Date of weddings in Russian practice

Jean-Serge · Post by **Jean-Serge** » Sat 18 March 2006 5:47 pm

I read on a Russian calendar that weddings could not be celebrated on Tuesday and Thursday. This seems to me quite ridiculous. Indeed, the Fast days are Wednesday and Friday!!! This would mean, that in the Russian practice, the Fast of Wednesday an d Friday could be violated by a wedding since the party would entail cpnsuming meat, drinking wine and of course for the couple not respecting the Fast from flesh.

Could anyone explain me what I think to be a non sense?

I was also surprised to read wedding were prohibited during the Bright week and between Christmas and Theophany which is very strange since these are periods when we do not fast at all...

The more I read, the moire I am skeptical about Russian practices, and the more I think the Greek tradition is the best one...

尼古拉前执事 · Post by **尼古拉前执事** » Sat 18 March 2006 8:33 pm

Well to put it as simple as possible, the Wednesday and Friday fast are the reasons for this. After the wedding, generally there is a great feast and a party that lasts often until midnight. They the couple usually would go to their new home or a hotel and consumate the marriage. Since the fast is from marital relations as well as animal products, this could cause an issue. This is the prohibition on Saturday weddings too since the Communion fast. I hope this is of some help. BTW I believe this is a universal canon, not a regional practice in the Russian Church.

Jean-Serge · Post by **Jean-Serge** » Sun 19 March 2006 2:28 am

Thank you... Well the days of Thuesday and Thursday to prohibit weddings are typically Russian. I cheecked in Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite's book. In Greek practice, this days are Wednesday and Friday since these are fast days... The same in Serbian churuch 'which has Greek practices...). In fact the most upseting for me is organizing a wedding partywith meat, alcohol etc on Wednesday and Friday...

see this following lhing :

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/exo_fasting.aspx

We must also note the following, that just as there must be a fast from food on Wednesday, Friday, and Great Lent, there must also be a fast from pleasures of the flesh. For this reason weddings cannot take place on these days, because the divine Paul commands that married couples are not to come together during a time of prayer and fasting: "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer" (1 Cor. 7:5).