The Mystery of Crowning is a ritual component of the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

of marriage in

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

. Variations of the crowning ceremony exist in multiple

liturgical rites Christian liturgy is a pattern for Christian worship, worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Christian congregation or Christian denomination, denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public wor ...

, including the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

, West Syriac, and

East Syriac Rite The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...

s of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

, and

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

. The crowning ceremony typically features a crown being placed upon the head of both the bride and bridegroom, crowning them as the queen and king of a new family.

Early history

Among

early Christians Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

, the

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

origins of crowning during marriage resulted in opposition, including from

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

. However, the practice gained acceptance as it was associated with

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and Christianized conceptions of victory;

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

had in his

Second Epistle to Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle he wrote before his death. Alth ...

referred to a "Crown of Righteousness" as the eternal reward for righteous persons and

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his homilies, preaching and public speaking, his denunciat ...

viewed the crown as a symbol of victory over "unregulated sexuality."

Ritual families

Byzantine Rite

The Mystery of Crowning according to the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

is a lengthy ceremony, the second rite of marriage after a betrothal ceremony. The celebrating priest places the crowns upon first the bridegroom then the bride. After this, it is traditional for the couple to sip from a glass of previously blessed wine and exchange a single kiss. The glass can then be broken in what has been described as a symbol of indissoluble union and compared to a similar Jewish wedding ritual. The Byzantine crowning is considered the basis of crowning rituals in the

Coptic Rite The Coptic Rite is an Alexandrian liturgical rites, Alexandrian Eastern Christian liturgical rite. It is practised in the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. The term ''Coptic'' derives from Arabic , a corruption of Greek ''A� ...

and other liturgical families. In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, it has been traditionally prohibited from occurring during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

. 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 Rite

, such as the

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...

, continue the practice with translations of the ceremony authorized in

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

and English.

West Syriac Rite

The Maronite Church, a West 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 The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, and

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s that intend to emphasize the solemnity of the service;

Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian ( syc, ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, Mār ʾAp̄rêm Sūryāyā, ; grc-koi, Ἐφραὶμ ὁ Σῦρος, Efrém o Sýros; la, Ephraem Syrus; am, ቅዱስ ኤፍሬም ሶርያዊ; ), also known as Saint Ephrem, Saint ...

's "Christ the Heavenly Bridegroom" is recited. Authorized translations of the liturgy exist in Syriac, Arabic, and English. In the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

, a West Syriac

Oriental Orthodox Church The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

, 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 the shape 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.

East Syriac Rite

Crowning in Syro-Malabar Nasrani Wedding by Mar Gregory Karotemprel

Within traditional

practice, the crowning ceremony is celebrated separately from the

Holy Qurbana The Holy Qurbana ( syr, ܩܘܼܪܒܵܢܵܐ ܩܲܕܝܫܵܐ, ''Qurbānā Qaddišā'' in Eastern Syriac or ''Qurbānā Qandišā'' in the Indian variant of Eastern Syriac, the "Holy Offering" or "Holy Sacrifice" in English), refers to the Eucharis ...

and not considered a

. The ceremony is preceded by the sharing of a cup of mixed water, ''

hanānā Hanānā or khnana ( Syriac: ܚܢܢܐ, lit. "pity" or "compassion"; la, pulvis, ex exuviis) is dust collected from the burial site of a Christian saint or martyr for veneration or consumption. In the East Syriac Rite liturgies of Nestorian Chris ...

'' (dust from the tomb of a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

), and wine, which mirrors the presence of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in Communion and is symbolic of the couple becoming one body. This practice is retained by the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

in its marriage liturgies. The crowning (''kulala'') is also practiced within the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

and other members of the Chaldean

Iraqi diaspora The Iraqi diaspora refers to native Iraqis who have left for other countries as emigrants or refugees, and is now one of the largest in modern times, being described by the UN as a "humanitarian crisis" caused by the Gulf War, 1991 Gulf War and ...

in the United States. Crowning was formally a standard practice of the

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of ...

, 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.

References