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'''Marriage''' (also '''matrimony''') is one of the seven [[holy mysteries]] or sacraments in the Orthodox Church, as well as many other [[Christian]] traditions. It serves to unite a woman and a man in eternal union before God with the purpose of following Christ and His [[Gospel]] and raising up a faithful, holy [[family]] through their holy union. It is referred to extensively in both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s. Christ declared the essential indissolvibility of marriage in the [[Gospels|Gospel]].

The mystery of marriage can only be available to those who belong to the Church, i.e., to communicants. Dispensation may be sought from one's diocesan bishop in cases on mixed marriages between an Orthodox Christian and a Christian of a non-Orthodox but Trinitarian church (e.g., Roman Catholic, Lutheran, etc.)but the wedding must take place in the Orthodox church.

Orthodoxy regards the marriage bond as indissoluble, and it condemns the breakdown of marriage as a sin and an evil. The Orthodox Church does permits permit remarriage after divorce and remarriagein some cases, as an exception, a necessary concession to human sin. While condemning sin, the Church desires to help the sinners and to allow them another chance, with an act of ''[[oikonomia]]'' . When a marriage has ceased to be a reality, the Orthodox Church faces the reality with ''[[philanthropia]]'' (loving kindness).

* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/161/story_16180_1.html Raising Children With Christ, Compassion, and Commitment] by Fr. [[Peter Gillquist|Peter E. Gillquist ]] (''Again Magazine'' and ''Beliefnet'')