Icons of the wedding: what do we know about them

Certainly, many know that the sacrament of the wedding is the most beautiful church ritual. However, not everyone knows that one of its most important attributes are the icons of the wedding - these are the images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Since ancient times in Russia, these items have been valued by every family. Icons wedding should be selected with all seriousness and responsibility, and do it better in advance. These relics accompany the couple for many years and, ultimately, are inherited by the next generation, so they must meet all the criteria of longevity. These include, first of all, images created on a wooden board.

It is the wedding icons that are the connecting link between God and the brothers. The icon of the Savior bears in itself the features of the creator of everything earthly, which later became a man to take upon himself all human sins.

In the marriage concluded before God, the spouse becomes the bearer of the cross of family life, in order to live according to religious canons. The face of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is considered the patroness of the family, is a symbol of the good that the loving heart of the mother can give. And the young wife after marriage should be one with her husband, following the example of how the Mother of God showed firmness in the fulfillment of God's will.

Icons of the wedding are an integral part of the rite, which is performed by the priest in the church. In God's temple, they act as witnesses of the bride and groom, thereby connecting them "into the flesh one." After the wedding ceremony ends, the spiritual mentor blesses the young couple through the faces of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Upon the return home, newly married spouses are instructed by their parents and bring them bread and salt. In doing so, they also use wedding icons to bless their children. Having kissed the holy images and the parent's hand, the spouses go to their own house to identify the given icons with a place of honor, to light the icon lamp before them and to feel the Christian atmosphere that will accompany their house from now on until the end of their days.

The wedding icon will share with the spouses all the joys and adversities that they will encounter on the path of life. Looking at the holy faces, they will always remember that they swore an oath to each other in love and faithfulness.

Over time, the "home temple" of a married couple will have the so-called dimensional icons of saints who will protect their children from all difficulties and adversities. After children become adults and leave their homes, taking their God-given image, there will be family icons that will protect and protect all family members.

At the same time, it is the wedding icons that are considered the basis of family life, passed down from generation to generation, as a valuable relic.

The wedding as a ritual, and with it the norm to bless newly married icons, appeared in the Great Byzantium at the end of the fourth century.

Until the seventeenth century in Russia, the wedding was considered a privilege of the wealthy estate, and only after a hundred years it became available to everyone.