IN Orthodox Church There are three degrees of priesthood: deacon, priest, bishop. In addition, all the clergy are divided into “white” - married and “black” - monks.
Deacon (Greek “diakonos” - minister) is a clergyman of the first (junior) degree of the priesthood. He participates in worship, but does not perform the sacraments himself. A deacon in the monastic rank is called a hierodeacon. The senior deacon in the white (married) clergy is called a protodeacon, and in monasticism - an archdeacon.
A priest, or presbyter (Greek "pre-sbyteros" - elder), or priest (Greek "hier-is" - priest), is a clergyman who can perform six of the seven sacraments, with the exception of the sacrament of Ordination, that is, elevation to one of the degrees church hierarchy. Priests are subordinate to the bishop. They are entrusted with leading church life in urban and rural parishes. The senior priest in the parish is called the rector.
Only a deacon (married or monastic) can be ordained to the rank of presbyter. A priest holding the monastic rank is called a hieromonk. Elder Elders white clergy are called archpriests, protopresbyters, and monastics are called abbots. The abbots of monastic monasteries are called archimandrites. The rank of archimandrite is usually held by the abbot of a large monastery or monastery. Hegumen is the rector of an ordinary monastery or parish church.
Bishop (Greek "episkopos" - guardian) is a clergyman of the highest degree. A bishop is also called a bishop, or hierarch, that is, a priest, sometimes a saint.
A bishop governs the parishes of an entire area, called a diocese. The bishop who governs the parishes of a large city and the surrounding region is called a metropolitan.
The Patriarch is the “principal” - the head of the Local Church, elected and appointed at the Council - the highest rank of the church hierarchy.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church is His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. He governs the church with the Holy Synod. In addition to the Patriarch, the Synod constantly includes the Metropolitans of Kiev, St. Petersburg, Krutitsky, and Minsk. The permanent member of the Holy Synod is the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. Four more are invited from the rest of the episcopate in rotation as temporary members for six months.
In addition to the three sacred ranks in the Church, there are also lower official positions - subdeacons, psalm-readers and sextons. They are classified as clergy and are appointed to their positions not through Ordination, but by bishop’s or abbot’s blessing.
It would be correct to say that those people who work in churches and benefit the Church perform a service that is quite difficult, but very pleasing to God.
For many people, the Church remains hidden in darkness, and this is why some people often have a distorted understanding of it, an incorrect attitude towards what is happening. Some expect holiness from employees in temples, others asceticism.
So, who serves in the temple?
Perhaps I’ll start with the ministers to make it easier to perceive further information.
Those serving in churches are called clergy and clergy, all clergy in a particular church are called clergy, and together clergy and clergy are called the clergy of a particular parish.
Clergy
Thus, clergy are people who are consecrated in a special way by the head of a metropolitan or diocese, with the laying on of hands (ordination) and acceptance of holy clergy. These are people who have taken the oath and also have spiritual education.
Careful selection of candidates before ordination (ordination)
As a rule, candidates are ordained as clergy after lengthy testing and preparation (often 5 - 10 years). Previously, this person underwent obedience at the altar and has a reference from the priest from whom he obeyed in the church; then he undergoes a prostitute confession from the confessor of the diocese, after which the metropolitan or bishop makes a decision about whether a particular candidate is worthy of being ordained.
Married or Monk...But married to the Church!
Before ordination, the protege is determined whether he will be a married minister or a monk. If he is married, he must marry in advance and after checking the relationship for strength, ordination is performed (priests are prohibited from being foreigners).
So, the clergy received the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ, namely: performing divine services, teaching people the Christian faith, good life, piety, manage church affairs.
There are three degrees of priesthood: bishops (metropolitans, archbishops), priests, and deacons.
Bishops, Archbishops
Bishop is the highest rank in the Church, they receive highest degree Grace, they are also called bishops (the most honored) or metropolitans (who are the head of the metropolis, i.e. the main ones in the region). Bishops can perform all seven of the seven sacraments of the Church and all Church services and rites. This means that only bishops have the right not only to perform ordinary divine services, but also to ordain (ordain) clergy, as well as to consecrate chrism, antimensions, temples and altars. Bishops govern priests. And bishops submit to the Patriarch.
Priests, Archpriests
A priest is a clergyman, the second sacred rank after the bishop, who has the right to independently perform six sacraments of the Church out of seven possible, i.e. the priest can perform the sacraments with the blessing of the bishop and church services, except for those that are supposed to be performed only by the bishop. More worthy and honored priests are given the title of archpriest, i.e. senior priest, and the main one among the archpriests is given the title of protopresbyter. If the priest is a monk, then he is called hieromonk, i.e. priest, for their length of service they can be awarded the title of hegumen, and then the even higher title of archimandrite. Particularly worthy archimandrites can become bishops.
Deacons, Protodeacons
A deacon is a clergyman of the third, lowest priestly rank who assists a priest or bishop during worship or the performance of the sacraments. He serves during the celebration of the sacraments, but cannot perform the sacraments on his own; therefore, the participation of a deacon in the divine service is not necessary. In addition to helping the priest, the deacon's task is to call the worshipers to prayer. His distinctive feature in vestments: He dresses in a surplice, on his hands there are guards, on his shoulder there is a long ribbon (orarion), if the deacon’s ribbon is wide and sewn overlapping, then the deacon has an award or is a protodeacon (senior deacon). If the deacon is a monk, then he is called a hierodeacon (and the senior hierodeacon will be called an archdeacon).
Church ministers who do not have holy orders and help in ministry.
Hippodiacons
Hippodiacons are those who help in the bishop's service, they vest the bishop, hold the lamps, move the orlets, present the official at a certain time, and prepare everything necessary for the service.
Psalmists (readers), singers
Psalmists and singers (choir) - read and sing on the choir in the temple.
Charterers
The Ustanovnik is a psalm-reader who knows the liturgical Rule very well and promptly hands the singing singers the necessary book (during worship, quite a lot of liturgical books are used and they all have their own name and meaning) and, if necessary, independently reads or proclaims (performs the function of a canonarch).
Sextons or altar boys
Sextons (altar servers) - help priests (priests, archpriests, hieromonks, etc.) during divine services.
Novices and workers
Novices, laborers - mostly only visit monasteries, where they perform various obediences
Inoki
A monk is a resident of a monastery who has not taken vows, but has the right to wear monastic robes.
Monks
A monk is a resident of a monastery who has taken monastic vows before God.
A schemamonk is a monk who has made even more serious vows before God compared to an ordinary monk.
In addition, in temples you can find:
Abbot
The rector is the chief priest, rarely a deacon, at a particular parish
Treasurer
Treasurer is a kind of Chief Accountant as a rule, this is ordinary woman from the world, which is assigned by the abbot to perform specific work.
Headman
The headman is the same caretaker, a housekeeping assistant; as a rule, he is a pious layman who has a desire to help and manage the household of the church.
Economy
Economy is one of the housekeeping employees where it is required.
Registrar
Registrar - these functions are performed by an ordinary parishioner (from the world), who serves in the church with the blessing of the rector; she prepares the requirements and custom prayers.
Cleaning woman
The temple servant (for cleaning, maintaining order in the candlesticks) is an ordinary parishioner (from the world), who serves in the temple with the blessing of the abbot.
Servant in the Church Shop
A servant in a church shop is an ordinary parishioner (from the world), who serves in the church with the blessing of the rector, performs the functions of consulting and selling literature, candles and everything that is sold in church shops.
Janitor, security guard
An ordinary man from the world who serves in the Temple with the blessing of the abbot.
Dear friends, I draw your attention to the fact that the author of the project asks for the help of each of you. I serve in a poor village Temple, I really need various help, including funds for the maintenance of the Temple! Website of the parish Church: hramtrifona.ru
Every Orthodox person meets with clergy who speak publicly or conduct services in church. At first glance, you can understand that each of them wears some special rank, because it’s not for nothing that they have differences in clothing: different color robes, headdresses, some have jewelry made of precious stones, while others are more ascetic. But not everyone is given the ability to understand ranks. To find out the main ranks of clergy and monks, let's look at the ranks of the Orthodox Church in ascending order.
It should immediately be said that all ranks are divided into two categories:
- Secular clergy. These include ministers who may have a family, wife and children.
- Black clergy. These are those who accepted monasticism and renounced worldly life.
Secular clergy
The description of people who serve the Church and the Lord comes from Old Testament. The scripture says that before the Nativity of Christ, the prophet Moses appointed people who were supposed to communicate with God. It is with these people that today's hierarchy of ranks is associated.
Altar server (novice)
This person is a lay assistant to the clergy. His responsibilities include:
If necessary, a novice can ring bells and read prayers, but he is strictly forbidden to touch the throne and walk between the altar and the Royal Doors. The altar server wears the most ordinary clothes, with a surplice thrown over the top.
This person is not elevated to the rank of clergy. He must read prayers and words from scripture, interpret them to ordinary people and explain to children the basic rules of Christian life. For special zeal, the clergyman can ordain the psalmist as a subdeacon. As for church clothes, he is allowed to wear a cassock and a skufia (velvet cap).
This person also does not have holy orders. But he can wear a surplice and an orarion. If the bishop blesses him, then the subdeacon can touch the throne and enter through the Royal Doors into the altar. Most often, the subdeacon helps the priest perform the service. He washes his hands during services and gives him the necessary items (tricirium, ripids).
Church ranks of the Orthodox Church
All of the church ministers listed above are not clergy. These are simple peaceful people who want to get closer to the church and the Lord God. They are accepted into their positions only with the blessing of the priest. Consider church ranks Orthodox Church let's start from the lowest.
The position of deacon has remained unchanged since ancient times. He, as before, must help in worship, but he is prohibited from independently performing church services and representing the Church in society. His main responsibility is reading the Gospel. Currently, the need for the services of a deacon is no longer required, so their number in churches is steadily decreasing.
This is the most important deacon at a cathedral or church. Previously, this rank was given to a protodeacon, who was distinguished by his special zeal for service. To determine that this is a protodeacon, you should look at his vestments. If he wears an orarion with the words “Holy! Holy! Holy,” that means he’s the one in front of you. But at present, this rank is given only after a deacon has served in the church for at least 15–20 years.
It is these people who have a beautiful singing voice, know many psalms and prayers, and sing at various church services.
This word came to us from Greek language and translated means “priest.” In the Orthodox Church it is lowest rank priest The bishop gives him the following powers:
- perform divine services and other sacraments;
- bring teaching to people;
- conduct communion.
The priest is prohibited from consecrating antimensions and performing the sacrament of ordination of the priesthood. Instead of a hood, his head is covered with a kamilavka.
This rank is given as a reward for some merit. The archpriest is the most important among the priests and also the rector of the temple. During the performance of the sacraments, archpriests put on a chasuble and stole. Several archpriests can serve in one liturgical institution at once.
This rank is given only by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' as a reward for the kindest and most useful deeds that a person has done in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is the highest rank in the white clergy. It will no longer be possible to earn a higher rank, since then there are ranks that are prohibited from starting a family.
However, many people quit in order to get a promotion. worldly life, family, children and forever go into monastic life. In such families, the wife most often supports her husband and also goes to the monastery to take monastic vows.
Black clergy
It includes only those who have taken monastic vows. This hierarchy of ranks is more detailed than that of those who preferred family life to monastic life.
This is a monk who is a deacon. He helps clergy conduct sacraments and perform services. For example, he carries out the vessels necessary for rituals or makes prayer requests. The most senior hierodeacon is called "archdeacon."
This is a man who is a priest. He is allowed to perform various sacred sacraments. This rank can be received by priests from the white clergy who decided to become monks, and by those who have undergone consecration (giving a person the right to perform the sacraments).
This is the abbot or abbess of the Russian Orthodox monastery or temple. Previously, most often, this rank was given as a reward for services to the Russian Orthodox Church. But since 2011, the patriarch decided to grant this rank to any abbot of the monastery. During initiation, the abbot is given a staff with which he must walk around his domain.
This is one of the highest ranks in Orthodoxy. Upon receiving it, the clergyman is also awarded a miter. The archimandrite wears a black monastic robe, which distinguishes him from other monks by the fact that he has red tablets on him. If, in addition, the archimandrite is the rector of any temple or monastery, he has the right to carry a rod - a staff. He is supposed to be addressed as “Your Reverence.”
This rank belongs to the category of bishops. At their ordination, they received the highest grace of the Lord and therefore can perform any sacred rites, even ordain deacons. According to church laws, they have equal rights; the archbishop is considered the most senior. By ancient tradition only the bishop can bless the service with the antimis. This is a quadrangular scarf in which part of the relics of a saint is sewn.
This clergyman also controls and guards all monasteries and churches that are located on the territory of his diocese. The generally accepted address to a bishop is “Vladyka” or “Your Eminence.”
This is a high-ranking clergy or the highest title of bishop, the oldest on earth. He obeys only the patriarch. Differs from other dignitaries in the following details in clothing:
- has a blue robe (bishops have red ones);
- white hood with a cross trimmed precious stones(the rest have a black hood).
This rank is given for very high merits and is a badge of distinction.
The highest rank in the Orthodox Church, the main priest of the country. The word itself combines two roots: “father” and “power”. He is elected at the Council of Bishops. This rank is for life, only in the most in rare cases his deposition and excommunication is possible. When the place of the patriarch is empty, a locum tenens is appointed as a temporary executor, who does everything that the patriarch should do.
This position carries responsibility not only for itself, but also for the entire Orthodox people of the country.
The ranks in the Orthodox Church, in ascending order, have their own clear hierarchy. Despite the fact that we call many clergy “father,” every Orthodox Christian should know the main differences between dignitaries and positions.
In a special article dedicated to current state churches, BG studied different aspects life of the Russian Orthodox Church - from the economy of parishes and Orthodox art to the life of priests and intra-church dissent. And besides, having interviewed experts, I compiled a brief block diagram of the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church - with the main characters, institutions, groups and philanthropists
Patriarch
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church bears the title “His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'” (but from the point of view of Christian theology, the head of the church is Christ, and the patriarch is the primate). His name is commemorated during the main Orthodox service, the liturgy, in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch is de jure accountable to the Local and Bishops' Councils: he is “first among equals” of bishops and governs only the Moscow diocese. De facto, church power is very highly centralized.
The Russian Church was not always headed by a patriarch: there was no patriarch from the baptism of Rus' in 988 until 1589 (governed by the metropolitans of Kiev and Moscow), from 1721 to 1917 (governed by the “Department of Orthodox Confession” - the Synod headed by the chief prosecutor) and from 1925 to 1943.
Holy Synod is engaged personnel issues- including the election of new bishops and their movement from diocese to diocese, as well as the approval of the composition of the so-called patriarchal commissions dealing with the canonization of saints, matters of monasticism, etc. It is on behalf of the Synod that the main church reform Patriarch Kirill - disaggregation of dioceses: dioceses are divided into smaller ones - it is believed that this way they are easier to manage, and bishops become closer to the people and the clergy.
The Synod convenes several times a year and consists of one and a half dozen metropolitans and bishops. Two of them - the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Barsanuphius of Saransk and Mordovia, and the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk - are considered the most influential people in the patriarchate. The head of the Synod is the patriarch.
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Collegial supreme body church management. All layers of the church people are represented in it - delegates from the episcopate, white clergy, monks of both sexes and laity. A local council is called to distinguish it from the Ecumenical Council, at which delegates from all sixteen Orthodox churches of the world should gather to resolve pan-Orthodox issues (however, the Ecumenical Council has not been held since the 14th century). It was believed (and was enshrined in the charter of the church) that it was the local councils that held the highest power in the Russian Orthodox Church; in fact, over the past century, the council was convened only to elect a new patriarch. This practice was finally legalized in new edition Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted in February 2013.
The difference is not just formal: the idea of the Local Council is that the church includes people of different ranks; although they are not equal to each other, they become a church only together. This idea is usually called conciliarity, emphasizing that this is the nature of the Orthodox Church, in contrast to the Catholic Church with its rigid hierarchy. Today this idea is becoming less and less popular.
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The Congress of all bishops of the Russian Church, which takes place at least once every four years. It is the Council of Bishops that decides all the main church issues. During the three years of Kirill's patriarchate, the number of bishops increased by about a third - today there are about 300 of them. The work of the cathedral begins with the report of the patriarch - this is always the most complete (including statistical) information about the state of affairs in the church. No one is present at the meetings, except for the bishops and a narrow circle of employees of the Patriarchate.
A new advisory body, the creation of which became one of the symbols of Patriarch Kirill’s reforms. By design, it is extremely democratic: it includes expert experts from various areas of church life - bishops, priests and laity. There are even a few women. Consists of a presidium and 13 thematic commissions. In the Inter-Council Presence, draft documents are prepared, which are then discussed in open access(including in a special community on LiveJournal).
Over the four years of work, the loudest discussions flared up around documents on the Church Slavonic and Russian languages of worship and regulations on monasticism, which encroached on the structure of life of monastic communities.
A new, rather mysterious body of church governance was created in 2011 during the reforms of Patriarch Kirill. This is a kind of church cabinet of ministers: it includes all the heads of synodal departments, committees and commissions, and is headed by the Patriarch of the All-Russian Central Council. The only body of the highest church government (except for the Local Council), in the work of which lay people take part. No one is allowed to attend the meetings of the All-Russian Central Council except members of the council; its decisions are never published and are strictly classified; you can only learn anything about the All-Russian Central Council from the official news on the Patriarchate website. The only public decision of the All-Russian Central Council was a statement after the announcement of the Pussy Riot verdict, in which the church distanced itself from the court decision.
The church has its own judicial system, it consists of courts of three levels: the diocesan court, the General Church court and the court of the Council of Bishops. It deals with issues that are not within the competence of secular justice, that is, it determines whether the priest’s misconduct entails canonical consequences. Thus, a priest, even if he committed murder through negligence (for example, in a traffic accident), can be acquitted by a secular court, but will have to be defrocked. However, in most cases the matter does not come to court: the ruling bishop applies reprimands (punishments) to the clergy. But if the priest does not agree with the punishment, he can appeal to the General Church Court. It is unknown how these courts proceed: the sessions are always closed, the proceedings and the arguments of the parties, as a rule, are not made public, although the decisions are always published. Often, in a dispute between a bishop and a priest, the court takes the priest’s side.
Under Alexy II, he headed the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate and was the main rival of Metropolitan Kirill in the election of the patriarch. There are rumors that the Presidential Administration was betting on Kliment and that his connections in circles close to Putin remain. After the defeat, he received control of the publishing council of the patriarchate. Under him, a mandatory publishing council stamp was introduced for books sold in church shops and through church distribution networks. That is, de facto censorship was introduced, and also paid, since publishers pay the council for reviewing their books.
Church Ministry of Finance under the leadership of Bishop Tikhon (Zaitsev) of Podolsk; a completely opaque institution. Tikhon is known for creating a system of tariff scales of contributions that churches pay to the patriarchate depending on their status. The bishop’s main brainchild is the so-called “200 churches” program for the urgent construction of two hundred churches in Moscow. Eight of them have already been built, and 15 more are in the near future. For this program, the former first deputy mayor of Moscow, Vladimir Resin, was appointed advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on construction issues.
In fact, it is the Ministry of Special Theological Education: it is in charge of theological seminaries and academies. The educational committee is headed by Archbishop Evgeniy (Reshetnikov) of Vereisky, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy. The committee is trying to reach an agreement with the state on the accreditation of theological schools as universities and the transition to the Bologna system - the process is not easy. A recent internal church inspection showed that out of 36 seminaries, only 6 are able to become full-fledged universities. At the same time, Patriarch Kirill, having come to power, forbade the ordination as priests of candidates who had not graduated from the seminary. There are also several universities for lay people in the Russian Orthodox Church. The most famous of them is St. Tikhon's University for the Humanities, where they study to become philologists, historians, theologians, sociologists, art historians, teachers, etc.
He worked for 19 years in the department of Metropolitan Kirill, and before that he worked for Metropolitan Pitirim in the publishing department. He was primarily involved in inter-Christian relations and ecumenism, regularly went on business trips abroad and was involved in a wide variety of church and political circles in the world. In 2009, after zealously participating in election campaign Patriarch Kirill, received at his disposal a new synodal department - for relations between the church and society. Many expected that Chaplin would be immediately made a bishop, but this did not happen even after 4 years. Chaplin patronizes various social and church-social groups, starting from the Union Orthodox women and ending with bikers. Does regularly scandalous statements in the media.
The business manager is one of the highest status positions in the Russian Orthodox Church. Two patriarchs - Pimen and Alexy II - and one head of the autonomous church - Metropolitan of Kiev Vladimir (Sabodan) - were administrators of affairs before their election. However, the position did not help the previous manager, Metropolitan Clement, to occupy the patriarchal see. Today, the Administration is headed by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of Saransk and Mordovia, and Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov), whom journalists call the inquisitor, became his deputy and head of the control and analytical service. It is to the department of Father Savva that denunciations and signals about troubles in the parishes flock. The news that a delegation led by an archimandrite is going to the diocese causes trepidation in the localities. Archimandrite Savva grew up in Paris, studied mathematics at the University of Paris-Sud and was tonsured a monk. Then he came to Russia to study at the theological academy, was noticed, and by the age of 34 had made a rapid church career. Included in closest circle assistants to the patriarch for the management of dioceses and the preparation of documents regulating the management of the church.
Chief of the Russian Orthodox Church for charity. Back in the 1990s he led social work in the Moscow diocese, he created a sisterhood, a school of sisters of mercy. He was rector of the Church of St. Tsarevich Demetrius at the 1st City Hospital. Under Kirill, he became a bishop and headed the Synodal Department for Charity and Social Service. It runs church hospitals, almshouses, drug addiction programs and much more. His department became famous during the fires of 2010, when the Moscow headquarters for collecting assistance to fire victims and volunteers working on extinguishing was deployed at its base.
He heads the Synodal Information Department (SINFO), something between the press service of the church (the patriarch has a personal press service) and the Presidential Administration. Legoyda is the only “jacket man” in the Supreme Church Council and among the heads of synodal departments (as the church calls laymen who have squeezed into high church positions). Before heading SINFO, he worked as head of the department of international journalism at MGIMO and published the Orthodox glossy magazine “Foma” for more than 10 years. SINFO deals with church PR and prepares media and blog monitoring specifically for the patriarch. In addition, Legoyda’s department conducts trainings in the regions for church journalists and workers of diocesan press services.
Metropolitan Hilarion is considered one of the closest and most influential bishops to Patriarch Kirill. He is from an intelligent Moscow family, studied at the Moscow Conservatory, the Theological Academy, and interned at Oxford. Theologian, TV presenter, director of Church postgraduate and doctoral studies, composer: the Synodal Choir founded by him (the director is a school friend of the Metropolitan) performs his works all over the world. Headed by Hilarion, the DECR is a “church Foreign Ministry” that deals with contacts with other Orthodox and Christian churches, as well as interreligious relations. It was always led by the most ambitious and famous bishops. The future Patriarch Kirill headed the DECR for 20 years - from 1989 to 2009.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) Viceroy of Sretensky Monastery |
In big cities it plays a significant role in church life. Part of this intelligentsia are members or children of members of illegal church communities that existed in Soviet time. In many ways, it is they who ensure the continuity of traditional forms of church life. The Orthodox St. Tikhon's University, one of the largest Orthodox educational institutions in the world, was created in the early 1990s by one of these intellectual circles. But today the intelligentsia consistently criticizes that de facto official ideology that can be called Orthodox-patriotic. The church intelligentsia feels rejected and unclaimed, although some of its representatives work in the Inter-Council Presence.
The rector of the Church of St. Sophia of the Wisdom of God on Sofia Embankment, opposite the Kremlin. Once upon a time he began as an altar boy for Alexander Men, then became a spiritual child famous old man Ioanna Krestyankina; for several years he was the rector of a village church in the Kursk region, where the Moscow intelligentsia visited him. He gained fame as the confessor of Svetlana Medvedeva, who, long before becoming the first lady, began going to the St. Sophia Church. Actress Ekaterina Vasilyeva works as the headman in the parish of Father Vladimir, and the son of Vasilyeva and playwright Mikhail Roshchin, Dmitry, serves as a priest in another church, where Volgin is also the rector. One of the most zealous parishioners is Ivan Okhlobystin's wife Oksana and their children. Despite the bohemian composition of the parish, Archpriest Vladimir Volgin has a reputation as almost the strictest confessor in Moscow. His parish is full of large families.
One of the most influential white priests (not monks) in the Russian Church. He is very popular among his flock: collections of his sermons in the form of books, audio and video recordings have sold millions of copies since the 1990s. One of the most popular Orthodox commentators in the media. He runs his own video blog and broadcast on the Orthodox TV channel “Spas”. One of the main exponents of Orthodox patriotic ideology. Under Patriarch Alexy, Archpriest Dimitry was jokingly called “the rector of all Moscow,” because he was the rector of eight churches at the same time. He also said farewell speech at the funeral service of Patriarch Alexy. Under Kirill, one of the large churches - St. Nicholas in Zayaitsky - was taken from him and in March 2013 he was relieved of his post as chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations with the Armed Forces, which he had led since its founding in 2000, being responsible for the introduction of the institute of chaplains in the army . Main wrestler with abortion and contraception; He is proud that his parish has a birth rate “like in Bangladesh.”
Parishioners of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Bersenevka, which is located opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, between the House on the Embankment and Red October, created a new militaristic Orthodox style. Strong men in combat boots and T-shirts “Orthodoxy or Death.” Extreme conservatives, oppose tax identification number, biometric passports, juvenile justice and contemporary art. Uncanonized saints are venerated, including the soldier Yevgeny Rodionov, who died in Chechnya.
Church budgets at all levels are supported by donations from philanthropists. This is the most closed side of church life.
Major (and public) church donors
Owner of the company “Your Financial Trustee” and the agricultural holding “Russian Milk”. Sponsors the construction of churches, icon painting exhibitions, etc. Forces employees to take courses Orthodox culture, ordered all married workers to get married. He consecrated a chapel on the territory of his enterprise in honor of Ivan the Terrible, who has not been canonized in the Russian Church and is not going to be canonized.
The President of JSC Russian Railways is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called (FAP), which financed the bringing of the relics of the saint to Russia Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the right hand of John the Baptist, the relics of the Apostle Luke and the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary. FAP also pays for VIP trips to get the Holy Fire in Jerusalem, the program for the revival of the Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow, and with its funds several churches in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky were built on the borders of Russia.
Founder of the investment fund Marshall Capital and the main minority shareholder of Rostelecom. The St. Basil the Great Foundation, which he created, finances Moscow and Moscow region churches, the restoration of monasteries, and paid for the renovation of the DECR building. The main brainchild of the foundation is the St. Basil the Great Gymnasium, an elite educational institution in the village of Zaitsevo near Moscow, the cost of training in which is 450 thousand rubles per year.
Vadim Yakunin and Leonid Sevastyanov |
The chairman of the board of directors of the pharmaceutical company Protek and a member of the board of directors of this OJSC founded the St. Gregory the Theologian Foundation. The foundation maintains a synodal choir, a church-wide graduate school, finances some DECR projects (mainly Metropolitan Hilarion’s trips abroad), and organizes exhibitions of icons in different countries. The fund includes an Orthodox gymnasium in Murom and a program for the revival of the shrines of Rostov the Great.
Young people previously unknown to the church community use radical forms of public manifestations (performances, actions) to “defend Orthodoxy.” Some priests, including Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, are very supportive of aggressive activism. And even the raids on the office of the Yabloko party and the Darwin Museum did not cause unequivocal condemnation from the official church authorities. The leader of the activists is Dmitry “Enteo” Tsorionov.
In the 1990s - early 2000s, he was the most prominent and successful church missionary, traveling with lectures on Orthodoxy throughout the country, organizing debates, and participating in talk shows on television. He wrote several theological works, in particular about exposing the teachings of the Roerichs. He has been teaching at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University for more than 15 years; there is usually no place to sit during his lectures. In the winter of 2008–2009, he actively campaigned for the election of Metropolitan Kirill as patriarch, writing revealing articles about his main competitor in the elections, Metropolitan Clement. For this, after his election, the patriarch awarded him the honorary rank of protodeacon and gave him the assignment to write the textbook “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” for 4th-5th grade schools. It is Kuraev’s textbook that is recommended by the Ministry of Education as the main manual for the defense-industrial complex course. However, in 2012, the protodeacon began to increasingly disagree with the position of church officials. In particular, immediately after Pussy Riot’s performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he called for “feeding them pancakes” and letting them go in peace; During the trial he repeatedly reminded about mercy. After this, they began to say that Kuraev had fallen out of favor. His presence in the media has decreased significantly, but his LiveJournal blog remains the clergyman’s most popular blog.
Temple rector Life-Giving Trinity in Khokhly. He is considered one of the leaders of church liberals (despite his traditional and even conservative theological views). This is partly due to the composition of the parish: intellectuals, artists, musicians. But in many ways - with the speeches of Father Alexy in the media. In 2011, he published on the website “Orthodoxy and the World” the text “The Silent Church” about the priority of the moral principle in the relations of the church with the people and the state, predicting the problems that the church faced in the following years. After this article, a discussion arose about the place of the intelligentsia in the church. Father Alexy's main opponent was Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who argued that the intelligentsia were evangelical Pharisees.
everything about the orders of priests, the orders of the Russian Orthodox Church and their vestments
Following the example of the Old Testament church, where there were a high priest, priests and Levites, the holy Apostles established three degrees of priesthood in the New Testament Christian Church: bishops, presbyters (i.e. priests) and deacons. All of them are called clergy, because through the sacrament of the priesthood they receive the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ; perform divine services, teach people the Christian faith and good life (piety) and manage church affairs.
Bishops constitute the highest rank in the Church. They receive the highest degree of grace. Bishops are also called bishops, i.e., the heads of the priests (priests). Bishops can perform all Sacraments and all church services. This means that bishops have the right not only to perform ordinary Divine services, but also to ordain (ordain) clergy, as well as to consecrate chrism and antimensions, which is not given to priests.
According to the degree of priesthood, all bishops are equal to each other, but the oldest and most honored of the bishops are called archbishops, while the capital's bishops are called metropolitans, since the capital is called metropolis in Greek. Bishops of ancient capitals, such as: Jerusalem, Constantinople (Constantinople), Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and from the 16th century the Russian capital of Moscow, are called patriarchs. Between 1721 and 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church was governed by Holy Synod. In 1917, the Holy Council meeting in Moscow elected again the “Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia” to govern the Russian Orthodox Church.
Metropolitans
To help a bishop, another bishop is sometimes given, who, in this case, is called vicar, i.e., viceroy. Exarch- the title of the head of a separate church district. Currently, there is only one exarch - the Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavl, who governs the Belarusian Exarchate.
Priests, and in Greek priests or elders, constitute the second sacred rank after the bishop. Priests can perform, with the blessing of the bishop, all the sacraments and church services, except for those that are supposed to be performed only by the bishop, that is, except for the sacrament of the priesthood and the consecration of the world and antimensions.
A Christian community under the jurisdiction of a priest is called his parish.
More worthy and honored priests are given the title archpriest, i.e. the main priest, or the leading priest, and the main one between them is the title protopresbyter.
If the priest is at the same time a monk (black priesthood), then he is called hieromonk, i.e., a priestly monk.
In monasteries there are up to six degrees of preparation for the angelic image:
Worker / worker— lives and works in a monastery, but has not yet chosen the monastic path.
Novice / Novice- a laborer who has completed obedience in a monastery and has received the blessing of wearing a cassock and a skufa (for women an apostle). At the same time, the novice retains his worldly name. A seminarian or parish sexton is accepted into the monastery as a novice.
Rassophore novice / Rassophore novice- a novice who is blessed to wear some monastic clothes (for example, a cassock, kamilavka (sometimes hood) and rosary). Rassophore or monastic tonsure (monk/nun) - a symbolic (as at baptism) cutting the hair and giving a new name in honor of the new heavenly patron; one is blessed to wear a cassock, kamilavka (sometimes hood) and rosary.
Robe or monastic tonsure or small angelic image or small schema ( monk/nun) - vows of obedience and renunciation from the world are given, hair is symbolically cut, the name of the heavenly patron is changed and monastic clothes are blessed: hair shirt, cassock, slippers, paraman cross, rosary, belt (sometimes leather belt), cassock, hood, mantle, apostle.
Schima or great schema or great angelic image ( schema-monk, schema-monk / schema-nun, schema-nun) - the same vows are given again, the hair is symbolically cut, the name of the heavenly patron is changed and clothes are added: analav and a kokol instead of a hood.
Monk
Schimonakh
Hieromonks, upon appointment by their abbots of monasteries, and sometimes independently of this, as an honorary distinction, are given the title abbot or higher rank archimandrite. Especially worthy of the archimandrites are elected to bishops.
Hegumen Roman (Zagrebnev)
Archimandrite John (Krastyankin)
Deacons (Deacons) constitute the third, lowest, sacred rank. "Deacon" is a Greek word and means: servant. Deacons serve the bishop or priest during Divine services and the celebration of the sacraments, but cannot perform them themselves.The participation of a deacon in the Divine service is not necessary, and therefore in many churches the service takes place without a deacon.
Some deacons are awarded the title protodeacon, i.e., chief deacon.
A monk who has received the rank of deacon is called hierodeacon, and the senior hierodeacon - archdeacon.
In addition to the three sacred ranks, there are also lower official positions in the Church: subdeacons, psalm-readers (sacristans) and sextons. They, being among the clergy, are appointed to their positions not through the sacrament of the Priesthood, but only with the blessing of the bishop.
Psalmists have the duty to read and sing, both during divine services in the church on the choir, and when the priest performs spiritual needs in the homes of parishioners.
Acolyte
Sexton have their duty to call believers to Divine services by ringing bells, light candles in the temple, serve censers, help psalm-readers in reading and singing, and so on.
Sexton
Subdeacons participate only in the episcopal service. They dress the bishop in sacred clothes, hold lamps (trikiri and dikiri) and present them to the bishop to bless those praying with them.
Subdeacons
Priests, in order to perform Divine services, must put on special sacred clothes. Sacred robes are made of brocade or any other suitable material and decorated with crosses. The deacon's vestments consist of: surplice, orarion and bridles.
Surplice There are long clothes without a slit in the front and back, with an opening for the head and wide sleeves. The surplice is also required for subdeacons. The right to wear the surplice can be given to psalm-readers and laymen serving in the church. The surplice signifies the purity of the soul that persons of holy orders must have.
Orar there is a long wide ribbon made of the same material as the surplice. It is worn by the deacon on his left shoulder, above the surplice. The Orarion signifies the grace of God that the deacon received in the sacrament of the Priesthood.
Narrow sleeves that are fastened with laces are called handguards. The instructions remind the clergy that when they perform the sacraments or participate in the celebration of the sacraments of the faith of Christ, they do this not with their own strength, but with the power and grace of God. The guards also resemble the bonds (ropes) on the hands of the Savior during His suffering.
The vestments of a priest consist of: a vestment, an epitrachelion, a belt, armbands and a phelonion (or chasuble).
The surplice is a surplice in a slightly modified form. It differs from the surplice in that it is made of thin white material, and its sleeves are narrow with laces at the ends, with which they are tightened on the arms. The white color of the sacristan reminds the priest that he must always have a pure soul and lead an immaculate life. In addition, the cassock also resembles the tunic (underwear) in which our Lord Jesus Christ Himself walked on earth and in which He accomplished the work of our salvation.
The epitrachelion is the same orarion, but only folded in half so that, going around the neck, it descends from the front downwards with two ends, which for convenience are sewn or somehow connected to each other. The epitrachelion signifies the special, double grace compared to the deacon, given to the priest for performing the sacraments. Without an epitrachelion, a priest cannot perform a single service, just as a deacon cannot perform a single service without an orarion.
The belt is worn over the epitrachelion and cassock and signifies readiness to serve the Lord. The belt also marks Divine power, which strengthens clergy in the passage of their ministry. The belt also resembles the towel with which the Savior girded when washing the feet of His disciples at the Secret
The chasuble, or phelonion, is worn by the priest on top of other clothes. This clothing is long, wide, sleeveless, with an opening for the head at the top and a large cutout in the front for free action of the arms. In its appearance, the robe resembles the scarlet robe in which the suffering Savior was clothed. The ribbons sewn on the robe resemble the streams of blood that flowed through His clothes. At the same time, the robe also reminds the priests of the garment of righteousness in which they must be clothed as servants of Christ.
On top of the chasuble, on the priest’s chest, is a pectoral cross.
For diligent, long-term service, priests are given a legguard, that is, a quadrangular cloth hung on a ribbon over the shoulder and two corners on the right hip, meaning a spiritual sword, as well as head ornaments - skufya and kamilavka.
Kamilavka.
The bishop (bishop) puts on all the clothes of a priest: a vestment, epitrachelion, belt, armlets, only his chasuble is replaced by a sakkos, and his loincloth by a club. In addition, the bishop puts on an omophorion and a miter.
Sakkos - outerwear bishop's surplice, similar to a deacon's surplice shortened at the bottom and in the sleeves, so that from under the bishop's sakkos both the sacron and the epitrachelion are visible. Sakkos, like the priest’s robe, symbolizes the Savior’s purple robe.
The club is a quadrangular board hung at one corner, above the sakkos on the right thigh. As a reward for excellent and diligent service, the right to wear a club is sometimes received from the ruling bishop and honored archpriests, who also wear it with right side, and the legguard in this case is placed on the left. For archimandrites, as well as for bishops, the club serves as a necessary accessory to their vestments. The club, like the legguard, means the spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which clergy must be armed to fight unbelief and wickedness.
On the shoulders, above the sakkos, bishops wear an omophorion. Omophorion there is a long wide ribbon-shaped board decorated with crosses. It is placed on the bishop's shoulders so that, encircling the neck, one end descends in front and the other behind. Omophorion is a Greek word and means shoulder pad. The omophorion belongs exclusively to bishops. Without an omophorion, a bishop, like a priest without an epitrachelion, cannot perform any service. The omophorion reminds the bishop that he must take care of the salvation of the lost, like the good shepherd of the Gospel, who, having found the lost sheep, carries it home on his shoulders.
On his chest, on top of the sakkos, in addition to the cross, the bishop also has a panagia, which means “All Holy One.” This is a small round image of the Savior or Mother of God, decorated with colored stones.
A miter decorated with small images and colored stones is placed on the bishop's head. Mithra symbolizes the crown of thorns, which was placed on the head of the suffering Savior. Archimandrites also have a miter. In exceptional cases, the ruling bishop gives the right to the most honored archpriests to wear a miter instead of a kamilavka during Divine services.
During Divine services, bishops use a rod or staff as a sign of supreme pastoral authority. The staff is also given to archimandrites and abbots, as heads of monasteries. During the Divine Service, eagles are placed under the bishop’s feet. These are small round rugs with the image of an eagle flying over the city. Orlets mean that the bishop must, like an eagle, ascend from the earthly to the heavenly.
The home clothing of a bishop, priest and deacon consists of a cassock (half-caftan) and a cassock. Over the cassock, on the chest, the bishop wears a cross and panagia, and the priest wears a cross
Everyday clothing of clergy of the Orthodox Church, cassocks and cassocks, as a rule, are made of fabric black color, which expresses the humility and unpretentiousness of a Christian, disregard for external beauty, attention to the inner world.
During services on top casual wear church vestments are put on, which come in various colors.
Vestments white are used during services on holidays dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ (with the exception of Palm Sunday and Trinity), angels, apostles and prophets. The white color of these vestments symbolizes holiness, permeation with uncreated Divine Energies, and belonging to the heavenly world. Wherein White color is a memory of the Tabor light, the dazzling light of Divine glory. The Liturgy of Great Saturday and Easter Matins are celebrated in white vestments. In this case, the white color symbolizes the glory of the Risen Savior. It is customary to wear white vestments for funerals and all funeral services. In this case, this color expresses the hope for the repose of the deceased in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Vestments Red used during the Liturgy of the Light Christ's Resurrection and at all services of the forty-day Easter period. The red color in this case is a symbol of all-conquering Divine Love. In addition, red vestments are used on holidays dedicated to the memory of martyrs and on the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. In this case, the red color of the vestments is a memory of the blood shed by the martyrs for the Christian faith.
Vestments blue color
, symbolizing virginity, are used exclusively for divine services on the feasts of the Mother of God. Blue is the color of Heaven, from which the Holy Spirit descends on us. Therefore, blue color is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. This is a symbol of purity.
That is why the blue color is used in church services on holidays associated with the name of the Mother of God.
The Holy Church calls the Most Holy Theotokos the vessel of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended on her and She became the Mother of the Savior. Holy Mother of God Since childhood, she has been distinguished by a special purity of soul. Therefore, the color of the Mother of God became blue (blue). We see clergy in blue (blue) vestments on holidays:
Nativity of the Mother of God
On the day of Her Entry into the Temple
On the day of the Presentation of the Lord
On the day of Her Assumption
On the days of glorification of the icons of the Mother of God
Vestments golden (yellow) color used at services dedicated to the memory of saints. The golden color is a symbol of the Church, the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which was affirmed through the works of the holy bishops. Sunday services are performed in the same vestments. Sometimes divine services are performed in golden vestments on the days of remembrance of the apostles, who created the first church communities by preaching the Gospel. It's no coincidence that's why yellow liturgical vestments are the most commonly used. It is in yellow robes that priests dress on Sundays (when Christ and his victory over the forces of hell are glorified).
In addition, yellow vestments are also worn on the days of remembrance of the apostles, prophets, and saints - that is, those saints who, through their service in the Church, resembled Christ the Savior: they enlightened people, called to repentance, revealed Divine truths, and performed the sacraments as priests.
Vestments Green colour used at the services of Palm Sunday and Trinity. In the first case, the green color is associated with the memory of palm branches, a symbol of royal dignity, with which the inhabitants of Jerusalem greeted Jesus Christ. In the second case, the green color is a symbol of the renewal of the earth, purified by the grace of the Holy Spirit who has appeared hypostatically and always abides in the Church. For the same reason, green vestments are worn at services dedicated to the memory of saints, holy ascetics-monks, who were more transformed than other people by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Vestments Green colour are used on the days of remembrance of the saints - that is, saints leading an ascetic, monastic lifestyle, who paid special attention to spiritual deeds. Among them are Venerable Sergius Radonezh, founder of the Holy Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and Reverend Mary Egyptian, who spent many years in the desert, and St. Seraphim of Sarov and many, many others.
This is due to the fact that the ascetic life that these saints led changed them human nature- she became different, she was renewed - she was sanctified by Divine grace. In their lives, they united with Christ (who is symbolized by the color yellow) and with the Holy Spirit (who is symbolized by the second color - blue).
Vestments purple or crimson (dark burgundy) colors are worn on holidays dedicated to the Honest and Life-giving Cross. They are also used at Sunday services during Lent. This color is a symbol of the Savior’s suffering on the cross and is associated with the memories of the scarlet robe in which Christ was clothed by the Roman soldiers who laughed at him (Matthew 27, 28). On the days of remembrance of the Savior’s suffering on the cross and His death on the cross (Sundays of Lent, Holy Week - the last week before Easter, on the days of worship of the Cross of Christ (Day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, etc.)
Shades of red in violet remind us of Christ’s suffering on the cross. of blue color(colors of the Holy Spirit) means that Christ is God, He is inextricably linked with the Holy Spirit, with the Spirit of God, He is one of the hypostases Holy Trinity. Purple seventh in the row of colors of the rainbow. This corresponds to the seventh day of the creation of the world. The Lord created the world for six days, but the seventh day became a day of rest. After the suffering of the cross ended earthly path Savior, Christ conquered death, defeated the powers of hell and rested from earthly affairs.
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