The Form of
Solemnization of Matrimony

The Solemnization

At the day and time appointed for solemnization of Matrimony, the persons to be married shall come into the body of the Church with their friends and neighbours. The persons shall stand together, the Man on the right hand, and the Woman on the left. The Priest shall say:

Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man’s innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is between Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and the first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee. It is commended of Saint Paul to be honoured among all men: and therefore is not by any to be entered into, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men’s fleshly lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God; duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained.

First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name.

Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ’s body.

Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.

It is unto this holy estate that these two persons present come now to be joined. Therefore if any man can show any just reason why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now, or else forever hold his peace.

And also, speaking to the persons that shall be married, he shall say:

I require and charge you both, remembering you will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why you may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, you are to confess it now. Know for certain that that all those who are coupled together contrary to what God’s Word allows are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful.

If on the day of Marriage anyone alleges and declares an impediment to the persons being coupled together in Matrimony, whether from God’s law or the laws of this Realm, he is to swear to it by an oath and give sufficient surities to the parties; or otherwise be put under caution to prove his allegation or compensate the parties to the full value of such damages as the persons to be married do thereby sustain. The solemnization must be deferred, until such time as the truth be tried.

If no impediment is alleged, the Curate shall say to the Man:

N., will you have this woman as your wedded wife, to live together according to God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her both in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only to her, so long as you will both live?

The man: I will.

Then the Priest shall say to the Woman:

N., will you have this man as your wedded husband, to live together according to God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him both in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only to him, so long as you will live?

The woman: I will.

Then the Minister shall say:

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Then shall they give their oaths to each other in this manner:

The Minister, receiving the Woman from her father’s or friend’s hands, shall lead the Man with his right hand to take the Woman by her right hand, and to repeat after him as follows:

I N. take you N. as my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and to this constancy I pledge you my oath.

>Then they shall loose their hands; and the Woman, with her right hand taking the Man by his right hand, shall repeat after the Minister as follows:

I N. take you N. as my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and to this constancy I pledge you my oath.

Then they shall loose their hands again; and the Man shall place a ring on the book, along with the usual duty to the Priest and Clerk. The Priest, taking the Ring, shall deliver it to the Man, to put it on the fourth finger of the Woman’s left hand. The Man shall hold the Ring there, and being taught by the Priest, shall say:

With this ring I wed you, with my body I exalt you, and with all my worldly goods I endow you: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Then the Man shall leave the Ring upon the fourth finger of the Woman’s left hand. Both shall kneel; and and the Minister shall say:

Let us pray.

O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life: Send you blessing upon these you servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in your Name; that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant made between them, (of which this Ring is given and received as a token and pledge,) and may always remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to your laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Then the shall Priest join their right hands together, and say:

Mark 10:9What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

Then the shall Minister speak to the people:

Forasmuch as N. and N. have consented to being joined together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and unto this have given and pledged an oath to each other, and have declared the same by the giving and receiving of a Ring, and by the joining of hands; I pronounce that they are together Man and Wife, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

And the Minister shall add this Blessing:

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favour look upon you; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that you may so live together in this life, that in the world to come you may have life everlasting. Amen.

Then the Minister or Clerks, going to the Lord’s Table, shall say or sing one of the following Psalms:

Psalm 128

See Psalter for traditional formBlessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 67

See Psalter for traditional formMay God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Following the Psalm, with the Man and the Woman kneeling before the Lord’s Table and the Priest standing at the Table facing them, the Priest shall say:

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father which is in heaven, Hallowed be your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.

Amen.

O Lord, save your servant, and your handmaid;

Who put their trust in thee.

O Lord, send them help from your holy place;

And evermore defend them.

Be unto them a tower of strength,

From the face of their enemy.

O Lord, hear our prayer.

And let our cry come unto thee.

The Minister shall say:

O God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, bless these your servants, and sow the seed of eternal life in their hearts; that whatsoever in your holy Word they shall profitably learn, they may in deed fulfill the same. Look, O Lord, mercifully upon them from heaven, and bless them. And as you sent your blessing upon Abraham and Sarah, to their great comfort, so vouchsafe to send your blessing upon these your servants; that they obeying your Will, and always being in the safety of your protection, may abide in your love until their lives’ end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The following prayer shall be ommitted if the Woman is past child-bearing age:

O Merciful Lord, and heavenly Father, by whose gracious gift mankind is increased: We beseech you, assist with your blessing these two persons, that they may both be fruitful in procreation of children, and also live together so long in godly love and honesty, that they may see their children Christianly and virtuously brought up, to your praise and honour; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, who by your mighty power has made all things of nothing; who also (after other things were set in order) appointed, that out of man (created in your own image and similitude) woman should take her beginning; and, knitting them together, did teach that it should never be lawful to separate those whom you, by Matrimony, has made one: O God, who has consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery, that in it is signified and represented the spiritual marriage and unity between Christ and his Church: Look mercifully upon these your servants, both that this man may love his wife, according to your Word, (as Christ loved his spouse the Church, who gave himself for it, loving and cherishing it even as his own flesh,) and also that this woman may be loving and amiable, faithful and obedient to her husband; and in all quietness, sobriety, and peace, be a follower of holy and godly women. O Lord, bless them both, and grant them to inherit your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then the Priest shall say:

May Almighty God, who in the beginning created our first parents, Adam and Eve, and sanctified and joined them together in marriage, pour upon you the riches of his grace, sanctify and bless you, that you may please him both in body and in soul, and live together in holy love unto your lives’ end. Amen.

After which, if there is no Sermon detailing the duties of Man and Wife, the Minister shall read as follows.

All you that are married, or that intend to take the holy estate of Matrimony upon yourselves, hear what the holy Scripture says as touching the duty of husbands towards their wives, and wives towards their husbands:

Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter five, gives this commandment to all married men: Ephesians 5:25-32Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Likewise the same Saint Paul, writing to the Colossians, speaks thus to all men that are married: Colossians 3:19Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Hear also what Saint Peter, the Apostle of Christ, who was himself a married man, says to those that are married: I Peter 3:7Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Hitherto you have heard the duty of the husband toward the wife. Now likewise, wives, hear and learn your duties toward your husbands, even as it is plainly set forth in holy Scripture:

Saint Paul, in the aforenamed Epistle to the Ephesians, teaches you thus: Ephesians 5:22-24Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. And again he says: Ephesians 5:33Let the wife see that she respects her husband.

And in his Epistle to the Colossians, Saint Paul gives you this short lesson: Colossians 3:18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Saint Peter also instructs you very well, saying: I Peter 3:1-6Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives – when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external – the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing – but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

It is convenient that the new-married persons should receive the holy Communion at the time of their Marriage, or at the first opportunity after their Marriage.