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Before the Ring: Myths Christians Must Ditch | Patristic Nectar Marriage Conf 2025 Candid Reactions

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Stop Waiting to Be “Ready”—Build a Holy Marriage Now.  The Patristic Nectar Marriage Conference 2025 was not a moment too soon - see real reactions!  

What if marriage isn’t just a contract, but a calling from God that shapes who we become?
In this story-driven recap from a vibrant Christian marriage conference, we follow the journey from culture’s delay tactics—“wait until you’re perfect, richer, or have seen the world”—to a Christ-centered vision that treats marriage as the workshop of love.

You’ll hear why young couples are stepping into vows with courage, how Scripture frames marriage as a covenant and a living icon of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5), and why repentance isn’t shame—it’s the practical art of repair. Attendees share the relief of replacing unhelpful narratives with habits that actually build a home: daily prayer, honest conversation, small acts of service, and a church community that refuses to let money fears or perfectionism become a wall.

What we cover:

From “I’ll marry when I’m perfect” to “I’m formed by the promises I keep.”

Covenant over contract: why vows carry you when feelings fluctuate.

Dying to self, daily: forgiving quickly, guarding unity, speaking the truth in love.

Beauty with responsibility: welcoming children, stability, and the quiet strength that blesses families, neighborhoods, and churches.

Practical rhythms you can start tonight—shared prayer, check-ins, budgeting as a team, and serving together.

If you’re engaged, newly married, or rethinking commitment, this conversation offers hope, tools, and a bigger purpose: marriage as a holy calling that forms us into Christlike love.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who’s on the fence about marriage, and leave a quick rating or review—your words help others find a path toward faithful love.

Visit Patristic Nectar and Father Josiah Trenham: https://patristicnectar.org/

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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Please leave a comment with your thoughts!

SPEAKER_11:

Marriage is all around us. It's not just a man it's not a man-made institution.

SPEAKER_04:

There was a lot of information. I'm still processing everything, but it was so useful and helpful. I'm excited to go back and uh practice all the things that I learned about loving my wife.

SPEAKER_09:

Hi, I'm Layla.

SPEAKER_04:

Hi, I'm Amen.

SPEAKER_09:

We are so stoked to be here at the marriage conference with all my patristic nectar and following aside trying to.

SPEAKER_02:

I think today's been a really great day, just learning new things about marriage and the love of marriage, you know, being such a huge cornerstone of civilization. Um, and then seeing all these young people like myself that are really looking forward to getting married. Um I actually I'm engaged, I brought my fiance here, so I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_13:

How the Lord fashioned us in the beginning of time was to essentially replicate his love that he has for humanity through marriage.

SPEAKER_06:

Because I think that's what it's about. I do to have a purpose, and what else better than to just go ahead and be married and have children, and that gives you a purpose.

SPEAKER_05:

Marriage in itself needs to be God-centered, and God needs to be number one within the marriage to make marriage lasting, loving, and especially in unity, and it's better for society.

SPEAKER_08:

And not letting finance stand in the way of marriage, as it should be a communal thing where we all come together and support young families and encourage them to have babies.

SPEAKER_01:

Woman was made out of man from out of his rib. You know, she wasn't made uh out of any other part of uh his body but the rib in order to show that man and woman are supposed to be together side by side, uh helping each other, loving each other, and working towards uh one another's salvation.

SPEAKER_12:

It gives you like a different perspective of like what actually marriage is in the Christian um you know community. Um so it's yeah, I would definitely recommend it, you know. Um maybe they should bring out some Spanish teachers, you know, so we can invite everyone.

SPEAKER_10:

What we're getting from the conference is just understanding that marriage is important. And for a long time we grew up in a society where they were telling us it didn't matter. Um basically being single was the thing to do, but we come to a different understanding that marriage is important, family is important. Um that's why we're starting our own family as well.

SPEAKER_11:

For women, unfortunately, is actually the same thing too. It's not just for men, it's for women too. Hey, you need to have a really good job, you need to have traveled the world. Um, these are simply not true, and it's really important to hear that. It is not true.

SPEAKER_04:

Right now, marriage is everything, and so we need to make it important again.

SPEAKER_09:

And be around other young people. Yeah, yeah. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Very much in breath of fresh air to not be around the young people that we're around a lot who don't really have the same views as us, so it's cool to be around like a family who supports that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02:

We're called to die to ourselves, but I'm I really want I'm very interested in finding out how that works in marriage. You know, because we're always called to die to ourselves, but how I as a future husband can die to myself, you know, that's what I really want to achieve. You know, God willing one day, you know, He'll grant me the grace and the guidance to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_13:

Come to understand that without marriage in this society there is no hope for union between man and woman and for the sake of the youth, as the youth is the future, our children are the future.

SPEAKER_06:

Almost no committal uh in any way because uh right now that is what I guess is popular, right?

SPEAKER_05:

Hi, my name is Daniel. I have been married for six years. I was I started, I got married at 19 years old. Um 25 now.

SPEAKER_08:

I think the conference has really uh connected scripture to marriage in a way that I had never considered before. Especially showing how marriage is the manifestation of the Trinity.

SPEAKER_01:

I think all the speakers um had uh unique things to contribute uh during these conversations. Um I especially enjoyed uh Father Josiah's speech and talking about uh the need uh for repentance, repentance from the things that have been destroying our civilization when it comes to family and marriage.

SPEAKER_12:

Just seeing the different speakers, you know, and like different denominations too, in a way. Um to me it was just like to see the holy matrimony with the don't buy the lies anymore.

SPEAKER_00:

We've all been duped, um especially as millennials. I think we bought into a lie, and that's exactly what the Sitan Kingdom wants. So there's truth. The truth is in orthodoxy. Um study the church fathers, get back, return to the church. The church is beautiful, and that's what the world needs, and marriage is beautiful.

SPEAKER_10:

Marriage is beautiful, life is beautiful, and having children is beautiful too.

SPEAKER_11:

I feel really inspired to approach marriage and the way that I think about it in a completely different way after this weekend. So glory to God and thank you to Patrista Connector for organizing such a wonderful event.

SPEAKER_13:

We are Christians that are made in the image of God, but are we in his likeness is what we have to come to understand.

SPEAKER_07:

Being called to something, being called to something within yourself that you when you feel your heart move towards it, you feel the distance. And that is the call to repentance.

SPEAKER_04:

In every life that is created, we see the creation from Genesis, um, we see the Trinity, and um, I think it's just wonderful now to think that we get to participate in another way of reflecting God in that we also create life that can also create life, but how much more beautiful creating a life um in the context of a godly marriage and holy matrimony as it's called.

SPEAKER_11:

It's all around us because it it has been given to us by God.