TheMystery of Crowning is a ritual component of thesacrament of marriage inEastern Christianity. Variations of the crowning ceremony exist in multipleliturgical rites, including theByzantine,Coptic,West Syriac, andEast Syriac Rites of theEastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox, andEastern Catholic Churches. The crowning ceremony typically features acrown being placed upon the head of both the bride and bridegroom, crowning them as the queen and king of a new family.[1]
Amongearly Christians, thepagan origins of crowning during marriage resulted in opposition, including fromTertullian. However, the practice gained acceptance as it was associated withBiblical and Christianized conceptions of victory;Paul the Apostle had in hisSecond Epistle to Timothy referred to a "Crown of Righteousness" as the eternal reward for righteous persons andJohn Chrysostom viewed the crown as a symbol of victory over "unregulated sexuality."[2]: 19
The Mystery of Crowning according to theByzantine Rite is a lengthy ceremony, the second rite of marriage after abetrothal ceremony. The celebrating priest places the crowns upon first the bridegroom then the bride.[3] After this, it is traditional for the couple to sip from a glass of previously blessed wine and exchange a single kiss.[4] The glass can then be broken in what has been described as a symbol of indissoluble union and compared to a similarJewish wedding ritual.[2]: 18 The Byzantine crowning is considered the basis of crowning rituals in theCoptic Rite and otherliturgical families. In theEastern Orthodox Church, it has been traditionally prohibited from occurring duringLent.[4]
Within the Byzantine Rite, the crowns are considered symbols of authority for the new "domestic church" formed by the creation of a new family. The Byzantine RiteEastern Catholic Churches, such as theRuthenian Greek Catholic Church, continue the practice with translations of the ceremony authorized inChurch Slavonic and English.[5]
TheMaronite Church, aWest Syriac Rite Eastern Catholic church, celebrates the two marriage services of betrothal and crowning. In Maronite practice, the Mystery of Crowning is also called "The Rite of Legal Crowning". The liturgy of the crowning is accompanied by multiple prayers,Psalms, andhymns that intend to emphasize the solemnity of the service;Ephrem the Syrian's "Christ the Heavenly Bridegroom" is recited. Authorized translations of the liturgy exist inSyriac, Arabic, and English.[6]
In theSyriac Orthodox Church, a West SyriacOriental Orthodox Church, the two typical matrimonial services are celebrated. At the crowning liturgy, the crown is held over the head of the bridegroom by the celebrant, who waves the crown in theshape of a cross. After reciting a prayer, the same is done over the bride. In the United States and Canada, the phrase "and pronounce you husband and wife" is added to the ceremony.[1]
Within traditionalEast Syriac Rite practice, the crowning ceremony is celebrated separately from theHoly Qurbana and not considered asacrament. The ceremony is preceded by the sharing of a cup of mixed water,hanānā (dust from the tomb of amartyr), and wine, which mirrors the presence ofJesus Christ inCommunion and is symbolic of the couple becoming one body.[7] This practice is retained by theAssyrian Church of the East in its marriage liturgies.[2]: 18 The crowning (kulala) is also practiced within theChaldean Catholic Church and other members of the ChaldeanIraqi diaspora in the United States.[8][9]
Crowning was formally a standard practice of theSaint Thomas Christians, and served as a publicly-celebrated foil to the betrothal, which was typically held among the family. The local variations of the service sometimes originate from pre-Christian ritual and emphasize the permanence of marriage.[10]
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