Page 123 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

124 The Armenian Church

aim of marriage. Indeed, family is the foun-
dation of the Church and the community.
The family life is sustained and guided by
Christian values and traditions.
Before the ceremony of engagement and
marriage, the couple should make a con-
fession and receive Holy Communion, pre-
ferably from their parish pastor. The cere-
mony of marriage includes two parts. The
first part is the blessing and exchange of
rings. This is the engagement (nšanduk‘) and
is a brief ceremony that may take place either
at the very beginning of the wedding or,
preferably, a few months before it, in order to
give more time and opportunity for the
couple to become better acquainted. In the
second part, crowns are placed on the bride
and groom, symbolizing the glory granted by
the Holy Spirit as well as the dedication to
life together in faithfulness to the call of
Christ. Then the bride and groom share wine
from a common cup, in remembrance of the
wedding at Cana in Galilee (John 2:1-12) and
as a symbol of their life together, sustained
by mutual love.
Marriage as a sacred institution is indis-
soluble. Christ stressed the profound im-
portance of this unity: "What God has joined
together let no man separate" (Mt. 19:6). Our
Lord also allowed divorce in special cir-
cumstances (Mt. 19:9). The Armenian Church
permits divorce in exceptional situations,