Betrothal
Crowning
Readings
Common Cup
Dance of Isaiah
Righteousness

The Dance of Isaiah

Husband and wife take their first steps as a married couple.

“Rejoice, O Isaiah! A virgin is with child;
and shall bear a Son Emmanuel;
Who came as both God and man;
and Orient is His Name,
magnifying Him, we hail the Virgin as blest.
Hear us, you martyred Saints,
who fought the good fight, gaining crowns:
entreat the Lord to shed His tender mercy on our souls.
Glory to You, O Christ our God,
Your Apostles' boast, Your Martyrs' joy,
Who proclaim the Consubstantial Trinity.”

In this final movement of the service the priest, holding a cross as a representative of Christ, leads the couple three times around the table. At the center of this table is the book of the Gospels. A hymn is sung of the Holy Martyrs. Once again we are reminded of the sacrificial love they are to have for each other and that their union, like the circle in which they walk, is eternally in the steps of Christ with God’s word at its center.