Wedding

DIAKONISSA MARIA

Deaconess Maria is one of the kindest, most generous persons I've ever met. We're standing in front of the vestments of St. John Maximovitch which, when he was prevented from coming to the mission in Seoul, he sent in his place, and which are venerated and honored along with wedding crowns of the tsar and tsarina that are likewise here. This is the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Great in Seoul.

FRIENDS

These stalwart. Our godparents, Sarah and Nektarios are with us, and my wife's friends, Minja (the Ninja), Moonhee (strictly a coincidence), EunKyung, and Sunhwa.

FAMILY

Mother and Sister (KyeongRae) (on the left), Nektarios and other Orthodox.

PORTRAIT

Our Father Confessor, Fr. Ambrosios and other clergy.
I remember, that Father tought me of humility, and fasting, and charity to the poor. The novel I'm working on that's set in South Korea is based on what I witnessed when going with him once, as he delivered money to the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned, in an impoverished neighborhood in Mapo. May I learn his humility, his charity, his feats in fasting, and all that he put in my mind and let me see with my eyes.

WITH OUR GODPARENTS

Sarah is my wife's godmother. She is called Sarah after St. Sarah, who followed her husband St. Abraham out of Ur and into the land that God would give them, because, in the same way, Sarah followed her husband into Holy Orthodoxy. It is fitting she should be my wife's godmother, since my wife made the same journey. Nektarios is named for St. Nektarios the Great, who suffered at the hands of his own brethren. He was expelled from the Church of Alexandria by prejudice and misunderstanding, remaining in exile his whole life. Another quite fitting godparent. In my home we sing his hymn to the Theotokos during our Compline -  "Rejoice Bride Unwedded!" May the Saints, the Mother of God, and our godparents save us by their example and their prayers.

WITH GOLD OR WITH FLOWERS

Holy Matrimony has two parts: the Betrothal, in which the rings are blessed and exhanged in an inviolable promise, and the Crowning, in which the crowns of joy and martyrdom are placed upon the heads of those joined, who will share the common cup and dance the joy of Isaiah. Marriage, among the Orthodox, is indissoluble and for all eternity, and is for the salvation of husband and wife.

 

CROWNED

My wife and I have been married 10 years. We owe this merciful longevity  to the reality of the Faith, to the Angels and the Saints, to the uncreated Energies of The Holy Trinity. It is truly a matter of joy and of martyrdom. May God grant that my wife live long, but I live longer, and spare my wife the grief of waiting.