Spiritual rank assigned to the abbot of an Orthodox monastery. Dignities and clothes of Orthodox priests and monasticism. Christian worldview and dogmas
A priest in the Orthodox Church is not just a "father". An uninitiated person guesses that there are many degrees of priesthood in the church: it is not for nothing that one Orthodox priest wears a silver cross, another gold, and the third is also decorated with beautiful stones. In addition, even a person who does not really delve into the Russian church hierarchy knows from fiction that the clergy can be black (monastic) and white (married). But, faced with such Orthodox as archimandrite, priest, protodeacon, the vast majority of people do not understand what it is all about, and how the listed clergymen differ from each other. Therefore, I offer a short overview of the orders of Orthodox clergy, which will help you understand a large number of spiritual titles.
The priest in the Orthodox Church is the black clergy
Let's start with the black clergy, since monastic Orthodox priests have many more titles than those who have chosen family life.
- The patriarch is the head of the Orthodox Church, the highest church rank. The patriarch is elected at the local council. A distinctive feature of his vestments is a white headdress (kukol), topped with a cross, and a panagia (the image of the Virgin adorned with precious stones).
- A metropolitan is the head of a large Orthodox church region (metropolis), which includes several dioceses. At present, this is an honorary (as a rule, award) rank, following immediately after the archbishop. The Metropolitan wears a white klobuk and panagia.
- An archbishop is an Orthodox clergyman who oversees several dioceses. It is currently an award. The archbishop can be distinguished by a black hood, decorated with a cross, and a panagia.
- A bishop is the head of an Orthodox diocese. It differs from the archbishop in that there is no cross on his klobuk. All patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops can be called in one word - bishops. All of them can ordain Orthodox priests and deacons, consecrate, and perform all other sacraments of the Orthodox Church. Episcopal ordination, according to church rule, is always performed by several bishops (council).
- An archimandrite is an Orthodox priest in the highest monastic rank, preceding the hierarchal. Previously, this dignity was assigned to the abbots of large monasteries, now it often has a reward character, and there can be several archimandrites in one monastery.
- Hegumen is a monk in the rank of an Orthodox priest. Previously, this title was considered quite high, and only the abbots of the monasteries had it. Today it is no longer important.
- Hieromonk is the lowest rank of a monastic priest in the Orthodox Church. Archimandrites, abbots and hieromonks wear black vestments (cassock, cassock, mantle, black hood without a cross) and a pectoral (pectoral) cross. They may perform church sacraments, except for ordination to holy orders.
- An archdeacon is a senior deacon in an Orthodox monastery.
- A hierodeacon is a junior deacon. Arch- and hierodeacons outwardly differ from monastic priests in that they do not wear a pectoral cross. Their vestments during worship also differ. They cannot perform any church sacraments, their functions include co-serving the priest during the service: the proclamation of prayer petitions, the carrying out of the Gospel, the reading of the Apostle, the preparation of sacred vessels, etc.
- Deacons, both monastics and those belonging to the white clergy, belong to the lower level of the priesthood, Orthodox priests to the middle, and bishops to the highest.
Orthodox clergyman - white clergy
- The archpriest is the senior Orthodox priest in the church, as a rule, he is the rector, but today in one parish, especially a large one, there can be several archpriests.
- Priest - junior Orthodox priest. White priests, like monastic priests, perform all the sacraments, except for ordination. Archpriests and priests do not wear a mantle (this is part of the monastic vestment) and a hood, their headdress is a kamilavka.
- Protodeacon, deacon - respectively senior and junior deacons among the white clergy. Their functions fully correspond to the functions of monastic deacons. White clergy are not ordained as Orthodox bishops only on the condition of taking the monastic rank (this often happens by mutual agreement in old age or in the case of widowhood, if the priest has no children or they are already adults.
Priestly ranks of white and black clergy
White clergy are married clergy. Black - these are monks in the priesthood. There are three hierarchical levels of the priesthood and each of them has its own hierarchy: deacon, priest, bishop. A deacon and a priest can be either a married priest or a monk. A bishop can only become a monk.
The Sacrament of the Priesthood is performed only when the candidate is raised to the next of the three steps. As for the hierarchy of ranks within these levels, in ancient times they were associated with special church obediences, and now they are associated with administrative power, special merits, or simply the term of service to the Church.
I. Bishops (bishops) - the highest sacred rank
Bishop - supervising bishop
Archbishop - most honored bishop
Metropolitan - bishop, head of the metropolis
Vicar - assistant to another bishop or his vicar
Patriarch - chief bishop in the Local Church
II. Hierei- second holy order
The word "priest" has several Greek synonyms:
For white priesthood:
1) Priest(priest; from Greek hieros - sacred) / Presbyter (from Greek presbyteros, literally - elder).
2) Archpriest(first priest) / Protopresbyter (first elder).
For black priesthood:
1) Hieromonk- a monk in the rank of priest.
2) Archimandrite- (from the Greek arshon - head, senior and mandra - sheepfold; literally - senior over the sheepfold), that is, senior over the monastery. The word "mandra" in Greece called the monasteries. In ancient times, only the abbot of one of the largest monasteries (in the modern Church of Constantinople and Greece, this practice is preserved, however, an employee of the Patriarchate and an assistant to the bishop can be an archimandrite). In the modern practice of the Russian Church, the title can be given to the abbot of any monastery and even just to abbots for special merits and after a certain period of service to the Church.
! hegumen- (from the Greek. hegumenos, literally - walking in front, leader, commander), currently the abbot of the monastery (he can be a hieromonk, and an archimandrite and a bishop). Until 2011 in the Russian Orthodox Church - Honored Hieromonk. When leaving the post of rector, the title of hegumen is retained. Also, this title remains with those who received it as an award until 2011 and are not abbots of monasteries.
III. Deacon - the lowest sacred rank
For the white priesthood:
- deacon
- protodeacon
For the black priesthood:
- hierodeacon
- archdeacon
Words stand out pop and protopop. In Russia, these words had no negative meaning. Apparently, they come from the Greek "pappas", which means "daddy", "father". In Russian, this word (due to its prevalence among the Western Slavs) probably came from Old High German: pfaffo - priest. In all ancient Russian liturgical and other books, the name "priest" is constantly found as a synonym for the words "priest", "priest" and "presbyter". Archpriest - the same as a protopresbyter or archpriest.
Appeal to the clergy:
As for appeals to priests, they exist official and unofficial. Informally, priests and deacons are usually called fathers: "Father George", "Father Nicholas", etc. Or simply "father". In official cases, the deacon is called - "Your Reverence", the presbyter - "Your Reverence", the protopresbyter - "Your Reverence". When addressing a bishop, they say "Vladyka" (Vladyka George, Vladyka Nikolai). In the Russian Orthodox Church, when officially addressing a bishop, he is called "Your Eminence", the archbishop and metropolitan is called "Your Eminence". The Patriarch is always addressed: "Your Holiness." All these appeals do not refer to the personality of a person, but to his ministry.
Ministers of the Church who, in the Sacrament of the Priesthood, receive a special gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit to perform the sacraments and worship, teach people the Christian faith and manage the affairs of the Church. There are three levels of priesthood: deacon, priest, and bishop. In addition, the entire clergy is divided into "white" - married or celibate priests and "black" - priests who have taken monastic vows.
- A bishop is appointed by a council of bishops (that is, several bishops together) in the Sacrament of the Priesthood by way of a special episcopal consecration.
- In the modern Russian tradition, only a monk can become a bishop.
- The bishop has the right to perform all sacraments and church services.
- As a rule, a bishop stands at the head of a diocese, a church district, and ministers to all the parish and monastic communities included in his diocese, but he can also perform special general church and diocesan obediences without having his own diocese.
Ranks of bishops
- Bishop
- The archbishop is the oldest, most honored bishop.
- A metropolitan is the bishop of a principal city, region, or province, or the most distinguished bishop.
- Vicar (lat. viceroy) bishop - an assistant to another bishop or his viceroy.
- Patriarch - chief bishop in the Local Orthodox Church
- The priest is ordained by the bishop in the Sacrament of the Priesthood through priestly ordination.
- The priest can perform all divine services and sacraments, except for the consecration of the world (the oil used in the Sacrament of Chrismation) and antimins (a special board consecrated and signed by the bishop on which the liturgy is performed), and the Sacraments of the Priesthood - they can only be performed by the bishop.
- A priest, like a deacon, as a rule, serves in a particular church, is assigned to it.
- The priest at the head of the parish community is called the rector.
Ranks of priests
From the white clergy
- Priest
- Archpriest - the first of the priests, usually an honored priest.
- Protopresbyter - a special title, rarely assigned, as a reward for the most worthy and honored priests, usually rectors of cathedrals.
From the black clergy
- Hieromonk
- Hegumen (Greek leader) - in ancient times the abbot of the monastery, in the modern Russian tradition, an honored hieromonk.
- Archimandrite (Greek head of the sheepfold) - in ancient times the abbot of individual famous monasteries, in modern tradition - the most honored hieromonk or abbot of the monastery.
- A bishop consecrates a deacon in the Sacrament of the Priesthood by way of deacon's ordination, i.e., ordination.
- The deacon assists the bishop or priest in the performance of divine services and sacraments.
- The participation of a deacon in worship services is not required.
Ranks of deacons
From the white clergy
- Deacon
- Protodeacon - senior deacon
From the black clergy
- Hierodeacon
- Archdeacon - senior hierodeacon
clergymen
Servants of the Church who are appointed to their position not in the Sacrament of the Priesthood, but through ordination, that is, with the blessing of the bishop. They do not have a special gift of the grace of the Sacrament of the Priesthood and are assistants to the clergy.
- Subdeacon - participates in hierarchical worship as an assistant to the bishop.
- Psalm reader / reader, singer - reads and sings during worship.
- The sexton / altar boy is the most common name for assistants in worship. Calls believers to worship by ringing bells, helps in
altar during worship. Sometimes the duty of ringing the bells is entrusted to special ministers - bell ringers, but such an opportunity is far from being in every parish.
There are many traditions and rituals in the Orthodox Church. One of the institutions of the Church is the hierarchy of spiritual orders: from the reader to the Patriarch. In the structure of the Church, everything is subject to order, which is comparable to the army. Every person in modern society, where the Church has influence and where the Orthodox tradition is one of the historical ones, is interested in its structure. From our article you will learn who is who in Orthodoxy, what are the spiritual orders in the Church and how to address the clergy.
Organization of the Church
The original meaning of the word "Church" is the assembly of Christ's disciples, Christians; in translation - "assembly". The concept of “Church” is quite broad: it is a building (in this meaning of the word a church and a temple are one and the same!), and an assembly of all believers, and a regional assembly of Orthodox people — for example, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church.
Also, the Old Russian word “sobor”, translated as “assembly”, is used to this day to refer to congresses of the episcopate and lay Christians (for example, the Ecumenical Council is a meeting of representatives of all Orthodox regional Churches, the Local Council is a meeting of one Church).
The Orthodox Church consists of three ranks of people:
- Lay people are ordinary people who are not invested with holy orders, who do not work in the church (at the parish). The laity are often referred to as "God's people".
- The clergy are lay people who are not ordained to the holy order, but who work in the parish.
- Priests, or clerics and bishops.
In the beginning it is necessary to tell about the clergy. They play an important role in the life of the Church, but they are not consecrated, they are not ordained through the Sacraments of the Church. To this category of people belong professions of different meanings:
- Watchmen, cleaners at the temple;
- Headmen of churches (parishes - these are people like the caretaker);
- Employees of the office, accounting and other departments of the Diocesan Administration (this is an analogue of the city administration, even non-believers can work here);
- Readers, altar servers, candle-bearers, psalm-readers, sexton - men (sometimes nuns) who serve at the altar with the blessing of the priest (once these positions were different, now they are mixed);
- Singers and regents (church choir conductors) - for the position of regent, you need to get the appropriate education in a theological school or seminary;
- Catechists, diocesan press officers, youth departments are people who must have a certain deep knowledge of the Church, they usually complete special theological courses.
Some clergy may have distinctive clothing - for example, in most churches, except for poor parishes, altar servers, readers and male candle-bearers are dressed in brocade surplices or cassocks (black clothes are slightly narrower than a cassock); at festive services, choristers and directors of large choirs dress in free-form, tailor-made, pious clothes of the same color.
We also note that there is such a category of people as seminarians and academicians. These are students of theological schools - colleges, seminaries and academies - where future priests are trained. This gradation of institutions corresponds to the lay school or college, the institute or university, and the graduate or graduate school. Students usually, in addition to studying, perform obediences in the church at the Theological School: they serve on the altar, read, and sing.
There is also the title of subdeacon. This is a person who helps the bishop in worship (carrying out a staff, bringing a basin for washing hands, putting on liturgical clothes). A deacon, that is, a clergyman, can also be a subdeacon, but most often this is a young man who does not have a holy order and performs only the duties of a subdeacon.
Priests in the Church
In fact, the word "priest" is a short name for all clergymen.
They are also called by the words: clergy, clergy, clergy (you can specify - temple, parish, diocese).
The clergy is divided into white and black:
- married clergy, priests who have not taken monastic vows;
- black - monks, while only they can occupy the highest church positions.
Let us first talk about the degrees of spiritual orders. There are three of them:
- Deacons - they can be both married people and monks (then they are called hierodeacons).
- Priests - also, a monastic priest is called a hieromonk (a combination of the words "priest" and "monk").
- Bishops - Bishops, Metropolitans, Exarchs (managers of Local small Churches subordinate to the Patriarchate, for example, the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate), Patriarchs (this is the highest rank in the Church, but this person is also called "Bishop" or "Primate of the Church").
Black clergy, monks
According to church tradition, a monk must live in a monastery, but a monastic priest - a hierodeacon or hieromonk - can be sent by the ruling bishop of the diocese to the parish, like an ordinary white priest.
In a monastery, a person who wants to become a monk and a priest goes through the following stages:
- A worker is a person who came to a monastery for a while without a firm intention to stay in it.
- A novice is a person who entered the monastery, performs only obediences (hence the name), lives according to the charter of the monastery (that is, living as a novice, you cannot go to friends for the night, go on dates, and so on), but who did not take monastic vows.
- A monk (cassock novice) is a person who has the right to wear monastic robes, but has not given all monastic vows. He receives only a new name, a symbolic haircut, and the opportunity to wear some symbolic clothes. At this time, a person has the opportunity to refuse to be tonsured as a monk, this will not be a sin.
- A monk is a person who has taken on a mantle (a small angelic image), a small schema of a schema. He gives vows of obedience to the abbot of the monastery, renunciation of the world and lack of possessions - that is, the absence of his property, everything now belongs to the monastery and the monastery itself takes on the responsibility to provide for a person’s life. Such tonsure of monks has been going on since antiquity and continues to the present day.
All these steps are in both women's and men's monasteries. Monastic charters are the same for everyone, however, in different monasteries there are different traditions and customs, relaxations and tightening of the charter.
Note that going to a monastery means choosing the difficult path of unusual people who love God with all their hearts and see no other way for themselves than serving Him, consecrating themselves to the Lord. These are true monks. Such people can even be successful in the world, but at the same time they will lack something - just as a lover lacks his beloved by his side. And only in prayer the future monk finds peace.
Church hierarchy of clergy
The priesthood of the Church has its foundation in the Old Testament. They go in ascending order and cannot be omitted, that is, the bishop must first be a deacon, then a priest. In all degrees of the priesthood, a bishop ordains (in other words, performs consecration) a bishop.
Deacon
Deacons belong to the lowest level of the priesthood. Through ordination to the diaconate, a person acquires the grace necessary to participate in the Liturgy and other divine services. The deacon cannot conduct the Sacraments and divine services alone, he is only an assistant to the priest. People who serve well in the rank of deacon for a long time receive the titles:
- white priesthood - protodeacons,
- black priesthood - archdeacons, who most often accompany the bishop.
Often in poor, rural parishes there is no deacon, and the priest performs his functions. Also, if necessary, the duties of a deacon can be performed by a bishop.
Priest
A person in the spiritual dignity of a priest is also called a presbyter, a priest; in monasticism, a hieromonk. Priests perform all the Sacraments of the Church, except for ordination (ordination), the consecration of the world (it is performed by the Patriarch - the world is necessary for the completeness of the Sacrament of Baptism of each person) and the antimension (a handkerchief with a sewn piece of holy relics, which is placed on the throne of each church). The priest who leads the life of the parish is called the rector, and his subordinates, ordinary priests, are full-time clergy. In a village or town, a priest usually presides, and in a city, an archpriest.
Rectors of churches and monasteries report directly to the bishop.
The title of archpriest is usually a reward for long service and good service. A hieromonk is usually awarded the rank of abbot. Also, the abbot of the monastery (priest-abbot) often receives the rank of hegumen. The abbot of the Lavra (a large, ancient monastery, of which there are not many in the world) receives an archimandrite. Most often, this rank is followed by the rank of bishop.
Bishops: Bishops, Archbishops, Metropolitans, Patriarchs.
- Bishop, translated from Greek - the head of the priests. They perform all the Sacraments without exception. Bishops ordain people as deacons and priests, however, only the Patriarch, co-served by several bishops, can ordain as bishops.
- Bishops who have distinguished themselves in their ministry and have served for a long time are called archbishops. Also, for even greater merits, they are elevated to the rank of metropolitans. They have a higher rank for services to the Church, and only metropolitans can manage metropolitanates - large dioceses, which include several small ones. An analogy can be drawn: a diocese is a region, a metropolis is a city with a region (Petersburg and the Leningrad Region) or a whole Federal District.
- Often other bishops are appointed to assist the metropolitan or archbishop, who are called vicar bishops or, in short, vicars.
- The highest spiritual rank in the Orthodox Church is the Patriarch. This rank is elective, and is chosen by the Council of Bishops (a meeting of bishops of the entire regional Church). Most often, he leads the Church together with the Holy Synod (Kinod, in different transcriptions, in different Churches) leads the Church. The dignity of the Primate (Head) of the Church is for life, however, if grave sins are committed, the Bishops' Court may remove the Patriarch from service. Also, at the request of the Patriarch, he can be sent to rest due to illness or advanced age. Until the convening of the Council of Bishops, a Locum Tenens (temporarily acting as the head of the Church) is appointed.
Appeal to an Orthodox Priest, Bishop, Metropolitan, Patriarch and Other Persons of the Spiritual Dignity
- They turn to the deacon and the priest - Your Reverence.
- To the archpriest, abbot, archimandrite - Your Reverence.
- To the Bishop - Your Eminence.
- To the metropolitan, archbishop - Your Eminence.
- To the Patriarch — Your Holiness.
In a more everyday situation, when talking to all bishops, they turn to “Vladyka (name)”, for example, “Vladyka Pitirim, bless.” The Patriarch is addressed either in the same way or, a little more officially, “His Holiness.”
May the Lord keep you with His grace and the prayers of the Church!
The priesthood of the Russian Orthodox Church is divided into three degrees, established by the holy apostles: deacons, priests and bishops. The first two include both white (married) clergy and black (monastic) clergy. Only persons who have taken monastic vows are raised to the last, third degree. According to this order, all church titles and positions have been established for Orthodox Christians.
Church hierarchy that came from Old Testament times
The order in which the church titles of Orthodox Christians are divided into three different degrees dates back to Old Testament times. This happens due to religious continuity. It is known from the Holy Scriptures that about one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ, the founder of Judaism, the prophet Moses, chose special people for worship - high priests, priests and Levites. It is with them that our modern church titles and positions are connected.
The first of the high priests was the brother of Moses - Aaron, and his sons became priests, who led all the services. But, in order to make numerous sacrifices, which were an integral part of religious rituals, helpers were needed. They were the Levites - the descendants of Levi, the son of the forefather Jacob. These three categories of clergymen of the Old Testament era have become the basis on which all church titles of the Orthodox Church are built today.
Lower order of the priesthood
Considering church titles in ascending order, we should begin with deacons. This is the lowest priestly rank, upon ordination to which God's Grace is acquired, which is necessary to fulfill the role that is assigned to them during worship. The deacon does not have the right to independently conduct church services and perform the sacraments, but is only obliged to help the priest. A monk who is ordained a deacon is called a hierodeacon.
Deacons who have served for a sufficiently long period of time and have proven themselves well receive the title of protodeacons (senior deacons) in the white clergy, and archdeacons in the black clergy. The privilege of the latter is the right to serve under the bishop.
It should be noted that all church services today are structured in such a way that, in the absence of deacons, they can be performed by priests or bishops without much difficulty. Therefore, the participation of a deacon in worship, although not obligatory, is rather an adornment than an integral part of it. As a result, in some parishes, where there are serious financial difficulties, this staff unit is reduced.
The second level of the priestly hierarchy
Considering further church ranks in ascending order, one should dwell on the priests. The holders of this rank are also called presbyters (in Greek "elder"), or priests, and in monasticism hieromonks. Compared to deacons, this is a higher level of priesthood. Accordingly, when one is ordained into it, a greater degree of Grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired.
Since the time of the Gospels, priests have led divine services and have been empowered to perform most of the holy sacraments, including everything except ordination, that is, ordination, as well as the consecration of antimensions and the world. In accordance with the official duties assigned to them, the priests lead the religious life of urban and rural parishes, where they can hold the post of rector. The priest is directly subordinate to the bishop.
For long and impeccable service, the priest of the white clergy is encouraged by the rank of archpriest (chief priest) or protopresbyter, and the black clergy by the rank of abbot. Among the monastic clergy, the abbot, as a rule, is appointed to the position of rector of an ordinary monastery or parish. In the event that he is instructed to lead a large monastery or lavra, he is called an archimandrite, which is an even higher and honorary title. It is from the archimandrites that the episcopate is formed.
Bishops of the Orthodox Church
Further, listing church titles in ascending order, it is necessary to pay special attention to the highest group of hierarchs - bishops. They belong to the category of clergy called bishops, that is, the heads of priests. Having received the greatest degree of Grace of the Holy Spirit upon ordination, they have the right to perform all Church sacraments without exception. They are given the right not only to conduct any church services themselves, but also to ordain deacons to the priesthood.
According to the Church Charter, all bishops have an equal degree of priesthood, while the most meritorious of them are called archbishops. A special group is made up of metropolitan bishops, called metropolitans. This name comes from the Greek word "metropolis", which means "capital". In cases where another bishop is appointed to assist one bishop in any high office, he bears the title of vicar, that is, deputy. The bishop is placed at the head of the parishes of an entire region, in this case called a diocese.
Primate of the Orthodox Church
And finally, the highest rank of the church hierarchy is the patriarch. He is elected by the Council of Bishops and, together with the Holy Synod, leads the entire local church. According to the Charter adopted in 2000, the rank of patriarch is for life, however, in some cases, the bishops' court is given the right to judge him, depose him and decide on his retirement.
In cases where the patriarchal see is vacant, the Holy Synod elects a locum tenens from among its permanent members, who acts as patriarch until he is legally elected.
Clergymen who do not have the Grace of God
Having mentioned all the church ranks in ascending order and returning to the very base of the hierarchical ladder, it should be noted that in the church, in addition to clergy, that is, clergy who have passed the sacrament of ordination and were able to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit, there is also a lower category - clergy. These include subdeacons, psalmists and sextons. Despite their church service, they are not priests and are accepted to vacant positions without ordination, but only with the blessing of the bishop or archpriest - the rector of the parish.
The duties of the psalmist include reading and singing during church services and when the priest performs the treb. The sexton is entrusted with calling the parishioners by ringing the bells to the church at the beginning of the divine services, making sure that candles are lit in the church, if necessary, helping the psalmist and serving the censer to the priest or deacon.
The subdeacons also take part in divine services, but only together with the bishops. Their duties are to help the Vladyka get dressed before the beginning of the service and, if necessary, to change the vestments in the process. In addition, the subdeacon gives the bishop lamps - dikirion and trikirion - to bless those praying in the temple.
Legacy of the Holy Apostles
We examined all church ranks in ascending order. In Russia and among other Orthodox peoples, these ranks bear the blessing of the holy apostles - disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. It was they who, having become the founders of the earthly Church, established the existing order of the church hierarchy, taking as a model the example of the Old Testament times.