Mystery of Crowning

The tradition & historical record

The Mystery of Crowning is a ritual component of the sacrament of marriage in Eastern Christianity. Variations of the crowning ceremony exist in multiple liturgical rites, including the Byzantine, Coptic, West Syriac, and East Syriac Rites of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. 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. ¹

Among early Christians, the pagan origins of crowning during marriage resulted in opposition, including from Tertullian. However, the practice gained acceptance as it was associated with Biblical and Christianized conceptions of victory; Paul the Apostle had in his Second Epistle to Timothy referred to a "Crown of Righteousness" as the eternal reward for righteous persons and John Chrysostom viewed the crown as a symbol of victory over "unregulated sexuality." ¹

The Mystery of Crowning according to the Byzantine Rite 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 and other liturgical families. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, it has been traditionally prohibited from occurring during Lent. 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 Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, continue the practice with translations of the ceremony authorized in Church Slavonic and English.