They’re beginning their eternal journey together. That circular walk, called the Dance of Isaiah, happens right after the priest crowns the couple. It’s the first steps of their married life.
The priest leads them around a small table three times, holding the Gospel book. The couple follows with their right hands joined, often bound together with a cloth. Their sponsor walks behind them, holding the wedding crowns over their heads. Everyone processes counterclockwise while the choir sings ancient hymns.
What It Means
The circle has no end. That’s the point. The couple isn’t just walking around furniture. They’re tracing the shape of eternity, showing that their union in Christ doesn’t stop at death or difficulty. One mind, one flesh, one path that keeps going.
The table itself represents the altar, the center of their new life together. Some say it originally symbolized the threshold of their first home. Either way, the priest holds the Gospel above it because Christ’s word directs where they’re going. Not their feelings, not their plans. His word.
The crowns matter here too. They’ve just been crowned as king and queen of their own little kingdom, but also as martyrs. Marriage in the Orthodox Church isn’t romanticized. It’s hard. It requires dying to yourself daily. The Dance of Isaiah happens while they’re still wearing those crowns because the joy and the sacrifice can’t be separated.
The Hymns
Three hymns get chanted during the three circuits. The first one gives the whole thing its name: “O Isaiah, dance for joy, for the Virgin is with child and shall bear a Son, Emmanuel.” It’s straight from Isaiah 7:14. The prophet saw something impossible, a virgin conceiving, and couldn’t contain his joy. That’s what the Church sees in every marriage: something impossible made real by God’s grace. Two people becoming one flesh, creating new life, imaging the mystery of Christ and the Church.
The second hymn is simpler: “Entreat the Lord, that He will have mercy on our souls.” Because they’ll need it. We all do.
The third connects marriage to martyrdom explicitly: “Glory to Thee, O Christ God, the Apostles’ boast, the Martyrs’ joy, whose preaching was the Consubstantial Trinity.” The same hymn gets sung at ordinations. Marriage isn’t less serious than becoming a priest. It’s a calling, a setting apart, a lifelong witness.
Why It Feels Different
If you grew up Baptist or at one of the big non-denominational churches around Beaumont, this probably looks strange the first time you see it. We don’t do unity candles or sand ceremonies. We do this ancient dance that connects a couple in Southeast Texas to every Orthodox couple who’s ever been married, all the way back.
There’s something about watching it that gets to people. Maybe it’s seeing the priest lead them, showing that they don’t navigate marriage alone. Maybe it’s the repetition, the same path three times, like the Trinity blessing their union. Maybe it’s just that walking together is more honest than standing still and making promises. Marriage is movement. It’s going somewhere.
The Dance of Isaiah ends when they complete the third circuit. The priest says a final prayer, removes the crowns, and separates their hands. But they’ve already started walking. That’s what stays with you. They don’t just promise to journey together someday. They begin it right there, in front of God and the whole Church, taking their first steps as husband and wife with Christ leading the way.
