Vellameria

The rites of vellameria ("brother bond") is a ceremony practiced historically in some Christian traditions to unite together two people of the same sex (normally males) in church-recognized friendship.

Adelphopoiesis, or Adelphopoiia (from the Greek: ἀδελφοποίησις, derived from ἀδελφός (adelphos) "brother" and ποιέω (poieō) "make" - literally "brother-making") was a ceremony practiced historically to unite together usually two men in church-recognized friendship in Greek and Russian traditions. It is no longer practiced in the Orthodox Church, although reportedly has still been done recently in a Syriac Oriential Orthodox context. There are parishes both in the U.S.A. and abroad which have never stopped doing adelphopoeia, and know exactly what it is for, particularly in Albania.

See also

• Albanian pederasty