ÎPS Teodosie, the Archbishop of Tomis, states that weddings should not take place on Saturday, considering that those who choose this day remain under a curse.
Those who get married on Saturday are “always under a curse” – Photo Ahivă
The Archbishop of Tomis, His Holiness Theodosius, declared that officiating religious weddings on Saturday is a big mistake, stressing that those who choose this day “I am always under a curse“. He also noted that although there is no official decision of the Holy Synod on this matter, he cannot prevent this practice.
“As I have a big thorn that we shouldn’t do weddings on Saturdays. It is a big mistake. And here they started to get married on Thursday. Weddings take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Those who keep the Sabbath always remain under a curse, but we still do not have a decision of the Holy Synod and I cannot oppose. I give a canon to everyone to always make a canon of repentance“, affirmed ÎPS Teodosie.
“Regarding the day on which the religious wedding takes place, I do not think that a bishop makes this decision, but it is the decision of the Holy Synod. I invite people to look in the New Testament to see if Jesus or any of the apostles say anything about the day on which the wedding should take place. I don’t think there is such a thing. You will not find anywhere in the New Testament where it is written: the wedding must take place on a certain day of the week”, sociologist Iulian Stănescu commented for The truth.
Sociologist Iulian Stănescu, scientific researcher II, at the Quality of Life Research Institute, Romanian Academy, says that Romanians will be “influence very little to none” by the statements of the archbishop, because the message of His Holiness Theodosius “it won’t be enough” to them.
“I don’t think that the customs and customs of Romanians regarding the day on which the religious wedding takes place are or could be influenced by the statements of the archbishop of Tomis“, said the specialist.
In Romania, Saturday is the most popular day for officiating weddings, due to the fact that it is the first free day of the weekend. According to recent data, it is estimated that more than 100,000 weddings take place in Romania every year, and the busiest months for marriages are May, June and September. The marriage rate in 2023 was lower, registering 5.1 marriages per 1000 inhabitants.
Do not cohabit
During a program produced by Radio Dobrogea, the Archbishop of Tomis was asked about the reason why the commemoration of the dead is not carried out on Sunday.
“Sunday is the Lord’s day of joy and we cannot mix crying with joy. And even the canons are categorical and say: anathema be on those who mourn the dead on Sunday“, said the Archbishop.
“Don’t stay unmarried, in cohabitation. Better say: I have sinned enough, if you don’t want us to get married it’s better to separate, so as not to multiply our sins“, also said ÎPS Teodosie.
Divorce in the vision of ÎPS Teodosie
The Archbishop of Tomis emphasized that divorce without a well-founded reason, such as infidelity, constitutes a grave sin. During a discussion on Radio Dobrogea, he explained that those who choose to break up for trivial reasons commit a major sin.
“Of course, it also depends on the reasons. If someone gave a divorce for no reason, because he was not cheated by his husband, only for some whims or some small reasons, of misunderstanding so to speak, he was bound with a great sin. The prayer says clearly: what God has joined let man not separate“, said ÎPS Teodosie on Radio Dobrgea.
He also noted that in cases of infidelity, the one who committed the sin must show deep repentance. Although some priests suggest that confession is sufficient for dissolution, in reality, repentance and motivation for divorce are essential to obtain forgiveness, the Archbishop stressed.
“When one husband cheats on the other and enters into a relationship of adultery with someone else, then he must repent a lot. But if one spouse is abandoned by the other, because he went to live in debauchery with a foreign person, surely then the one who committed the sin must have a lot of repentance, the other can be released with the great release, with the prayer of release from the curse“, continued the Archbishop of Tomis.
What should concern priests
Divorce is becoming an increasingly common reality in Romania, with a marriage taking place every seven minutes, according to statistics published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) for the first half of this year. More precisely, in the last six months, over 10,000 couples in Romania chose to end their marriage.
In this context, “the problem that should concern the high church leaders more would not be the day on which the wedding should take place, but what the priests could do in the relationship with the faithful in order to help them get through the less easy moments of a marriage, thus preventing the dissolution of marriages.“, states the sociologist.
However, “Romania does not have a divorce rate out of the ordinary at the level of the European Union, but on the contrary, one of the lowest“, Iulian Stănescu draws attention.
