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Summary
- The 1888 Catholic Manual of Prayers gives “A Prayer to be said by Husband or Wife,” asking that a couple be “inwardly of one heart and of one mind.”
- Short prayers cover unity, talking and listening, the evening after an argument, an angry spouse, forgiveness, closeness, faith, serving each other, outside pressure, home and children, old wounds, joy, lifelong faithfulness and a marriage retreat.
- Prayers from wedding services are quoted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Orthodox Crowning service in Hapgood’s 1906 translation, and Tobias 8:7–10 in the Douay-Rheims Bible.
- Russian Orthodox couples pray to Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom, canonized in 1547 and honored as patrons of marriage; nearly all that is known of them comes from a sixteenth-century life.
- 1 Peter 3:7 links a husband’s honor toward his wife to prayers that are “not hindered,” and Matthew 18:19–20 promises Christ’s presence where two agree in prayer.
- Anyone afraid of or being hurt by a spouse should get safe first; US and UK domestic abuse helplines are listed.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Joshua 24:15; Psalm 127:1; 147:3; Proverbs 5:18; 15:1; 17:22; Ecclesiastes 4:12; Matthew 18:19–20; Mark 10:9; Ephesians 4:26; 5:21, 25; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 3:7). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version, Tobias 8:7–10. Project Gutenberg eBook no. 1581. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1581
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. The Sacrament of Matrimony, “A Prayer to be said by Husband or Wife,” p. 452. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. The Solemnization of Matrimony, p. 303. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. The Rite of Holy Matrimony, The Order of Marriage, or of Crowning, p. 297. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
- “Петр и Феврония.” Православная энциклопедия (Orthodox Encyclopedia). Moscow: Church Research Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia.” https://www.pravenc.ru/text/2580394.html
- National Domestic Violence Hotline. https://www.thehotline.org/
- GOV.UK. “Domestic abuse: how to get help.” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
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