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-{{Short description|Christian theological concept}}
-__NOTOC__
-[[File:Antonio Cavallucci (1752-1795) - The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (after Correggio) - 732135 - National Trust.jpg|thumb|[[Antonio Cavallucci]], ''The Mystic Marriage of [[Catherine of Alexandria|Saint Catherine]]'']]
-Within the [[Christianity|Christian]] tradition, '''bridal theology''', also referred to as '''mystical marriage''', is the [[New Testament]] portrayal of communion with Jesus as a marriage, and God's reign as a wedding banquet.<ref name=Kenda>{{Cite book  | last1 = Kenda  | first1 = Creasy Dean | title = Practicing passion: youth and the quest for a passionate church | year = 2004 | publisher = Eerdmans Pub. | location = Grand Rapids, Mich.  | isbn = 0-8028-4712-9 | pages = 124–126 }}</ref> This tradition in turn traces back to the [[Old Testament|Hebrew Bible]], especially allegorical interpretations of the erotic [[Song of Songs]] (or Song of Solomon).<ref>{{Cite book  | last1 = Balthasar | first1 = Hans Urs von | last2 = Fessio | first2 = Joseph | last3 = Riches | first3 = John Kenneth | title = The glory of the Lord: a theological aesthetics | year = 1983 | publisher = Ignatius Press  | location = San Francisco  | isbn = 0-89870-249-6 }}</ref>
-In Christianity, bridal theology plays a role in the lives of those who become Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican nuns and [[Religious sister (Catholic)|religious sisters]]; for this reason, nuns and religious sisters are often termed "brides of Christ" for this reason.<ref name="Burns2014">{{cite web |last1=Burns |first1=Helena |title=What Is It Like Being Married to Jesus? |url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/forum/what-is-it-like-being-married-to-jesus |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=English |date=5 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="Thomas 2017"/> Additionally, those who dedicate their lives as [[consecrated virgin]]s live as a "spouse of Christ", spending their lives devoted to serving in the local church and praying for all the faithful (being gifted a [[breviary]] after undergoing the rite).<ref>{{cite web |title=Story of a Consecrated Virigin |url=https://www.rcan.org/story-consecrated-virigin |publisher=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark]] |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=English |date=31 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Indiana woman becomes rare consecrated virgin |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-becomes-rare-consecrated-virgin-in-wedding-to-jesus-christ/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=English}}</ref> Expanding on this, in ''[[The Harvard Ichthus]]'', Jane Thomas explained that in a sense, all Christian women are brides of Christ:<ref name="Thomas 2017">{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Jane |title=Loving Jesus Back: Nuns Really Do Get Married |url=https://harvardichthus.org/2017/09/loving-jesus-back-nuns-really-do-get-married/ |publisher=[[The Harvard Ichthus]] |access-date=10 April 2022 |date=6 September 2017}}</ref>
-{{quotation|Just as these Sisters are the brides of Christ, so too is every married woman (whether she sees it or not), for just as Jesus dwells in school children, so too does he dwell in the husband of a married woman. In this way, she too is married to Christ. Paul’s instruction, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ep 5:22), is more than just a metaphor meant to illustrate a degree of submission. Rather, he is describing a spiritual reality, contingent on Christ’s indwelling in the husband. And who is the person to whom the wife submits? A man who loved his bride the church so much that he died for her sake. ... If I am called to marriage, then I am called to love Jesus and minister to Jesus by pouring out my love to one man, my husband. When I make him laugh, when I bring him joy, when I love him even at his worst, I am doing these things to Jesus.<ref name="Thomas 2017"/>}}
-Bridal theology has influenced the works of, among others, [[Henry Suso]], [[Catherine of Siena]], [[Teresa of Ávila]], [[Gregory the Great]] and [[Bernard of Clairvaux]].<ref name=Kenda/>
-== Analogous concepts ==
-A similar concept existed in [[Valentinianism|Valentinian Gnosticism]] with the notion of the [[Valentinianism#Bridal Chamber|Bridal Chamber]], which involved a marriage to one's heavenly counterpart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gnosis.org/library/valentinus/Valentinian_Sacramental.htm|title = Valentinian Sacramental Practice - Valentinus and the Valentinian Tradition}}</ref><ref>  Philip L. Tite, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Rx0oruxQg0C&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=valentinian+bridal+chamber&source=bl&ots=784kHiP7dc&sig=WjnkFy_8O0XIeuZ0WCCQMixFwmo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qVJyUN7AGu200AGC1oCYCw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=valentinian%20bridal%20chamber&f=false ''Valentinian Ethics and Paraenetic Discourse'']</ref> Some mystics take this "marriage" as a symbol of the union of the human soul with God.
-==See also==
-{{Portal|Christianity}}
-* [[Bride of Christ]]
-* [[Christian headcovering]]
-* [[Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine]]
-* [[Spirit spouse]]
-==References==
-{{commons|Category:Mystic marriage|Bridal theology}}
-{{Reflist}}
-{{Private revelation|state=collapsed}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridal Theology}}
 [[Category:Christian mysticism]]
-[[Category:Marriage and religion]]
+[[Category:Marriage in Christianity]]
 [[Category:Christian terminology]]
-{{Christian-theology-stub}}