Wedding Prayer

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Priest of mystical and undefiled marriage, and Ordainer of the law of the marriage of the body; Preserver of immortality, and Provider of the good things of life; the same Master Who in the beginning made man and establish him as a king over creation, and said: “It is not good that man should be alone upon the earth. Let us make a helper for him.”

Taking one of his ribs, You fashioned woman; and when Adam saw her he said: “This is the bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; what, therefore, God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

Do You now also, O Master, our Lord and our God, send down Your heavenly grace upon these Your servants; grant that this Your handmaid may be subject to her husband in all things; and that this Your servant may be the head of his wife, so that they may live according to Your will.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Abraham and Sarah.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Isaac and Rebekah.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Jacob and all the patriarchs.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Joseph and Asenath.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Moses and Zipporah.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Joachim and Anna.

Bless them, O Lord our God, as You blessed Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved Noah in the ark.

Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved Jonah in the belly of the whale.

Preserve them, O Lord our God, as You preserved the Three Holy Children from the fire, sending down upon them dew from heaven; and let that gladness come upon them which the blessed Helen had when she found the precious Cross.

Remember them, O Lord our God, as You remembered Enoch, Shem, and Elijah.

Remember them, O Lord our God, as You remembered Your Forty Holy Martyrs, sending   down upon them crowns from heaven.

Remember them, O Lord our God, and the parents who have nurtured them, for the prayers of parents make firm the foundations of houses.

Remember them, O Lord our God, Your servant and Your handmaid, and bless them.

Grant them the fruit of their bodies, fair children, concord of soul and body. Exalt them like the cedars of Lebanon, like a luxuriant vine. Give them offspring in number like unto full ears of grain; so that, having enough of all things, they may abound in every work that is good and acceptable to You. Let them see their children’s children, like olive shoots around their table; so that, finding favor in Your sight, they man shine like the stars of heaven, in You, our God.

For to You are due all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.