are requested to make a gift-donation to the Cathedral to support the mission of the Church. A donation of $300 dollars would be generous and honourable.
- Additional Information. Please call the parish office, Tuesday to Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at 780-422-3181 for any further information concerning your wedding arrangements.
Choirs and Cantors
Quartets
Heruvymy Ukrainian Female Quartet
OR: Patty Tachynski 780-918-2407
Contact: Damien Zakordonski 780-906-1549 dameinzak@yahoo.ca
Full Choirs
Contact: Halyna Lazurko 780-481-0934
Contact: Damien Zakordonski 780-906-1549 dameinzak@yahoo.ca
Cantors (For Congregational Singing)
Melanie Turgeon 780-243-6208 Melanie.Turgeon@kingsu.ca
Epistle Readings
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Deacon: Let us be attentive.
Lector: Brothers and sisters! If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue forever; and knowledge – for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known. In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.
Lector: And with your spirit.
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:20-33
Deacon: Let us be attentive.
Lector: Brothers and sisters! Give thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another in the fear of God.
Let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord because a husband is head of the wife, just as Christ is head of the Church, being Himself Savior of the body. But just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also let wives be to their husbands in all things.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, cleansing her in the bath of water by means of the word, in order that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she might be holy and without blemish.
In this way also should husbands also love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh: on the contrary, he nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ also does the Church because we are members of His body, made from His flesh and from His bones. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery, I mean in reference to Christ and to the Church. However, let each one of you also love his wife just as he loves himself; and let the wife respect her husband.
Lector: And with your spirit.
Third Reading: Ephesians 3:14 to 4:6
Deacon: Let us be attentive!
Lector: Brothers and sisters! I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of His glory, He may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
Lector: And with your spirit.
Fourth Reading: Colossians 3:12-17
Deacon: Let us be attentive!
Lector: Brothers and sisters! As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Lector: And with your spirit.