1. Introduction

In this article I am trying to look at the Christian concept of marriage as expressed through the Traditions and Liturgy that is handed down to us through generations in the Mar Thoma churches of Malabar. Historically this church was established by St. Thomas who arrived in the Kerala cost at around AD 52. This church has been an independent church with lot of contact with Syria. The Syrian church with its early translation of Bible helped the Malabar Church in its teachings. The Mar Thoma Churches claims its heritage from this ancient tradition. Among the many beautiful traditions that are handed down to us is the Marriage Liturgy. Traditions described here vary from place to place and from community to community in details. However the basic expressions are similar. (I would be glad to receive communications in this regard from others who have different customs and traditions.)

 Liturgy is a means of communication in its finest form through all the five senses of man and through the intellect and spirit. It is directed to the totality of body, mind and soul. Therefore we look into the Marriage ceremony of the church to see how Christians considered marriage. They are of particular interest in this era when marriage has lost its meaning and degenerated into a contract between two people even between two homosexual individuals. In this article I am trying to show how our fathers thought about marriage and what Christian Church taught through centuries.