Marriage

Marriage

Holy matrimony is a sacred mystery that unites man and woman in a bond reflecting Christ’s eternal union with the Church. Through divine grace, marriage is elevated as a path of mutual salvation, marked by self-sacrificial love, ascetic struggle, and the bearing and raising of children in godliness.

Scripture establishes marriage as a divine institution from the beginning of creation, revealing it as a union willed by God and ordered toward communion and life.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

This primordial union is fulfilled and revealed in Christ. The Apostle Paul teaches that marriage is a great mystery precisely because it images the relationship between Christ and His Church.

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:32)

Christ Himself blesses and sanctifies marriage by His presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where He transforms water into wine, manifesting His glory and confirming marriage as a vessel of divine grace.

In the Orthodox understanding, the marital bond is not merely temporal or contractual, but oriented toward eternity. Marriage is not dissolved by death, but endures into the age to come, where the shared path of deification continues in anticipation of the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Marriage thus serves salvation by crucifying selfishness, cultivating virtue, and drawing the spouses toward the Kingdom of God. Through common prayer, fasting, charity, and faithfulness, husband and wife are shaped together for eternal communion with Christ.