On the Orthodox Sanctity of Mariage
Marriage is a road of many blessings, hardships, trials, tribulations, passion, love, and even of chastity, endurance and respect. A men’s only sexual gratification and desire is to only come from his wife, and sex is for the act of procreation. She will become the bearer of his children. Outside of the extremely rare cases of aesthetic marriages, one of the main reasons of marriage is to procreate and raise Godly children who shall be part of the kingdom of God. They shall take their parents’ faith, and it is the role of the parents to raise them steadfast in Orthodoxy.
The husband is supposed to be the priest of his household. He is to labor for his wife, and to be the provider, and the protector. Likewise, the wife is an emotional caregiver. The husband is to be slow the anger. He is to tire for his wife and would even be willing to lay down his life for his wife and protect her in the direst of situations. He has left his mother, and his wife is now the most important women to him here on earth. The only women more important to him and whom he loves more is the heavenly virgin, and this of course is because of his spirituality and earnest nature in meeting his intercessing and most heavenly mother.
The husband will protect his wife from demons (yes, actual demons). Meaning, outside of her father in confession, as the priest of his household, he will make sure she stays steadfast and strong in the faith. He will make sure that she doesn’t fall into a sinful nature that prevents her from reaching the heavenly kingdom, lest he has failed his job as a protector. He will treat her with the outermost respect, dignity and love, and in this, she will see a man who is after God’s own heart, and this is a man who is worthy of raising a family fit for Christ’s kingdom.
This is why God gave Adam a woman, because it is not good for a man to be alone, and he needed to procreate. Adam had a role, and Eve had a role. This is the Orthodox view on marriage. Love is beautiful, because once you know how it is like to truly lay down one’s life for another, this is the love Christ gave us.
The reason many marriages fails, is because they have been doomed since the beginning. They have failed to bring Christ into the picture, and have put their own in carnal, lustful desires first. This is the reason for divorce. The design for marriage is very beautiful, and very rewarding. The journey is something to think long and hard for.
