Marriage

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: UK Jain Academy

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The orthodox marriage ceremony comprises of a series of stages that are deeply rooted in religious and social traditions and that have been preserved and honoured over time and another from wedding. Marriage is considered to be a sacrament and prayers are said for the blessing of the couple, their happiness and their lifelong union. I Children hold lighted candles throughout the service. These candles are like the lamps of the five wise maidens of the Bible who having enough oil in their lamps, were able to receive the Bridegroom Christ
HOPE when He came in the darkness of the night. The candles symbolise the
LOVE spiritual willingness of the couple to receive Christ who will bless them through this sacrament. The lit candles symbolise the purity of the life of the bride and the groom that should shine with the light of virtue.
LOVE
Telli
Fration
The religious ceremony comprises two parts: 1) The Betrothal Service
2) The Marriage Service
1) The Betrothal Service This service begins with supplication for the peace of the whole world and for the couple who are being betrothed. This is followed by brief prayers and the exchange of the wedding rings.
The Wedding Rings The rings are blessed by the priest who takes them in his hand and making the sign of the cross three times over the heads of the bride and groom, he says: "The servant of God, [name], is betrothed to the maid of God, [name], in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." The priest places the rings on the fourth finger of the hand of the bride and groom and the best man then exchanges the rings with the maid of honour, taking the bride's ring and placing it on the groom's finger and vice versa. The exchange of the rings continues by all witnesses in turn and the Betrothal Service ends with a prayer that the Lord might make strong their betrothal in faith, truth and love and make them of one mind.
The rings are the symbol of betrothal from the most ancient times and the exchange of the rings symbolises the unbreakable bond of Christian Marriage. The exchange signifies that in married life the weaknesses of one partner will be compensated for by the strength of the other and the imperfections of one by the perfections of the other. By themselves, the newly betrothed are incomplete but together they are made whole. Thus the exchange of the rings gives expression
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