Cross – at baptism, the cross is placed on every Christian. But it is worn under clothes. The bishop wears the cross over his clothes and over his vestments. The bishop's cross is usually gold and decorated with precious stones. At the laying of the cross, the words of the Gospel are pronounced: "If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, saith the Lord, and take up his cross and follow me."

The same cross is given to archimandrites. It usually has a crown at the top and pendants at the bottom. A similar cross, but without a crown and a pendant, is given as a very high reward to some abbots and archpriests. In the Russian Church there is also a golden cross without decorations, which since the time of Emperor Paul has been given to all archpriests and some priests as a reward. Since the time of Emperor Nicholas II, all newly ordained priests in the Russian Church have been given a silver eight-pointed cross. In the East, these crosses are not known. There is only a decorated cross, as a distinction between bishops, archimandrites and some archpriests, who are therefore called "stavrophore", that is, "cross-bearing".

Nanedrennik, or Panagia (from παν = all, αγια=holy), that is: "All-holy". In another way, the panagia is also called: εγκολπιον = "encolpius". This is a small round icon, the face of the Savior or the Mother of God, worn on the bowels, that is, on the chest of bishops and some archimandrites. The panagia was previously built in the form of a folding reliquary, which had an icon of the Mother of God on one side, and the Savior or St. John's icon on the other. In the same way as the refectory panagia is arranged, otherwise called the "panagiar", where a part of the prosphora in honor of the Mother of God is placed, which is actually called the "panagia". In monasteries to this day the rite of raising the panagia is performed in memory of the appearance of the Mother of God to the Apostles after Her Ascension to Heaven. Sometimes the relics of saints were also placed in the panagia. On some bishops, such as patriarchs, and in general on those who head autocephalous, that is, independent local Churches, two panagias are laid. In addition to the Patriarch, two panagias were worn by the Metropolitans of Kiev, in memory of the fact that they had previously headed the Russian Church.

In addition to the above-mentioned vestments, during the hierarchal service, the mantle, the staff and the eaglets are also used.

The mantle (μανδυον = "mandion"), otherwise "palium" from pallium – outer garment, is a monastic garment that covers the entire body, except for the head. With its free fluttering, it depicts the wingedness of angels, and therefore is called angelic clothing. Embracing the entire body, the mantle symbolizes the all-encompassing power of God, as well as the strictness, reverence and humility of monastic life, and the fact that neither the monk's hands nor other members live and are incapable of worldly and sinful deeds, but all are dead. Monastics must wear mantles when performing divine services (Helmsman, Book 2, Part of St. Nicephorus, p. 18). An ordinary monastic robe is black and does not have any decorations on it. The bishop's mantle has the peculiarity that it is lilac in color, the so-called tablets, or pomats, and springs are sewn on it, and it is fastened at the bottom front with two buttons. Tablets and clasps at the bottom are also on the archimandrite's black mantle. Tablets are quadrangular plates of usually dark red color (and for archimandrites also green), which are sewn to the upper and lower edges of the mantle in twos. They represent the Old and New Testaments, from which the clergy must draw their teaching. Sometimes crosses or icons embroidered with gold or other colored threads are also sewn on the tablets. In addition to the tablets on the bishop's mantle, there are other sources. These are ribbons of different colors, mostly white and red, which are sewn along the mantle and depict streams of teaching flowing from the lips of the bishop. On the bishop's mantle there are also bells, as they were on the outer garment of the Jewish high priest. According to custom, in some local Churches, some bishops, such as patriarchs and metropolitans, wear green and blue mantles. All monastics, not excluding bishops, serve in the mantle in all those cases where it is not prescribed by the Ustav to put on full vestments.

The staff, or staff, is a sign of pastoral authority over the flock and paternal care for them. That is why it is also called πατερησσα="paterissa" from πατηρ="patir" – father. The staff is given to the bishop as a sign that he is to shepherd the Church of Christ. In monasteries, the staff is also given to the archimandrite and abbot as a sign of their spiritual authority over the monastery in which they are appointed superiors. Wands are arranged with a transverse, somewhat curved, crossbar at the top. Sometimes, instead of a crossbar, serpent's heads are depicted, signifying the wisdom of pastoral authority ("Be wise as a serpent" Matt. 10:16). The top of the staff is crowned with a cross. On the staff of a bishop, sometimes an archimandrite, is hung at the hilt of his sulk, or a small gold-embroidered cloth, with which the top of the staff is wrapped to decorate it. The bishop makes entrances and exits with a staff in his hands, and the rest of the time the staff is held by a reader called a "staff-bearer" or "staffer". He does not have the right to lean on a staff while holding it, but must hold it "with his hands a little lifting". During the Small and Great Entrances at the Liturgy, the staff is carried in front. The rest of the time, the reader holds his staff, usually standing at the icon of the Savior on the soleum.

Orletsy is the name of small round rugs with the image of an eagle flying over the city. The bishop elected to the episcopate is elevated to the orlets at consecration, and then during each service the bishop (uses) has orlets. On the eagles the city is depicted, as a sign of the bishopric in the city, as well as the eagle signifying the purity of the right teaching, in imitation of the eagle that is depicted under Ap. and the Evangelist John the Theologian. To express this thought, the eagle has a radiance, as if revealing the light of theological knowledge and a grace-filled gift. During the service, the eagles are placed under the feet of the bishop and remind him that he must be above all earthly things in his thoughts and deeds and strive for heaven like an eagle.

The meaning of sacred garments, their decoration and color

The sacred vestments symbolize, for the most part, the humiliated state of Christ the Savior, but, nevertheless, the Holy Spirit. The church adorns them with silver, gold and precious stones. By this she shows that for her there is nothing more precious, more glorious than these sufferings of the Lord. And the cross, on which the Lord endured the greatest sufferings and torments, the Holy Church imposes on all church vestments, as a sign of the Lord's victory over sin, death and hell, and thus inspires that she does not want to boast of anything else but the cross of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:14).

Vestments come in different colors. It has become a custom to use light colors on feast days, and dark colors on Lenten days. Now it is customary to wear golden vestments on Sundays, on the days of commemoration of the Holy Apostles and Martyrs of red color, on the days of feasts in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos of blue color, on the days of commemoration of the prophets of green color, during Great Lent on weekdays and during Passion Week, except for Great Thursday and Great Saturday of black color. From Easter to Pentecost, from the Nativity of Christ to Theophany, and on the Transfiguration of the Lord, it is white. On Holy Saturday, immediately after the reading of the Epistle during the singing of "Arise, O God," it is indicated in the Ustav to change the black vestments to light ones. At Paschal Matins, it is customary to change vestments at each new entrance to censing the entire church, which symbolizes the special triumph of the Church. The sacrament of baptism is indicated to be performed in white vestments, the funeral service, except for the period of Pentecost, in dark vestments.

While the monastics wear special headdresses, such as the klobuk, kamilavka and skufia of black color, the priests of the white clergy are given in the form of distinction, or awards, skufia, and then purple kamilavkas. The name "skoufia" comes from σκυφος = "scythos" cup, because its shape resembles a cup. The kamilavka comes from the name of the material from which it used to be made in the East and which was produced from the neck hair of a camel (καμηλος = "kamilos" camel and αυχην "auhin" = neck).

6. Sacred Acts and Ceremonies

During divine services, various kinds of sacred actions and rites are used, which are called symbolic, because behind the visible, external, way of performing them, lies and hides some sacred thought. Thanks to prayerful consecration with the performance of certain symbolic actions, ordinary material earthly objects acquire a special, new religious dignity and significance.

Such symbolic actions include: 1) Making the sign of the cross, 2) Small and great bows, 3) Blessing, 4) Lighting candles, 5) Censing, and 6) Sprinkling holy water.