The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-14

W
witch, sons OF the Grand Duke Constantine, and
brothers to the august bride; their Impe rial
Higbnesses the Grand Duke Nicholas, the father,
the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke Nicho-
las, the son; their Imperial Highnesses the
Princes Nicholas, Eugene, and George, OF
Leuchtenberg, and the Processes Romanovsky
and Eugene, of LeuchtenbcTg; his Imperial
Highness the Prince Peter OF Oldenburg; his
Htgbness the Duke Charles of Schleswig Hol-
inSonderburp. Gluck sburp, uncle to the King
of the Greeks; their Highnesses the Princes
Nicholas and Alexander, of Oldenburg; the
ladies of the bedchamber the maids of honor,
the mistresses of the households of the Grand
Duehesses, the maids of honor of the Empress.
All the persons invited, and who were not in
the chapel, entered 1t after the maids OF honor.
Eight o'clock struck when the procession
came to the church. Under the porch the EN-
peror, King George, and his bride, aud the I'm
perial family were received by MOnsignor Isl
dore, the Metropolitan of st. Petersburg, the
members of the Holy Synod and the clergy OF
the Imperial Chapel, The Metropolitan offered
the holy water to the august personages.
The religious service then began in that i'm
PressiVe manner peculiar to the Greek rite.
When the officiating prelate pronounced the
words, 80 Lord, the King will rejoice in Thy
strength" the Emperor led the august bride
and bridegroom to the raised seats reserved for
them opposite the centre of the ikonostas, In
all the Greek churches, built in the form of a
cross, the tabernacle, at the eastern end, and in
which the priest only can penetrate, is separated
by partition called the ikonostas. In the i'm
pCtittl Cudpel lue lkOnOStHS, WIN ltS doors and
balustrades, is covered with precious metals,
which reflected the lights of thousand wax
candles. Meantime the Grand Duke Nicholas,
the eldest brother of the bride, and the Prince
Romanovski Leuchtenberg held up a royal
crown over the head of the bride and bride
groom
The bride wore dress of magnificent silver
cloth and over 1t mantle Of crimson velvet
lined with ermne.
The bridegroom wore the uniform of colonel
OF the Greek army with the Order of the Re-
deemer.
Never were a young couple more admired
ProdlgalIy gifted by nature, possessing all
accomplishments education can bestow, vet
their department and manners were so simple
and so modest that they enlisted all hearts in
theiI favor.
The emperor, the Grand Duke Constantine
the Crown Prince of Denmark, and tue other
princes stood at the right of the ikonostas, the
Grand Duchess Constantine and the other ppin-
cesses at the left.
After the Eyangile the prayers for the I'm
perlal family were read, and the officiating pre-
late made the following addition to those pray
eTs:-"The Queen of the Hellenes, olga Con-
stantinOvna, and her husband.n The Metro
poltan began the Office by int ning a psalm,
between each verse of which tie chorus sung an
antiphone,
"Gory to Thee, our God glory be to Theew
The anthem being finished the Metropolitan
SAID George Cnrlstianowltch, hast thou a good
and unrestTained will and firm intention to take
unto thee to wife this woman Olga Constanti-
noyna, whom thou seest here before thee?r
King George answered in Greek, 81 have,
most reverend sir.n
The Metropolitan continued, ''Hast thou not
promised any other wOman?
The bridegroom answered, II have not pro-
missed another"
Similar questions we're then put to the bride,
who made identical responses, aud then the
deacon asked the Metropolitan to give the bene-
diction, which he pronounced thus :-"Blesscd
be the kingdom OF the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, now and forever, even
unto ages of ages.n The deacon then Tecited
the ectinia, "a bidding prayer" in which was
introduced the names of the bride anu the bride
groom. At the end of the ectinia the Metropoll.
tan uttered an ascriptiOn of praise to the Holy
Trinity, and Immediately afterwards offered up
prayer very slmilar to one of those in the
English service of matrimOny. When the men,
tion of the couple being joined together was
made, the whole assemblage crossed themselves
devoutlY.
After this PRAYER the deacon approached the
Metropolitan with salver, on which lay two
crowns. Taking these in his hands he made the
sign of the cross over the head of the bride,
saying, "The servant of God, Olga CONSTANT
novna, is crowned for the handman of God,
George Christianowitch;" and then the benedc.
ton was given. The prokimenon was then sung
to the eighth tone, thus;--"Thou has put crowns
OF precious stones upon their heads; they asked
life of Thee, and Thou gavest them long life,
for Thou shalt give them the blessing of eternal
life" The reader then read the epistle, taken
from the htth chapter of the Epistle to the
Ephesians. Afterwards came, with much
incense, the reading of the Gospel by the Metro
politan, the passage chosen being from the
second chapter of St. Johns Gospel, relating to
the marriage in Cana. The Gospel having been
read, the Metropolitan took the bridegroom and
the Bride by the hand aud turned them round
three times-in allusion to the Holy Trinity
tie choir singing, "Exult, o Israel, for virgin
hath conceived" etc. Then the marriage was
complete.
Two short prayers were afterwards recited
and at the bidding of the Metropolitan the hus-
band and wife kissed each other three times.
The religious service being over, the married
couple left their places hand In hand, aud went
and made their obeisance to the Emperor and
the Grand Duke Constantine, and afterwards to
the Grand Duchess Constantine, who fondly
kissed them. Having returned to their places,
the King and Queen of the Helenes received
the congratulations OF his Majesty the Emperor,
Of their august parents, and OF each member OF
the Imperial family. Meantime, the Metro.
pOlitan, with the members of the holy synod
and the clergy of the Imperial chapel sang the
le DeUnl; at the same moment the fortress
fred q salyO of one hundred and one guns.
After the 1e Dettm the members of the holy
syned and the clergy offered their fluctuations
to the BmpeTer, TO the King and Queen OF
Greece, and 20 the Grand Duke and Duchess
Constantine.
However, the Greek service was only one part
OF the religious celebration of the marriage ol
the august bride and bridegroom. The King Ol
the Greeks being Lutheran, their union had
to be blessed according TO the rite of that
church. (Fhe Greek constitution enacts that
the Queen must belong to the Greek Church
anG that the children shall be brought up iu
the same iaith.) Accordingly, an altar had beer
erected in the Alexander Hall. The masters o
ceremonies took their respective places in tha
hall, the members OF the Council of the Empire
the diplomatic body, the persOns attending the
King of the Hellenes, the Crown Prince of Den
mark, and the general officers and aids-de-camI
waiting on the Emperor and the grand dukes