Organising your wedding at Saint Catherine
After booking your ceremony you and your fiancé will need to organise a number of documents in preparation for your wedding.
1) You will be required to provide a copy of your baptismal and birth certificates, as well as photo identification. If you cannot locate your baptismal certificate, please contact the parish you were baptised at and arrange for a copy certificate to be issued to you.
2) When you have your baptismal certificate, please arrange to meet the parish priest of the parish in which you live in order to obtain a ‘Celibacy Certificate’. (Note: this only applies for Orthodox persons.) You will be required to present to your parish priest with your baptismal certificate and two witnesses over the age of 18 who will sign the ‘Celibacy Certificate’ indicating that you are not married. For Orthodox Christians who belong to other jurisdictions (Antiochian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian), a letter from your parish priest will suffice.
3) When you and your partner have both your baptismal and celibacy certificates, please contact the church office on (02) 9667 1001 to arrange a meeting to make the relevant applications and registrations. This meeting must be at least three months before your wedding ceremony.
4) At this meeting you will be required to pay for the wedding license fee of $500 and registration fee of $200. If these amounts can be paid in cash, that will make the allocation easier. Receipts will be issued upon receipt of payment.
5) On the day of your wedding please ensure that you arrive on time. There may be weddings or baptisms booked after your wedding. Please be considerate and respectful of their celebrations.
6) The church is a sacred space. You and your guests are asked to be dressed appropriately.
7) The Best Man/Maid of Honour will pay the community fee of $800 on the day of your wedding.
8) If you have been married in the past, please provide a copy of your Decree Absolute (Divorce Certificate) as well as a copy of your ecclesiastical divorce. If you do not yet have your ecclesiastical divorce, please inform the church office as soon as possible.
Marriages are not permitted:
- From 13th December until Christmas Day
- On the 5th January, the Eve of Epiphany
- From Great Lent until Easter Sunday
- From 1st to 15th August, the Dormition of the Theotokos
- On the 29th August, the Beheading of John the Baptist
- On the 14th September, Elevation of the Cross
In preparation, it is highly encouraged that all parties read the summary of the Ceremony of Marriage on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia website, click here to view it.