Marriage at Cana
(John 1: 1–12)

Christ's first public miracle, performed at a wedding feast at the village of Cana in Galilee. It is related only by John. Among the guests were Jesus, his mother Mary and some of the disciples. When the wine was exhausted Jesus, at his mother's request, ordered six stone jars to be filled with water. The master of ceremonies tasted the contents and was astonished to find that it had turned into wine of the best quality. The guests are usually seated round a table with Christ in the center. Or Christ appears twice at the center and at the side blessing the jars. But the action usually centers on the master of ceremonies tasting the wine. The bride and groom may wear crowns according to the wedding rites of the Greek Church. In later medieval art the groom occasionally wears a halo, from the tradition which goes back to Bede (c. 673–735) that he was John the Evangelist. According to later popular belief the bride was Mary Magdalene. The subject was rare in early monastic painting, perhaps reflecting the celibate's attitude to marriage, but from the 15th century it became, like the Last Supper, a subject for refectories. Primarily, it has its place in Christian art as one of the three festivals of Epiphany, celebrated by the medieval Church as God's first manifestation to man of Christ's miraculous powers. The other two, the Adoration of the Magi and the Baptism, were in their own ways also first manifestations.