Orthodox Perspectives on Marriage

Marriage: The Great Sacrament
A Sermon by Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra, Mount Athos delivered in the Church of St. Nicholas, Trikala, Greece, 17 January, 1971

Nobody would dispute that the most important day in a person’s life, after his birth and baptism, is that of his marriage. It is no surprise, then, that the aim of so many contemporary worldly and institutional upheavals is precisely to crush this most honorable and sacred mystery of marriage. For many people, marriage is only an opportunity for pleasures and amusements. Life, however, is a serious affair. It is a spiritual struggle, a progression toward a goal: heaven. The most crucial juncture, and the most important means, of this progression is marriage.