Clerics

Thus appeared in the New Testament Christian Church three degrees of priesthood: the highest bishop, the middle presbyter (from the Greek word πρεσβυτης = old man, senior), and the lowest deacon. All these persons are collectively called clergymen.

Each of the degrees of the priesthood has its own varieties, depending on the merits of the given priest and the official position that he occupies. Thus, the bishops of more significant regions and cities bear the name of archbishops (from the Greek αρχαιος = old, honored bishop); Bishops of metropolitans, or capital cities, are called metropolitans (derived from μητηρ mother + πολις = city), or exarchs (εξαρχω means chief). The bishops of the ancient capitals of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, as well as later the heads of some Local Churches, were given the title of patriarchs (from πατηρ = father, αρχω rule, rule). Assistant bishops who administer crowded dioceses are called vicar (vice = instead of) bishops, or simply vicars, that is, "vicars." Priests, or priests, who stand at the head of large parish communities and cathedral churches, bear the title of "archpriests" (from the Greek πρωτος = first ιερευς priest = "first priest") and take precedence over other priests in divine services. Priests of palace, patriarchal and synodal churches bear the honorary title of "presbyters", and the first among them are "protopresbyters". Monks who have the rank of priest are called "hieromonks"; those who stand at the head of the monastery are "abbots" (from ηγουμενος = superior), and at the head of the largest and most glorious monasteries are "archimandrites". At present, these titles are given not only according to the position held, but also according to seniority and for special merits, as a reward or distinction for zealous clergymen. In the same way, senior deacons in cathedral churches are called "protodeacons." Deacons-monks are called "hierodeacons", and the elder of them are called "archdeacons".

It must be firmly known that by grace there is no difference between a patriarch, a metropolitan, an exarch, an archbishop and a bishop: in their grace-filled rights they are completely equal to each other. The difference between them is only in the advantage of honor and the power of government. We call every bishop, regardless of the titut he wears, "bishop," "hierarch," "hierarch," "archpastor," "bishop." In the same way, all priests, regardless of the honorary titut or title they wear, are absolutely equal among themselves by grace. The same goes for deacons. There are only three degrees of priesthood.

Clergy

From the clergy it is necessary to distinguish the clergy who are present and help at the divine services of bishops, presbyters and deacons. These are subdeacons, and readers, also called psalm-readers, and sextons. The difference between clergy and clergy is that clergymen are consecrated, or ordained by a bishop in the altar at the Divine Liturgy, receiving through this ordination the special grace of the priesthood, while clergymen are ordained to their service not through consecration – ordination, but through consecration – the laying on of the bishop's hand, which has the meaning of only a simple blessing, outside the altar, in the middle of the church, before the Divine Liturgy, during the reading of the hours.

A subdeacon is an assistant to a deacon in the episcopal service. He helps the bishop to put on his vestments, gives him a washbasin for washing his hands, dikirions and trikirions, and generally serves the bishop during divine services.

Sexton is a distorted name of paramonarius = παραμονη, which means "dwelling", that is, a church servant assigned to the altar, was also called in ancient times a candle-bearer, gives a censer, lights lamps, lights and carries candles, rings bells. In the Church Ustav, he is also called a "paraecclesiarch" and a "candilo incendiary", he lights lamps.

The reader, or psalmist, reads and sings on the kliros. In the rite of consecration of a reader, the degree of reader is called the "first degree of priesthood." When many singers sing on the kliros, the eldest, who directs all the singing, is called "golovshchika". In ancient times, when the number of liturgical books, due to their copying by hand, was extremely limited, one singer loudly proclaimed the words of the hymn, and after him all the other singers repeated. This was called canonaring, and such a singer or reader was called a "canonarch". In monasteries and some secular churches, canonarchs still exist, for this greatly adorns the divine services and makes it more accessible to the worshippers to hear and understand the text of the hymns.

5. Sacred garments

Sacred garments. If for worldly affairs on important solemn occasions they dress not in ordinary everyday clothes, but in other, better ones (Matt. 22:11-12), then it is all the more natural that in the service of the Lord God, the clergy and clergy dress in special clothes, the purpose of which is to distract their minds and hearts from all earthly things and to lift up sorrow to God. Special liturgical vestments were introduced for clergy as early as the Old Testament. It was strictly forbidden to enter the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple for service without special vestments, which after the service had to be taken off when leaving the temple, and ordinary clothes were put on (Ezek. 44:19). And at the present time, during the celebration of church services, the clergy and clergy are dressed in special sacred vestments, which, in accordance with the three degrees of the church hierarchy, are divided into deacon, priestly and episcopal. The clergy wear some of the deacon's robes.

According to the teaching of the Church, each highest degree of the church hierarchy contains grace, and at the same time the rights and privileges of the lower degrees. This idea is clearly expressed by the fact that the sacred garments peculiar to the lower degrees belong to the higher. Therefore, the order in the vestments is as follows: first they put on the clothes belonging to the lower rank, and then to the higher. Thus, the bishop is vested first in the vestments of a deacon, then in the vestments of a priest, and then in those belonging to him as a bishop; The priest also first puts on deacon's vestments, and then in priestly vestments.

Let us begin our consideration of the sacred vestments with the vestments of the reader or singer. This is a short phelonion, which is currently put on the reader only at his ordination. It has the appearance of a priestly phelonion, but differs from it in that it is very short, so that it barely covers the shoulders. It is worn around the neck of the person being ordained as a sign that he is coming under the yoke of the priesthood and is being ordained to the service of God. The reader now performs his service in a different garment, which is called the "sticharion".

A sticharion is a long straight garment with wide sleeves. Since priests and bishops wear the sticharion under other vestments, their sticharion changes slightly in its form and is called the "undersacristy". The sticharion is made for the most part of white or light cloth in order to remind the priest who wears it of the purity of life that is required of him by his service. The sticharion also signifies "the robe of salvation and the garment of gladness," that is, a calm conscience and the spiritual joy in the Lord that flows from it. That is why, during the vesting of the sticharion at the Liturgy, the following words are pronounced: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord: for clothe me with the robe of salvation, and clothe me with the garment of gladness: as to the bridegroom put a crown on me, and as a bride adorn me with beauty."