Crowning (Sacrament of)

In Orthodox tradition, the Sacrament of Crowning is the rite of marriage, named for the placement of wedding crowns on the heads of the bride and groom by the priest. The crowns are held in place by the koumbaros or koumbara (the principal sponsor of the marriage) and signify both the honor conferred on the couple and their willingness to bear with one another in marriage. The rite is theologically and ritually distinct from Western Christian wedding ceremonies: there are no spoken vows in the Western sense, since the Orthodox understanding is that the marriage is conferred by God through the Church rather than by the couple's exchange of promises.