a quotation from a wedding sermon preached by Saint Tikhon of Moscow in San Francisco in 1902, while he was bishop of the Church in America. We know of no more wonderful description of the creation of Eve to be Adam’s helpmate than we find in this sermon: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helpmeet for him”(Gen. 2: 18), said God Himself, when our forefather Adam was still in Paradise. Without a helpmate the very bliss of Paradise was not complete for Adam. Endowed with the ability to think, speak, and love, the first man in his thoughts is seeking another being who is able to think. His speech sounds sorrowfully in the air, and only a lifeless echo serves as an answer to him. And his heart, full of love, is looking for another heart that is close and equal to his. His entire being desires another being similar to him, but there is no such being. The creatures of the visible world around him are lower than he is and cannot be helpmates appropriate for him; and the beings of the invisible, spiritual world are higher than he is.
Then the All-Merciful God, who cares about the bliss of man, fulfills his need and creates for him a helpmate appropriate for him –a wife.