Whom to pray to get married? This topic raises a smile with its outdatedness and naivety - it’s unbearable to get married! At first glance, it seems that this is, in fact, some kind of anachronism. Now marriage is far from the only object of interest for a girl - you can study, you can make a career, you can, finally, just meet a young man without tying yourself in marriage. But such freedom of choice is far from suitable for everyone, and certainly not suitable for believing girls.
One hundred years ago, undoubtedly, it was marriage and the degree of its success that set the direction of a woman's whole life. Actually, she could choose from only three options - either monasticism, or marriage, or remain in the "centuries", old maids. A sad prospect!
The first path has always been the lot of the elite, the third was an analogue of the modern concept of "losers". So - get married, of course get married! At that time, divorce was a rare occurrence, marriage was literally for life - until the death of one of the spouses.
Nothing wrong with wanting to find your soul mate, in terms ofBible, no. It is not good for man to be alone, God says in Genesis 2. The first commandment that Adam and Eve received while still in Paradise was: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." The state of being in love is described verbosely and poetically by King Solomon in the Song of Songs. The Apostle Paul speaks of ideal love, which "covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails."
How you want to find such love in your family! The role of a married lady, mother of a large family, beloved friend of a hardworking and virtuous husband has always been respectable.
But… it was then that a problem appeared that did not disappear for the believer, and indeed for
any girl to this day - how to find such a husband? It is worth remembering that a believer has very limited opportunities for dating and flirting. Therefore, God's help, the help of a heavenly intercessor is very much needed!
Who is praying to get married? Here we enter the realm of near-church myths - the comical immediately comes to mind: "Saint Catherine, send me a nobleman!"
But grandmothers at any church will surely enlighten everyone who wishes which icon to pray to get married.
It's good to remember that, probably, the most important virtue of a believer is meekness and humility before God's will. And to whom do they pray to get married, if not to the Lord? After all, the believer daily repeats: "Thy will be done." And if God's will has not yet led her to an acquaintance with the futurehusband, then it is probably worth showing humility and waiting. Perhaps this will only benefit the impatient young lady.
Secondly, for a believer, the expression "pray to an icon" is absurd. They do not pray to the icon, it is just a "visible image of the invisible." Who is praying to get married? The saint depicted on the icon is asked for help and intercession before God.
A significant part of the legends that if you venerate a certain icon on a certain day, and then perform some kind of ritual, should be attributed to near-church folklore, with which the church itself is fighting in every possible way.
And yet, if you really want to - who do they pray to marry a worthy person, Orthodox Christians? Is there a "specialization" among the saints, and who, apart from, of course, Christ and the Virgin, ask for happiness in their personal lives? The Fathers of the Church and after them the parish priests advise asking for help and advice from that saint whose life path is similar to his own.
Christianity knows saints who were married and happily lived a virtuous life. These are the parents of the Virgin of St. Joachim and Anna, St. Peter and Fevronia of Murom, St. Adrian and St. Natalia, St. Julianiya Lazarevskaya.
There are no special prayers in this regard, but after all, prayer comes from the heart, and home prayer is not shackled in the chains of conventionality. Moreover, Christ said: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
