The Maronite Celebration of Crowning
Chorbishop Gregory Mansour
March 26, 2005
It has been said that Marriage is a "natural" sacrament of the Church. It is an institution created by God. Therefore God wold have types, symbols, clues, and hidden meanings everywhere in His Scripture and Nature. St. Ephrem, the fourth century poet, hymn writer and ascetic of the Syriac Church writes:
"Look and see how Nature and Scripture are yoked together,"1 ..."Wherever you turn your eyes, there is God's symbol."2
And so the Syriac poets3, the "ghost writers" for the Maronite liturgical tradition combined their experience of nature with their love of the Scriptures and their respect for marriage and to formulate the richly poetic marriage ritual of the Church.
Poetry was the proper mode of discourse with a God who is "lover of mankind".4 Poetry and midrash constitute the major part of the Maronite liturgy and "stretch" language so as to "make present" the Mystery of God. Naturally, in an "oral-aural" culture as was the semitic world, the "word" becomes an official ambassador of inner realities and meanings.5
The poetic spirit brought with it a unique understanding of "be-ing".6 The question, "What's it all about?" found good company among the Syriac Christians.7 The truest response to God was awe and wonder, and each encounter with God was "sacramental".
The English word "sacrament" is a rendering of the Latin "sacramentum"8 which is, in turn, a translation of the Greek word "mysterion," which has many meanings: "symbol", "foreshadowing", "hidden secret", "sign", "clue", etc. St. Paul used this Greek word, "mysterion", to describe marriage in his letter to the Ephesians, 5:32:
"This (marriage) is a 'great mystery', and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church."
The Greek word "mysterion", which St. Paul deliberately used was translated into the Syriac as "raza".9 Just as the Greek word "mysterion" had many meanings, the Syriac word "raza" had even more.
The biblical scholar, Father Ray Brown, points out the depth of this passage in his survey entitled, "The Semitic Background of the Term "Mystery" in the New Testament". He writes: "We do not believe that there is any exact parallel for this use of the term in the New Testament".10 Hence, "raza", as applied to marriage by the Syriac poets, describes in full color the rich theology of marriage - as first expressed by St. Paul.11
"Raza" was used for other realities beyond the seven sacraments. It was used to describe such events as the dedication of a Church, the blessing of a mother and child upon re-entrance into the Church after childbirth, the consecration of a virgin, among others. According to Father Robert Murray, a historian- theologian on the early Syriac Church, the word "raza" was used for "any religious symbol, for sacramental rites, and in the plural for the Eucharist".12 The sacraments or mysteries of the Syriac Church belong to a rich semitic worldview which views all of creation as revelatory.
A man asked the rabbi, "Rabbi, what is it that God does, now that He has finished creating?" Without hesitating the rabbi quipped: "He arranges marriages."13
Creation and marriage, of course, the parallels are all there: life where there was no life before; communion where there was aloneness before; complementarily where there was incompleteness before. The Maronite ritual for marriage makes the clear connection between creation and marriage.
Marriage was blessed because Christ was present at the wedding of Cana and all weddings are henceforth "hallowed". Jesus has fulfilled all of the types and symbols of the Old Testament.14 Thus the Hebrew celebration of marriage, finds an even deeper meaning with the advent of Jesus. In the Christian West there was debate as to whether marriage is a sacrament of the Old Law (Jewish) or the New Law (instituted by Christ). There was also a debate as to whether marriage is a sacrament of "nature" or one "revealed to be a sacrament by grace". These debates were not part of the Syriac view. According to the Syriac Fathers, both the Scriptures and Nature tell one story pointing to Christ. In fact, the Syriac Church would be comfortable with a contemporary rabbi's reflection on marriage:
"The entire marriage ceremony is dominated by the word 'Kadosh", holy. The ceremony is entitled 'Kiddushin' which means holy act or union. Like the Sabbath it is meant to be a holy sanctuary in the midst of life.15
The Syriac theologians saw in marriage a great mystery that also describes the life of the Church. For example: bishops were called "betrothers",16 the kingdom of God was described in terms of a "wedding chamber",17 the baptized person was said to arise "fully adorned as a bride",18 crowns were placed on the head of the baptized (an obvious connection to matrimonial crowning),19 and the Church itself was called the "bride adorned with the beauty of the nations".20
The Syriac tradition was the first among Christian traditions to incorporated the celebration of marriage into the ecclesial sphere.21 In fact, much of the prayer and the ritual the marriage ceremony was modeled on the ritual of a special Sunday of the year which begins the annual liturgical cycle and images the Church as the adorned bride of Christ. The ritual for this day implies that the relationship between the Church and Christ is most aptly described in terms of the marriage between man and woman.22
The custom of "crowning" a bride and groom in the Syriac- Maronite Ritual of Marriage consists of placing a garland on the head of the bride, groom and witnesses, and dates back to the Jewish tradition. However the custom of crowning seems to have a pre-Hebrew origin.23 It most likely began in Mesopotamian cultures, although its original meaning is somewhat obscured. Most probably it was meant to be a sort of "hallowing".24
It may also have had a hint of reference to the Crown of King and Queen. St. John Chrysostom the fourth century Patriarch of Constantinople likened the marriage crowning to St. Paul's reference to the "garlanded competitors" in I Cor 9:25 and II Timothy 4:8. The bride and the groom receive the crown because they have lived chastely and now have won the prize which was marriage.25 This interpretation, however noble, finds little consistency with the original Jewish interpretation which inspired the Syriac Christians usage.
Crowning signifies dignity, splendor, and approval by God.
"In the New Testament a crown symbolized victory and all that it involves by way of reward. In the Old Testament it is rather a symbol of splendor and dignity."26
The Maronite ceremony following the Old Testament rather than the Hellenic (Greek) tradition blesses the crowns with the following words:
Cel: Like a crown, God has adorned the earth with flowers,
the heavens with stars,
and the land with the sea.
With a crown he has shown the special calling
given to the holy kings, priests, prophets and
apostles.
In his bountiful mercy may he bless + these crowns
through the payers of the Mother of God
and all the saints.27
The Maronite understanding of crowning focuses on creation and vocation. In the Maronite Ritual for marriage the opening words of the prayer called the Sedro, calls upon God as the "Creator...who had fashioned Adam and Eve".28 The Psalm strophes for the ritual are taken from Psalm 127 which speak of the blessings of creation, and the creation imagery of the ritual makes a clear allusion to Psalm 8 which refers to man as the crown of creation.
Vocation imagery abounds as well. Just as "priests, prophets, and apostles" have special callings, likewise, the couple is invited by God to such a noble calling. They are crowned, "anointed" for this calling. God created with purpose. He created out of chaos to bring order and harmony. Vocation is the perfecting of creation, the making of order out of chaos, and the healing of fragmentation. Marriage is a second creation, so to speak. In the words of a contemperarcy Rabbi:
"He (man or woman) has received the lot from birth and has been born without choice. But another bond in his life which is of similarly fateful import- ance, of a similarly capacity for determination and encompassment, is effected by man himself; it belongs to his own will and to his own doing. Marriage becomes the second lot of his life, the second fact of life."29
In the Maronite Ritual for marriage the righteous and the just of the Old Testament are said to have been "crowned" with virtues just as the earth is "crowned" with flowers. The groom is crowned so that the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may be upon him.30 The bride is crowned so that the blessings of Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel may be upon her.31 The Old Testament witnesses are evoked much like the attempt found in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, to recall the past witnesses and take courage so as to inherit the blessings promised to them.32
The act of Blessing plays a very important role in the
marriage ceremony. The Jewish celebration of marriage has seven
blessings over the bride and groom. The Maronite ritual has
similar blessings following the crowning.33 The blessing over the
groom is given so that his "work may be endowed", "his house may be
as secure as the house of David", "his wife may be precious in his
eyes and as a column of fire in his home". The blessing over the
bride is made that "she may live with her husband in peace and
love", her marriage be a firm as the marriages of old:, her deeds
be upright and just". A blessing has particular significance for
the theology of marriage in the Eastern Churches. Man and woman
are created by God, in his image and likeness, thus they enjoy
certain powers to bless. In fact, the essence of a person resides
in his capacity to bless.34 As the stories found in Genesis recount, blessings were passed on in an irrevocable fashion.
This concept of blessing is most likely the inspiration for the earliest Syriac-Christian custom of having the father, not the priest, perform the crowning and pass on the blessing.35 This "passing-on" of the blessing from one generation to the next makes the connection between God's work in creation and God's calling to a noble vocation in life even clearer.
In the Maronite Ritual of marriage the blessing of the vestments used in the marriage ceremony are similar to the Hebrew custom, and the blessing of the rings is similar to the Old Testament concept of tabernacle.
In Old Testament there was made a close connection between circumcision and marriage. According to one comparative liturgist:
"In the Jewish ritual, the link between marriage and circumcision is highlighted. Through circumcision, the new-born is aggregated into the People of God, and he receives the mission to perpetuate this through marriage. For that matter, when the Father of the family blesses his circumcised son, the assistants respond: 'As this child participates in the Covenant, likewise, may he also participate in the Torah, the nuptial canopy and the good deeds.'"36
Likewise, the Syriac-Maronite tradition makes a deliberate connection between baptism which is the Christian "circumcision" and marriage. According to the same liturgist:
"We must underline the close connection/complementarily which exists between marriage and the sacraments of Christian initiation. In a certain way, baptism and marriage are mutually type and anti-type of each other: the nuptial character of baptism corresponds to the baptismal character of marriage - in fact, marriage is the full flowering of the baptismal grace in the adult."37
In the Jewish tradition the pronouncing of the "name" of a
person makes that person present.38
When the "name" of God is invoked, God mysteriously is present.
Some have mistakenly proposed that the marriage ritual is not a true sacrament because an invocation of the Holy Spirit is not found in the ritual. That
is, that the ritual lacks an "epiklesis". However, the "epiklesis"
of the marriage ritual is of a most ancient type, and is semitic in
nature. It is found subtly in the invocation of the name of God.
An Old testament scholar writes:
"The invocation of the name has a marked Old Testament character. The Hebraic expression, "qara be shem - to call forth the name of the Lord - was a cultic term, in connection with the liturgy of the Temple, where the Name of the Lord was invoked in a solemn way.39
Remaining true to their semitic roots the Maronites saw this
"naming of the name" of the Triune God as indeed an epiklesis.40
The priest prays:
"In the Name of the most holy Trinity...We bless and ratify this marriage".41
This "epiklesis" takes place as the priest places the joined hands of the couple upon the Sacred Scriptures and then covers them with his stole. The use of the stole evokes an obvious allusion to the Hebrew practice of the placing of the canopy over the couple as a representation of the "overshadowing" or "shekina" of God's presence.42
Marriage is a great mystery, revealing Christ's love for the Church. It is the splendid dignity of a life choice, the crowning of God's creative and redemptive work. Marriage completes the mystery of baptism and calls one more deeply into the new covenant of Christ's love. In the great Mystery of marriage is the passing on of the blessings of God are passed on from one generation to another. What does God do now that he has finished creating? He arranges...and crowns....marriages!
1. St. Ephrem proclaims that "Once Nature and Scripture had cleansed the Land, they sowed in it new commandments - in the heart, so that it might bear fruit:
"Praise to the Lord of Nature.
Glory to the Lord of Scripture."
This is found in Hymns Against Heresies, 28:11 translated by St. Brock in Harp of the Spirit, Studies supplementary to the periodical Sobornost, No. 4, through the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Serfius, (1975), pg. 10.
2. St. Ephrem, Hymns Against Heresies, 20:12, translated by Brock op cit, pg. 10.
3. I use "poets" rather than "theologians" following the lead of the scholars of the Syriac world who prefer that description as well.
4. Common liturgical phrase used by the Maronites and other Eastern Churches.
5. In cultures where the spoken word is the method for communication the words and voice become symbols of the inner spirit. Voice gives clues as to whether one really believes his word; words must be intimately connected with the heart of the speaker. For a valuable treatment of this see P. S. Minear, "Yes or No; The Demand for Honesty in the Early Church," Novum Testamentum, Vol. 13, (1971) pg. 1-13, especially pgs, 10-13.
6. Poetry has been categorized as a function of "play." See J. Huizinga, Homo Ludens, Boston: Beacon Press, (1950), pg. 119. Poetry is also the cultivation of creativity. It is on these insights that I based much of my understanding of the sacramentality of the Syriac-Maronite tradition. BF 717, H.91, H7.
7. See T. Jansma,: Narsai and Ephrem, Some Observations on Narsai's Homilies on Creation and Ephrem's Hymns on Faith", Parole de l'Orient, Vol. 1, (1970), pg. 49-68; especially see his systematic summary of similar themes in both poets (awe and wonder are the natural thanksgiving for the creatures).
8. W. Kasper, Theology of Marriage, New York: Seabury Press, (1980).
9. R. Murray, Symbols of Church and Kingdom, A Study in Early Syriac Tradition, New York: Cambridge University Press, (1975), pg. 21 and 22. Here Murray points out some of the "sacramental" rites of fourth century Syriac Christians. Murray also points out that the Syriac word for marriage was the same one used for the Eucharist; what this means is uncertain.
10. Biblical Series No. 21, J. Reumann, Editor, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, (1968), pg. 65.
11. In fact, this passage from Ephesians was not only the epistle reading for all Syriac Churches, but was the scripture par excellence for their understanding of marriage. The Church - Christ motif was to color all marriage symbolism.
12. Murray, Symbols, pg. 21.
13. S. Sandmel, "Jewish and Christian Marriage: Some Observations," Heythrop Journal, Vol. XI (1970), pg. 237-50.
14. This is the entire theological basis for Ephrem and others in the Syriac Tradition: Christ realizes all the symbols/types in the Old Testament.
15. I Maybaum, "Tradition that is Living", Marriage in the Jewish Tradition, ed. by S. Brav, New York: Hallmark-Huber Press, Inc., (1951).
16. Murray, Symbols, pg. 131. they are not the "spouse". This title belongs to Christ alone. They take care of his bride. See I Cor 11:2.
17. Ibid, pg. 132. The wedding chamber was set aside for the bride and groom on their honeymoon, It was there that the bride unveiled herself - sometimes for the first time - and the two came to "know" each other.
18. Ibid, pg. 139.
19. Ibid, pg 141.
20. Ibid, pg. 139. "The bride adorned" theme dominated such symbolism, Se pg. 132 as well.
21. E Schillebeechx, Marriage: Human Reality and Saving Mystery, London: Sheed and Ward, (1965), pgs. 344-46 and pg. 354.
22. J. G. Van Overstraeten, "Liturgies Nuptials Des Eglises de langue Syriaque", Parole de l'Orient, Vol. 8, (1977-78), pg. 240.
23. Schillebeeckx, Marriage, pg. 347.
24. Ibid, pg. 247.
25. A contemporary attempt at reinterpreting the meaning of the crown by an Orthodox theologian can be found in A. Schmemann, Sacraments and Orthodoxy, New York: Herder and Herden (1965), pg. 109-12.
26. F. K. Sanders, "Crown", in The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York: Funk and Wagnals, (1903), Vol. IV, the section especially on bridal crowns. Sanders goes on to say that
"Judith and all the women of Israel celebrated a thanksgiving festival 'dancing, being crowned with olive garlands, and all the men of Israel followed in their armor with garlands'". (Judith 15:13, also see 3:7).
27. This prayer is almost identical in all the Syriac Churches, with each Church having their own modifications.
28. The Mystery of Crowning according to the Maronite Antiochese Tradition, Diocese of St. Maron, U.S.A. (1985), pg. 15.
29. Leo Baeck, "Mystery and Command," Marriage and the Jewish Tradition, op. cit, pg. 122.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. The midrashic style of Hebrew is very similar to the Syriac style.
33. The Mystery of Crowning, op. cit, pg. 27.
34. J. Pederson, Israel: Its Life and Culture, Vol. I and II, London: Oxford University Press, (1926), Vol. I pg. 363.
35. Schillebeeckx, Marriage, pg. 346ff. the priest took over this role in the fourth century in the Syriac Church.
36. Van Overstraeten, "Liturgies..." pg. 240. Trans, Fr. Hector Doueihi.
37. Ibid.
38. Pederson, Israel, "The name of a person tells of his essence... the name blesses", pg. 363.
39. Ibid, pg. 293.
40. See J. McKenna, Eucharist and Holy spirit, Alcuin Club Collections, No. 57, Great Wakening, Essex: Mayhew-McCrimmon, (1975), pg. 16-17. This entire work is a cholarly treatment of the "epiklesis". See pg. 39 for an Eucharistic Anaphora according to Theodore, a Syriac Anaphora, which invokes the Name of the Trinity, and by the power of the Name the Eucharistic gifts are transformed.
41. Mystery of Crowning, op. cit., pg. 22.
42. Van Overstraeten, "Liturgies...," pg. 295