Psalm 128
1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord,
who walks in His ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
This is a joyful wedding psalm in the Orthodox Church and marks the beginning of the Crowning during the sacrament of marriage. In Jewish tradition pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem sang this as one of the “Songs of Ascent,” and this particular hymn extols the blessing of children and large families (a frequent theme in the marriage service.)
The priest chants these verses after the Betrothal as he leads the bride and groom from the entrance of the church (the narthex) into the center (the nave.) The choir answers each verse with the refrain, “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!”
In theory, the Betrothal and Crowning may be done separately, but today the two are usually performed together. The betrothal is meant to be celebrated in the back of the church as an initial blessing of the couple’s good intentions, and then the priest leads the bride and groom into the center of the church for the service of crowning, symbolizing their desire to take their commitment to the next level and fulfill, or “crown,” their public betrothal. The crowning proclaims God’s desire to take this good human love of husband and wife and transform it into a witness of Christ’s eternal, divine-human, self-sacrificial love. As Christ turned the water into wine at the marriage in Cana, so this marriage too has the potential to be transformed and filled with God’s Spirit.
In practice the entire service of betrothal and crowning is now often celebrated in the center or front of the church, but it is useful to keep in mind this symbolism of movement, progression and growth in the marriage.
The poetic image of olive trees— “Your children will be like olive shoots around your table”—would have been a daily sight in the Middle East and Greece. Ancient, gnarled trees, with fresh shoots springing up from the roots. For urban and suburbanites, it’s worth noting (from Wikipedia) that “olive trees are very hardy, drought-, disease- and fire-resistant, and can live for a very long time. Its root system is very robust and capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. They grow in any light soil, even on clay if well drained, but in rich soils they are predisposed to disease and produce poorer oil than in poorer soil… They tolerate drought well, thanks to their sturdy and extensive root system. Olive trees can live exceptionally long, up to several centuries, and can remain productive for as long, if they are pruned correctly and regularly.”
“Hardy, drought-, disease- and fire-resistant”: an ideal image for an enduring marriage.
Saint Tikhon’s, OCA Statutes
Last Thursday and Friday, I was at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary for a meeting of the Board of Trustees (Metropolitan Tikhon was present as well; he is president and the chancellor is on the board of all three OCA seminaries.) Thursday evening, I stopped by Jessica Fuhrman’s new quarters. She had just moved in that day, with help from her parents, David and Kathy Linke, and others. Jessica’s husband Matt is in the US Army stationed in Kentucky awaiting his commissioning, new orders to begin seminary training and, God willing, eventual service as a military chaplain. Jessica continues to work part-time for the OCA Chancery working on the website and other tasks. David and Kathy are regular parishioners of Saint Sergius Chapel, where Kathy takes care of preparing all the music books and texts for services.
Friday August 1st was the feast of the procession of the Cross. After the early morning liturgy at the Monastery Church (6:30 am), Archimandrite Sergius (Bowyer) blessed water and sprinkled the church and faithful.
The board meeting continued Friday morning and afternoon. There’s a push to complete the much-needed Married Student Housing project. One board member, Dr (Deacon) Mark Hoeplinger and his wife Dr Christine Hoeplinger are offering to match new donations made in support of a half-marathon charity run by STS alumnus, Father Joseph McCartney (STS 2010.) Father Joseph serves as Associate Priest at Archangel Michael Church in Broadview Heights, Ohio. To learn more about his run and to give your support see http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/running-for-st-tikhon-s-married-student-housing/146553.
For some time now a task force chaired by Archbishop Nathaniel has been working on drafting a revision of the OCA Statutes in preparation for the All-American Council (to be distributed and discussed throughout the OCA long before the AAC). As part of that process, two members of the task force, Father Alexander Rentel (Assistant Prof of Canon Law at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary) and Archivist Alexis Liberovsky, will be meeting with His Beatitude, Father Eric Tosi and me to discuss how the Statutes address the work of the Metropolitan’s Office.