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."

The vestments of a subdeacon and a deacon, in addition to those indicated, are as follows: orarion or orarion. This is a kind of long wide ribbon, with which the subdeacon girds himself crosswise, and the deacon mostly wears it on his left shoulder. The girdle of the orarion is a sign that by humility, chastity of his loins, and purity of heart, the subdeacon must acquire for himself the garment of purity. For this reason, subdeacons, after their consecration to the orarion, can no longer marry (26th Apostolic Canon and 6th Ecumenical Canon 6).

When a subdeacon is ordained a deacon, the orarion is dissolved, and the bishop places it on the left shoulder of the newly ordained deacon. Only at the Liturgy, after the Lord's Prayer, does the deacon gird himself with the orarion of the cross, thus preparing himself for communion of the Holy Mysteries. The Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Usually he wears the orarion on his left shoulder and, during the exclamations of litanies and other exclamations of the deacons, raises the end of the orarion, holding it with three fingers of his right hand, gives a sign to the singers and the priest himself about the time of this or that sacred action. In ancient times, the deacon wiped the lips of communicants with an orarion. The word "orarion" is derived either from the Latin "oro" "I ask or pray", or from the Greek "ωρα" "time", or from the Latin "os" "mouth". The orarion depicts the wings of angels, for the deacon's service symbolizes the service of angels at the throne of God. Therefore, an angelic song is sometimes embroidered on the orar: "Holy, Holy, Holy." When taking on the orarion, the deacon does not, however, read any prayer.

The deacon's vestments also include:

Handrails, or "armlets". They are used in order to tighten the edges of the sleeves of the lower garments, as if to strengthen the arms, to make them more capable for the priesthood. The handrails remind the priest that he should not rely on his own strength, but on the right hand of the Lord, His power and help. Therefore, when putting the handrails on the right hand, the prayer is pronounced: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in the fortress: thy right hand, O Lord, crush the enemies, and with the multitude of thy glory thou hast erased the adversaries." Putting it on his left hand, he says: "Thy hands have created me and created me: enlighten me, and I will learn by thy commandment." The cuffs remind us of the bonds by which the Lord's most pure hands were bound.

The priest's clothes include:

Epitrachelion (from επι=on, τραχηλος = neck), "navynik" is a garment that encircles the neck from behind and extends through the chest to the bottom. This epitrachelion is nothing else than a deacon's orarion, wrapped around the neck so that both ends of it descend in front. In ancient times, when ordaining a deacon to the priesthood, the bishop, instead of placing the epitrachelion on him, transferred only the rear end of the orarion to the right shoulder so that both ends hung in front. This is indicated by the very form of the epitrachelion, which represents, as it were, a double-folded orarion. Epitrachelion signifies the special grace of the priesthood granted to the priest. When putting on the stole, the prayer is pronounced: "Blessed be God, pour out Thy grace upon Thy priests, as the myrrh on the head, which descendeth upon the breast, the Brethren of Aaron, which descendeth upon the whirlpools of his garments" (Psalm 132:2). A priest without an epitrachelion, as well as a deacon without an orarion, does not perform a single service. Less solemn services he performed in one stole.

The belt is a kind of ribbon with which the priest girds himself over the undersacristy and epitrachelion in order to make it more convenient to perform the rites. This belt resembles the girdle of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Last Supper and signifies the power of God, which strengthens the priest and bishop for their lofty service to God, and, at the same time, their readiness for this service. When putting on the belt, the words are pronounced: "Blessed be God, gird me with strength, and make my way blameless, make my nose like a deer, and set me on high."