Select one of the Christian rites of passage and explain the differing ways it is celebrated in Christianity
RE GCSE Coursework
Question One
Select one of the Christian rites of passage and explain the differing ways it is celebrated in Christianity
Marriage
The Orthodox Marriage is not seen to unite a man and woman. Rather, it is seen as a sign that God has already begun to work in the couple's lives. It signifies that 'as long as the union remains within the reality of this world, it will be subject to sin, pain, and death.' In the Orthodox service, there is no exchanging of vows, nor is the phrase ''till death do us part' mentioned at any time. If you make the commitment of marriage in this world, the Orthodox Christians believe that it will continue for all eternity in God's Kingdom, even after death. They believe that Christ has destroyed death by His Cross and Resurrection; therefore, the union of man and woman in Christ is eternal.
The Orthodox Sacrament of Marriage actually consists of two parts: The Exchange of Rings and The Crowning. The first part of the service takes part in the entrance of the church because this area is seen as the closest part, in a church, to the outside. The couple are prayed for, and the relationship is blessed as one which began 'in the world'. After the blessing, rings are exchanged and are placed onto the right hand (the hand which is normally used for making oaths). The rings symbolise betrothal, agreement, authority and stewardship, and the exchange can be seen to symbolise the compliments which the bride and groom will be giving each other for the rest of their lives. The exchange can also represent a pledge to share and exchange both their physical and spiritual goods, a pledge of eternal love and devotion.
After the Exchange of the rings the priest leads the couple in procession into the middle of the church. The priest chants Psalm 128, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways..." This psalm is one of the "Psalms of Ascent" sung by Jewish pilgrims on the way to the Jerusalem Temple. The couple brings themselves, each other, their lives, and all that fills their lives, to the altar as an offering to God. As the couple enters into the midst of the Church, their relationship enters into the new reality of God's Kingdom.
After walking into the church the couple individually tell the congregation that they have come to be married freely by their own choice, with no constraints or prior commitments and are able to be joined by God as husband and wife. The bride and groom are then given candles, which they hold for the rest of the service. The candle represents the Light of Truth, Jesus Christ, and that they will have their way through life lighted by the teachings of the Church.
Prayers are offered on their behalf, and then the groom and bride are crowned by the priest "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". These crowns have two meanings. First, they show that the man and woman believe in Christ's authority and teachings. Second, as in the ancient Church, crowns are a symbol of martyrdom. The word "martyr" means witness. The bride and groom witness to the presence of Christ in their lives and in the world. Martyrdom is usually associated with death. So God's Kingdom in the life of the husband and wife will necessarily mean that they give their entire life, their entire existence to each other.
The epistle is taken from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians (5:20-33) and read to the bride, groom and congregation. It clearly shows the Christian vision of marriage: the love of man and woman is the equal to the love of Christ and the Church. 'As Christ gives Himself totally to and for His Church, so the husband is to give himself totally to and for his wife. As the Church, in turn, is subject to Christ, so the wife subjects herself to her husband.'
The gospel, from John (2:1-11), is the account of the Wedding Feast ...
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The epistle is taken from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians (5:20-33) and read to the bride, groom and congregation. It clearly shows the Christian vision of marriage: the love of man and woman is the equal to the love of Christ and the Church. 'As Christ gives Himself totally to and for His Church, so the husband is to give himself totally to and for his wife. As the Church, in turn, is subject to Christ, so the wife subjects herself to her husband.'
The gospel, from John (2:1-11), is the account of the Wedding Feast at Cana where Christ turns the water into wine. A person must drink water simply to survive. Wine, on the other hand, is associated with joy, with celebration, with life as being more than survival. By Christ's presence at this wedding He changes the union of man and woman into something new. Marriage becomes more than a legal procedure it becomes, like the Church itself, a sign that God's Kingdom has begun in their lives.
After more prayers, a common cup of wine is blessed and shared by the couple as a sign of their shared life together. This is followed by the triple procession around the centre table. This is called the Dance of Isaiah. The hymns return to the theme of martyrdom and union with Christ. These are the hymns that, since ancient times, the Orthodox Christians have used to emphasize God's blessings. They are the same ones sung at ordinations into clergy orders and signify that this couple has decided to live a life in Christ. Throughout the service things are done in threes in remembrance of the Trinity. Man is made in the image and likeness of God. Marriage is intended by God to be an image of the Trinity. It is treated as the union of three persons, not two; Man, Woman and God.
At the end of the service, the crowns are removed and the priest prays that God will receive these crowns into His Kingdom. Husband and wife must receive God's Kingdom and make it both a present reality and a challenge and goal of their life.
To finish the service, the couple stands at the foot of the altar. From the beginning, at the back of the church, they have now moved the front. Only the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ, as signified by the Altar, is still ahead of them. Their final movement is to turn and face the congregation. Through this sacrament, they have become an icon of the Church and icon of Christ and the congregation comes up to congratulate them and share in their joy.
The Orthodox ceremony is full of symbolic meaning and tradition, but the Quaker service is slightly different. It doesn't have much tradition incorporated into the service, and is more into the formal side of the marriage; the proclamation of a persons love for another in the eyes of God.
There are two types of Quaker traditions: 'programmed' and 'unprogrammed.' During unprogrammed worship, the congregation sits in silence and, if moved by 'divine inspiration' they are welcome to speak to the rest of the congregation. This is called vocal ministry, and everyone present--Quaker and non-Quaker--is welcome to participate.
Programmed services are planned in advance and may include hymn singing, vocal prayers, Bible reading, silent worship, and a sermon. Worship at a programmed service is usually led by a pastor (vicar); at an unprogrammed service, an 'elder' (someone who has been a member of the church for many years) usually sits on a bench at the front of the congregation and signals by shaking hands with those near them that the service has ended.
Other than the bride and groom exchanging vows and signing a marriage certificate, an unprogrammed Quaker wedding ceremony is very much like an unprogrammed Quaker worship. There will be lots of silence, and a few people may speak. No one should feel forced to speak. The bride and groom will probably be seated at the front of the meetinghouse, and sometime during the service members of the meeting house or friends or relatives of the newlyweds will bring the wedding certificate for them to sign. Guests also sign the certificate. This is usually done after the ceremony.
Quakers have always seen marriage as a religious commitment, rather than just a legal contract. In 1669, George Fox (1624-1691) described the Quaker view of marriage:
"The right joining in marriage is the work of the Lord only, and not the priest's or magistrate's; for it is God's ordinance and not man's ... we marry none; it is the Lord's work, and we are but witnesses."
A Quaker wedding is a simple meeting for worship. The couple make a commitment to each other in the presence of God and their friends and family. During the meeting for worship the couple take each other freely and equally as life-long partners, committing themselves to joining their lives together in loving companionship and asking God's blessing on their union. There is no priest to lead them as they make their promises.
The wedding will be very informal compared with weddings from other traditions. The bride and groom may already be at the meetinghouse together to greet the guests, and then may quietly slip into the meeting room along with their friends or they may come in when everybody else is seated. In the past, everyone stood as the couple entered but this is less common now. The meetinghouse would look much the same as usual, though it will probably have more chairs and flowers. Near the couple will be a table with the Quaker wedding certificate and a pen. The couple will be dressed simply.
Clothing is totally different in a Quaker service to that worn in an Orthodox wedding. Even though I did not mention it, the Orthodox weddings are normally very formal, with men wearing suits and the women in dresses, with the bride's maids and Bride in long dresses, usually white. But in the Quaker service, even though an important event in the lives of those involved, is normally very relaxed. Women are asked to wear skirts, and men to wear shirts, but other than that, there are no strict guidelines or traditions. In Quaker weddings there are rarely bridesmaids, best men, ring bearers etc.
At the start someone will explain briefly what is going to happen then the meeting will settle in to silence. When they feel ready, perhaps after ten or fifteen minutes, the bride and groom stand and take it in turns to make their promises, while holding each other by the hand:
"Friends, I take this my Friend, [...], to be my husband/wife, promising through divine assistance, to be unto him/her a loving and faithful wife/husband, so long as we both on earth shall live."
There are some variations allowed in the wording, for example:
"Friends, I take this my Friend, [...], to be my husband/wife, promising with God's help to be unto him/her a loving and faithful wife/husband, until it shall please the Lord by death to separate us."
The couple sign the wedding certificate, which records their promises, followed by two witnesses (often the parents) and then the registering officer reads out the whole certificate. (Everyone present is responsible for witnessing and upholding the marriage so everyone else will sign the certificate too, even the youngest child, but as this signing can take a long time to complete it is usually resumed after the meeting for worship.)
The meeting for worship continues, perhaps for another half hour. During that time anyone who feels moved to may speak, offer a prayer or a reading, just as in a normal meeting for worship. The meeting ends when the elders shake hands.
As you can see, there are no special ceremonies such as 'the crowning' or 'the exchange or rings'. It is simple and to the point, unlike the Orthodox which relies on tradition and symbolism. The Church of England service differs from both the Quaker and Orthodox services.
In the C of E service, like in the Quaker, there are very few things that have to happen to keep to the marriage regulations, but, like the Orthodox service, there is a lot of tradition and superstition attached.
The groom enters the church before the bride, and takes his place at the front. The congregation are also expected to be at the church 15 minutes before the bride arrives. He would be traditionally wearing a suit. At this point, the groom has not seen the bride for the last 24 hours, as -according to tradition- it is unlucky.
The bride then enters the church, and led by her father she walks toward her partner who stands up to be beside her. Her father walks her towards her husband because this symbolises him 'giving away' his daughter. This stems from the time when women were the property of men, and a father used to give his daughter away to the man who he thought most worthy. Later in the service he hands his child's hand to her husband, This also comes from the time when women were owned and the man would ask her father for his daughter's 'hand in marriage'.
The entry takes place to music, more commonly 'the wedding march'. During this, the congregation have risen from their seats. The father of the bride then steps back, the bride passes her bouquet back to her bridesmaids, and in a normal service a hymn would be sung.
In a Church of England wedding, the bridesmaids are there to take care of the bride, making sure she looks her best, and is in the right place at the right time. Traditionally the bridesmaids should be unmarried, therefore they would still be 'maids', but in recent years, this tradition has been mostly disregarded. The best man is there to look after the groom, and does basically the same job of the bridesmaids. However, in the absence of a ring-bearer, the best man may be asked to look after the rings until they are needed in the service.
After the hymn is sung, the congregation sits and the vicar acknowledges those present and then reads the Christian Purpose of Marriage. He then asks the congregation if there is any reason why the couple could not be married in Holy Matrimony. This is to ensure that the groom or bride have not many any prior commitments to others. However, there is rarely a marriage that is stopped in this way.
There is then a time for readings from the Bible and other relevant sources. Unlike in the Quaker ceremony, the Groom and the Bride carefully prepare this beforehand. There is then the optional choice of a talk from the vicar.
Vows are then exchanged. The common set of vows is as follows:
"I, [...] take you, [...], to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'till death do us part, according to God's law, and this is my solemn vow.
These vows can be changed if the couple so wishes it, but normally the male's vows remain unchanged. The female's vows are different. Whereas they used to read 'to love and obey' a legal, and widely used variation is 'to love and to cherish', making them the same as the groom's. There is the option of using personal vows which the couple have written themselves. This practice is becoming more and more common.
After the vows, rings are exchanged. Like in the Orthodox wedding, the rings symbolise betrothal, agreement, authority and stewardship, but in the Church of England service, they can also symbolise eternity. Even though in the vows it says 'till death do us part', the belief is that the love will last forever, as in the Orthodox beliefs.
The vicar now proclaims that the couple are married and are legally, and in God's eyes, husband and wife. The husband 'may now kiss the bride'. The couple are then blessed and it is prayed that no man should break the bond of the marriage, which has been made before the eyes of God. The congregation then sings as the couple leave them to sign the register in the back room. The register does not have so much religious meaning as it is a legal requirement. Two witnesses must also sign the register as well as the vicar.
The couple then returns to the front of the church and another hymn is sung. The vicar speaks the final prayer and then the husband and wife leave the church, followed by the bridesmaid's best man, parents and the rest of the congregation.
After the service the Bride is to throw her bouquet behind her, and the person to catch it is, according to tradition, going to be next to find true love and get married.
Each of the services has their different characteristics, and each differs to the others. Orthodox is very like the Church of England, but in my opinion, I think that it has more symbolism in it than the C of E. The Quaker ceremony is very different to both. The service is free and unrestricted. Even though it lacks the symbolism and the traditions of the C of E and Orthodox ceremonies, I think that the freedom of speech in it makes the service very special, and every wedding different.
Lucy Crabb RE Summer Term
