Ukrainian Catholic Wedding

 For many of you, this will be your first Ukrainian wedding. Because the ceremony and traditions are not familiar to everyone, we felt that you might appreciate a primer on how the ceremony takes place. The ceremony itself is a mixture of traditions from Eastern Rite Christianity and from Ukraine’s pre-Christian past. Don’t worry about learning all this: we’ll be providing a description of all these steps in the program on the day of the wedding. We’ll be doing the spoken elements of the ceremony in English, though some of the sung parts of the ceremony will be sung by the choir in Ukrainian. 

BEFORE THE CEREMONY

The Parents Bestow their Blessing: The first part of the service takes place before coming to the church and is limited to the families of the bride and groom. The parents present the icons to the couple, and both sets of parents provide their blessings and best wishes for the marriage before the family heads to the ceremony. The icons will be held by the starosta (male) and starostynia (female).

Starosty: Traditionally, these were the matchmakers who arranged the union, but today, this role is more symbolic and assigned to important family members or godparents. One from each side will be responsible for holding the icon during the ceremony.

THE CEREMONY

The Office of Betrothal: The first part of the ceremony takes place in the church vestibule. The priest meets the bride and groom in the entrance to the church, and the couple affirms that they are entering the marriage freely and as equals. The priest blesses the wedding rings in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and places them on the fingers of the couple. Because the parents have already bestowed their blessing, the bride and groom enter the church together, signifying the transition of their relationship from a secular union to one that is sanctified by the Church and by God.

The Crowning: During the service, the priest places crowns upon the couple’s heads, and it is at this moment that the church recognizes them as the monarchs of their new household. The priest also binds the couple’s hands together with an embroidered cloth, symbolizing the newly-sanctified union.

The Common Cup: After the priest reads additional Bible passages, the bride and groom take three sips of wine from a shared cup. The ritual of the common cup is based on the wedding of Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine. The cup represents life and symbolizes the couple's mutual sharing of joy and sorrow. As they drink wine from the common cup, they are reminded that from that moment they will share everything, doubling their joys and dividing their sorrows.

Taking the First Steps: After the couple’s hands are bound together, the priest holds their hands and walks with the couple around the tetrapod. These are their first steps together as husband and wife. They circle the tetrapod three times to represent an eternal marriage. 

AFTER THE CEREMONY

The wedding reception formally begins when the bride and groom arrive. They are met by their parents and the starosty, who bring bread (the korovai), salt, honey, and wine — the elements of a happy life together. The bread, in the form of the korovai, a special wedding cake, symbolizes nature’s bounty. Salt never loses its flavor and is always necessary in life. Honey symbolizes sweetness, and wine symbolizes prosperity. The family drinks the first toast together, and the couple shares a single glass to symbolize their union.

From there, all the guests will join in song to wish the couple “many happy years.” There are only two words, which are repeated several times, mnohaya lita (mno-high-uh lee-tah), so this is a great opportunity to learn a little Ukrainian.

From there, the real party gets started. In Ukrainian, the word for wedding reception (vesillia) and for joyful (veselyi) are closely related, and we are looking forward to celebrating this joyous occasion with all of you!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Am I going to have to sing in Ukrainian? No and yes. In the service, not really. However, you may find it helpful to learn the chorus that will probably come up intermittently all evening, “Mnohaya Lita,” which means “many years,” the only words in the song. So practice and join in: Mno-ha-yah lee-tah. You can do it!

What’s with the icons? Icons are a central element of the Eastern Christian heritage. These images are visual representations that bear witness to certain aspects of the faith and are designed to tell a story. Some icons depict Jesus, Mary, or the saints; others depict scenes from the Bible or angels. When a believer looks at an icon, he or she does not worship the image itself or pray to the image; rather, the icon draws the person in, focusing his or her attention on the aspects of the faith that it depicts. The icon facilitates prayer by engaging the Eastern Christian, just as reading the Bible may engage a Protestant, and in fact, one might argue, the two activities are analogous. Particularly in pre-literate societies, icons offered a way to tell the stories of the faith to people unable to read about it themselves. The two icons carried by the starosta and starostynia depict Jesus and Mary and will be kept by the married couple throughout their lives.