Lydia wrote:jgress wrote:Well all I know is what's customary at St Markella's since I've only been to weddings there, and there they did not receive communion. We are strict about not performing church weddings for inter-faith couples, however. As I said, receiving communion after the wedding is part of the authentic marriage service, so what your priest says is correct, but I've also read that because of the traditional abstinence from sexual relations for one day after receiving, marriage services are typically not combined with communion any longer. It could be things work differently in your jurisdiction!
The GOC denies communion to a newly-married couple so that they can have marital relations right away? That's a rather sad commentary on human weakness.
It's a good thing Russian wedding receptions last all day and all night!
Exactly. My son's wedding reception ended past midnight. Besides, they did not get to their honeymoon destination until the dawn's light because they had to drive there, and traffic was extremely heavy due to fires, an ever present threat in California.
In the Early Church, newlyweds received Holy Communion which sealed their Holy Crowning. Why the change, or was there a change?
We know that the Holy Service of Crowning changed shortly after the Edit of Milan when Christianity was tolerated, and then once again when the Church was charged with performing marriage ceremonies after Orthodoxy had became the state religion. It was at that time, according to Father Alexander Schmemann that Holy Communion was not generally served because of all the mixed-faith marriages, so the "cup of blessing" was served instead of Holy Communion.
Did abstinence from holy kisses and the marital embrace before and after the reception of Holy Communion occur under the influence of Blessed Augustine?