Hierarchy of Orthodox priests. Orthodox church hierarchy

Spiritual orders and ranks in Orthodoxy

What is the hierarchy of clergy in the Church: from reader to Patriarch? From our article you will learn who is who in Orthodoxy, what are the spiritual ranks and how to contact the clergy

Spiritual hierarchy in Orthodoxy

There are many traditions and rituals in the Orthodox Church. One of the establishments of the Church is the hierarchy of clergy: 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 ranks in the Church and how to contact the clergy.

Structure of the Church

The original meaning of the word “Church” is a meeting of Christ’s disciples, Christians; translated as “meeting”. The concept of “Church” is quite broad: it is a building (in this meaning of the word church and temple are one and the same!), and a meeting of all believers, and a regional meeting of Orthodox people - for example, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church.

Also, the Old Russian word “cathedral”, translated as “assembly”, still refers to congresses of the episcopate and lay Christians to this day (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 orders of people:

• Lay people are ordinary people who are not ordained and do not work in the church (parish). The laity are often called “the people of God.”


• Clergy are laymen who are not ordained to the priesthood, but who work in the parish.


• Priests, or clergy and bishops.

First, we need to talk about the clergy. They play an important role in the life of the Church, but they are not consecrated or ordained through the Sacraments of the Church. This category of people includes professions of different importance:

• Watchmen, cleaners at the temple;


• The elders of churches (parishes 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, sextons - 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 receive the appropriate education at a theological school or seminary;


• Catechists, diocesan press service employees, youth department employees 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, male altar servers, readers and candle bearers are dressed in brocade surplices or cassocks (black clothing is slightly narrower than the cassock); At festive services, choristers and directors of large choirs dress in freeform, custom-made, pious clothing of the same color.

Let us also note that there is such a category of people as seminarians and academicians. These are students of Theological schools - schools, seminaries and academies - where future priests are trained. This gradation of educational institutions corresponds to a lay school or college, an institute or university, and a postgraduate or master's degree. Students usually, in addition to studying, perform obediences in the church at the Theological School: they serve at the altar, read, and sing.

There is also the title of subdeacon. This is a person who helps the bishop in worship (taking out the staff, bringing a basin for washing hands, putting on liturgical clothes). A subdeacon can also be a deacon, that is, a clergyman, but most often it is a young man who does not have holy orders and performs only the duties of a subdeacon.

Priests in the Church

In fact, the word “priest” is a short name for all clergy.
They are also called by the words: clergy, clerics, 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, and only they can occupy the highest church positions.

Let us first talk about the degrees of clergy. There are three of them:

• Deacons - they can be either married people or 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 (governors 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 - hierodeacon or hieromonk - can be sent by the ruling bishop of the diocese to a parish, like an ordinary white priest.

In a monastery, a person who wants to become a monk and priest goes through the following stages:

• A laborer is a person who came to the monastery for a while without a firm intention to stay in it.


• A novice is a person who entered a monastery, performs only obediences (hence the name), lives according to the rules of the monastery (that is, living as a novice, you cannot go to friends for the night, go on dates with us, and so on), but have not made monastic vows.


• A monk (cassophore novice) is a person who has the right to wear monastic robes, but has not taken all monastic vows. He only receives a new name, a symbolic hair cut, and the opportunity to wear some symbolic clothes. At this time, a person has the opportunity to refuse to become a monk; this will not be a sin.


• A monk is a person who has taken on the mantle (small angelic image), the small schema of the schema. He takes vows of obedience to the abbot of the monastery, renunciation of the world and non-acquisitiveness - that is, the absence of his property, everything from now on belongs to the monastery and the monastery itself takes upon itself the responsibility to provide for a person’s life. This tonsure of monks has been going on since ancient times and continues to the present day.

All these levels exist in both women's and men's monasteries. Monastic rules are the same for everyone, but different monasteries have different traditions and customs, relaxations and tightening of the rules.

Let us note that going to a monastery means choosing the difficult path of unusual people who love God with all their hearts and do not see any other way for themselves other than serving Him and dedicating themselves to the Lord. These are true monks. Such people may even be successful in the world, but at the same time they will miss something - just as a lover misses his beloved by his side. And only in prayer does the future monk find 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 skipped, that is, the bishop must first be a deacon, then a priest. All degrees of the priesthood are ordained (in other words, consecrated) by the bishop.

Deacon

The lowest level of the priesthood includes deacons. Through ordination as a deacon, a person receives the grace necessary to participate in the Liturgy and other 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 following titles:

• white priesthood - protodeacons,


• black priesthood - archdeacons, who most often accompany the bishop.

Often in poor, rural parishes there is no deacon, and his functions are performed by a priest. Also, if necessary, the duties of a deacon can be performed by a bishop.

Priest

A person in the clergy of a priest is also called a presbyter, a priest, and 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 oil is necessary for the completeness of the Sacrament of Baptism for every person) and the antimension (a scarf with a sewn-in piece of holy relics, which is placed on the altar 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 the priest usually presides, and in the city - an archpriest.

The abbots of churches and monasteries report directly to the bishop.

The title of archpriest is usually an incentive for long service and good service. The hieromonk is usually awarded the rank of abbot. Also, the rank of hegumen is often given to the abbot of the monastery (hierogumen). The abbot of the Lavra (a large, ancient monastery, of which there are not many in the world) receives an archimandrite. Most often, this award is followed by the rank of bishop.

Bishops: bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, patriarchs.

• Bishop, translated from Greek - chief of priests. They perform all the Sacraments without exception. Bishops ordain people as deacons and priests, but only the Patriarch, concelebrated by several bishops, can ordain bishops.


• Bishops who have distinguished themselves in ministry and served for a long time are called archbishops. Also, for even greater merits, they elevate them to the rank of metropolitans. They have a higher rank for their services to the Church; also, only metropolitans can govern metropolitan areas - 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 (St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region) or the entire Federal District.


• Often, other bishops are appointed to help the metropolitan or archbishop, who are called suffragan 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 rank of Primate (head) of the Church is for life, however, if serious sins are committed, the Bishops' Court can remove the Patriarch from ministry. Also, upon request, the Patriarch can be retired due to illness or old 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 clergy

• The deacon and priest are addressed - 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, during a conversation, all bishops are addressed as “Vladyka (name),” for example, “Vladyka Pitirim, bless.” The Patriarch is addressed either in the same way or, a little more formally, “The Most Holy Bishop.”

May the Lord protect you with His grace and the prayers of the Church!

Priesthood - people chosen to serve the Eucharist and shepherd - care, spiritual care of believers. first elected 12 apostles, and then 70 more, giving them the power to forgive sins and perform the most important sacred rites (which became known as the Sacraments). The priest in the Sacraments acts not by his own power, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by the Lord after His Resurrection (John 20:22-23) to the apostles, transmitted from them to the bishops, and from the bishops to the priests in the Sacrament of Ordination (from the Greek. Heirotonia - consecration).

The very principle of the New Testament structure is hierarchical: both Christ is the head of the Church, and the priest is the head of the Christian community. The priest for the flock is the image of Christ. Christ is the shepherd; He commanded the Apostle Peter: “...feed My sheep” (John 21:17). Shepherding sheep means continuing the work of Christ on earth and leading people to salvation. The Orthodox Church teaches that there is no salvation outside the Church, but salvation can be achieved by loving and fulfilling the commandments of God and participating in the Sacraments of the Church, in which the Lord Himself is present, giving His help. And the helper and mediator of God in all the Sacraments of the Church, according to the commandment of God, is the priest. And therefore his service is sacred.

Priest - symbol of Christ

The most important Sacrament of the Church is the Eucharist. The priest celebrating the Eucharist symbolizes Christ. Therefore, without a priest, liturgy cannot take place. Archpriest Sergiy Pravdolyubov, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving in Trinity-Golenischev (Moscow), master of theology, explains: “The priest, standing before the Throne, repeats the words of the Lord Himself at the Last Supper: “Take, eat, this is My Body...” And in the Cherubic Song he pronounces the following words: “You are the One who offers and the One who is offered, and the One who accepts this Sacrifice, and the One Who is distributed to all believers - Christ our God...” The priest performs a sacred act with his own hands, repeating everything that Christ Himself did. And he does not repeat these actions and does not reproduce, that is, he does not “imitate”, but, figuratively speaking, “pierces time” and is completely inexplicable for the usual picture of space-time connections - his actions coincide with the actions of the Lord Himself, and his words - with the words of the Lord! That is why the liturgy is called Divine. She has been served once by the Lord Himself in the time and space of the Zion Upper Room, but outside time and space, in the abiding Divine Eternity. This is the paradox of the doctrine of the Priesthood and the Eucharist. Orthodox theologians insist on this, and this is how the Church believes.

A priest cannot be replaced by a layman, not only “due to human ignorance,” as it is written in the ancient Slavic books, let the layman be an academician, but no one gave him the power to do something that one cannot dare to do without receiving the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit through ordination, coming from the apostles themselves and the apostolic men.”

The Orthodox Church attaches exceptional importance to the priesthood. The Monk Silouan of Athos wrote about the high dignity of the priesthood: “Priests carry within themselves such great grace that if people could see the glory of this grace, the whole world would be amazed at it, but the Lord hid it so that His servants would not become proud, but would be saved in humility ... A great person is a priest, a servant at the Throne of God. Whoever insults him insults the Holy Spirit living in him..."

The priest is a witness in the Sacrament of Confession

Without a priest, the Sacrament of Confession is impossible. The priest is endowed by God with the right to announce the forgiveness of sins in the name of God. The Lord Jesus Christ said to the apostles: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). This power to “knit and loosen” passed, as the Church believes, from the apostles to their successors - bishops and priests. However, confession itself is not brought to the priest, but to Christ, and the priest here is only a “witness,” as stated in the rite of the Sacrament. Why do you need a witness when you can confess to God Himself? The Church, when establishing confession before a priest, took into account the subjective factor: many are not ashamed of God, since they do not see Him, but to confess before a person ashamed, but this is a saving shame that helps to overcome sin. In addition, as it explains, “the priest is a spiritual mentor who helps to find the right path to overcome sin. He is called not only to become a witness of repentance, but also to help a person with spiritual advice and support him (many come with great sorrows). No one demands submission from the laity - this is free communication based on trust in the priest, a mutual creative process. Our task is to help you choose the right solution. I always encourage my parishioners to feel free to tell me that they were unable to follow some of my advice. Perhaps I was mistaken, I did not appreciate the strength of this man.”

Another ministry of a priest is preaching. Preaching, carrying the Good News of salvation is also Christ, a direct continuation of his work, therefore this ministry is sacred.

A priest cannot exist without the people

In the Old Testament Church, the participation of the people in worship was reduced to passive presence. In the Christian Church, the priesthood is inextricably linked with the people of God and one cannot exist without the other: just as a community cannot be a Church without a priest, so a priest cannot be one without a community. The priest is not the sole performer of the Sacraments: all the Sacraments are performed by him with the participation of the people, together with the people. It happens that the priest is forced to perform the service alone, without parishioners. And, although the rite of the liturgy does not provide for such situations and it is assumed that a meeting of people participates in the service, yet in this case the priest is not alone, because the deceased, as well as the deceased, make a bloodless sacrifice with him.

Who can become a priest?

In Ancient Israel, only persons belonging to the tribe of Levi by birth could become priests: the priesthood was inaccessible to everyone else. The Levites were initiates, chosen to serve God - they alone had the right to make sacrifices and offer prayers. The priesthood of the times of the New Testament has a new meaning: the Old Testament sacrifices, as the Apostle Paul says, could not deliver humanity from slavery to sin: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins...” (Heb. 10: 4-11). Therefore, Christ sacrificed Himself, becoming both Priest and Victim. Not belonging by birth to the tribe of Levi, He became the one true “High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). Melchizedek, who once met Abraham, brought bread and wine and blessed him (Heb. 7:3), was an Old Testament prototype of Christ. Having given His Body to death and shed His Blood for people, having taught this Body and this Blood to the faithful in the Sacrament of the Eucharist under the guise of bread and wine, having created His Church, which became the New Israel, Christ abolished the Old Testament Church with its sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood, removed the veil, which separated the Holy of Holies from the people, destroyed the insurmountable wall between sacred Leviticism and the profane people.

A priest of the Orthodox Church, explains Archpriest Sergiy Pravdolyubov, “any pious, virtuous person can become, fulfilling all the commandments and rules of the church, having sufficient training, married first and only to a girl of the Orthodox faith, not disabled with a physical obstacle to using his hands and feet (otherwise he will not be able to perform the liturgy, carry out the Chalice with the Saints Gifts) and mentally sound.”

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 clergy belonging to the white (married) clergy and the black (monastic) clergy. Only persons who have taken monastic vows are elevated to the last, third degree. According to this order, all church titles and positions among Orthodox Christians are established.

Church hierarchy that came from Old Testament times

The order in which ecclesiastical titles among 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 approximately one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ, the founder of Judaism, the prophet Moses, selected special people for worship - high priests, priests and Levites. It is with them that our modern church titles and positions are associated.

The first of the high priests was Moses' brother Aaron, and his sons became priests, leading all the services. But in order to perform numerous sacrifices, which were an integral part of religious rituals, assistants were needed. They became the Levites - the descendants of Levi, the son of the forefather Jacob. These three categories of clergy of the Old Testament era became the basis on which all ecclesiastical ranks of the Orthodox Church are built today.

Lowest level of priesthood

When considering church ranks in ascending order, one should start with deacons. This is the lowest priestly rank, upon ordination to which God’s Grace is acquired, necessary to fulfill the role assigned to them during the divine service. 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 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 these days 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 the deacon in the divine service, while not being obligatory, is rather its decoration than an integral part. As a result, in some parishes where serious financial difficulties are felt, this staffing unit is being reduced.

Second level of the priestly hierarchy

Looking further at church ranks in ascending order, we should focus on priests. 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, upon ordination a greater degree of the Grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired.

Since evangelical times, priests have been leading divine services and have the right 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 responsibilities assigned to them, priests lead the religious life of urban and rural parishes, in which they can hold the post of rector. The priest is directly subordinate to the bishop.

For long and impeccable service, a priest of the white clergy is rewarded with the title of archpriest (chief priest) or protopresbyter, and a black priest is rewarded with 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. If he is entrusted with leading a large monastery or monastery, he is called an archimandrite, which is an even higher and more honorable title. It is from the archimandrites that the episcopate is formed.

Bishops of the Orthodox Church

Further, when 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, heads of priests. Having received the greatest degree of Grace of the Holy Spirit at 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, with the most honored of them being called archbishops. A special group consists of the capital's bishops, called metropolitans. This name comes from the Greek word "metropolis", which means "capital". In cases where another is appointed to assist one bishop holding a high position, he bears the title of vicar, that is, deputy. The bishop is placed at the head of the parishes of an entire region, called in this case 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, exercises leadership over the entire local church. According to the Charter adopted in 2000, the rank of patriarch is for life, but in some cases the bishop's court is given the right to try 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 to perform the functions of the patriarch until his legal election.

Church workers who do not have the Grace of God

Having mentioned all the church titles in ascending order and returning to the very base of the hierarchical ladder, it should be noted that in the church, in addition to the clergy, that is, clergy who have passed the sacrament of ordination and have been honored to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit, there is also a lower category - clergy. These include subdeacons, psalm-readers and sextons. Despite their church service, they are not priests and are accepted into 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 requirement. The sexton is entrusted with calling parishioners to the church by ringing bells for the beginning of services, ensuring that the candles in the church are lit, if necessary, helping the psalm-reader and handing the censer to the priest or deacon.

Subdeacons also take part in divine services, but only together with bishops. Their duties are to help the bishop put on his vestments before the start of the service and, if necessary, change his vestments during the service. In addition, the subdeacon gives the bishop lamps - dikiri and trikiri - for blessing those praying in the temple.

Heritage of the Holy Apostles

We looked at all church ranks in ascending order. In Russia and among other Orthodox nations, these ranks bear the blessing of the holy apostles - the 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 Old Testament times.

The church hierarchy is the three degrees of priesthood in their subordination and the degree of administrative hierarchy of clergy.

Clergy

Servants 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 degrees of priesthood: deacon, priest and bishop. In addition, the entire clergy is divided into “white” - priests who are married or have taken a vow of celibacy, 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 through a special episcopal consecration, that is, ordination.

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 is at the head of a diocese, a church district, and cares for all the parish and monastic communities included in his diocese, but he can also perform special church-wide and diocesan obediences without having his own diocese.

Bishop titles

Bishop

Archbishop- oldest, most honored
bishop.

Metropolitan- bishop of the main city, region or province
or the most honored bishop.

Vicar(lat. vicar) - bishop - assistant to another bishop or his deputy.

Patriarch- chief bishop in the Local Orthodox Church.

The priest is ordained by the bishop in the Sacrament of the Priesthood through priestly ordination, i.e. ordination.

The priest can perform all divine services and sacraments, except for the consecration of the chrism (the oil used in the Sacrament of Confirmation) and antimensions (a special plate consecrated and signed by the bishop, on which the liturgy is performed), and the Sacraments of the Priesthood - only the bishop can perform them.

A priest, like a deacon, as a rule, serves in a specific church and is assigned to it.

The priest at the head of the parish community is called the rector.

Titles of priests

from the white clergy
Priest

Archpriest- the first of the priests, usually an emeritus priest.

Protopresbyter- a special title, awarded rarely, as a reward for the most worthy and honored priests, usually rectors of cathedrals.

from the black clergy

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.

Abbot(Greek presenter)

currently the abbot of the monastery. Until 2011 - Honored Hieromonk. When leaving a position
The abbot title of abbot is retained. Awarded
with the rank of abbot until 2011 and who are not abbots of monasteries, this title is retained.

A bishop ordains a deacon in the Sacrament of the Priesthood through deacon ordination, i.e. ordination.

The deacon assists the bishop or priest in performing divine services and sacraments.

The participation of a deacon in divine services is not obligatory.

Titles of deacons

from the white clergy
Deacon

Protodeacon- senior deacon

from the black clergy

Hierodeacon

Archdeacon- senior hierodeacon

Clergymen

They are not part of the main clergy hierarchy. These are ministers of the Church who are appointed to their positions not through the Sacrament of Priesthood, but through ordination, that is, with the blessing of the bishop. They do not have the special gift of grace of the Sacrament of the Priesthood and are assistants to the clergy.

Subdeacon- participates in bishop's services as an assistant to the bishop.

Psalmist/reader, singer- reads and sings during services.

Sexton/altar boy- the most common name for assistants during worship. Calls believers to worship by ringing bells, helps at the altar during services. Sometimes the duty of ringing bells is entrusted to special servants - bell ringers, but not every parish has such an opportunity.

In order to get a more detailed understanding of who conducts services in the church or who speaks on television from the Russian Orthodox Church, it is necessary to know exactly what ranks there are in the Church and the Monastery, as well as their hierarchy. We recommend that you read

In the Orthodox world, Church ranks are divided into the ranks of the white clergy (Rites of the Church) and the ranks of the black clergy (Monastic ranks).

CHURCH OFFICERS OR WHITE CLERGY

CHURCH OFFICES – ALTARNIK

In the worldly understanding, recently the Church rank of Altarnik has begun to disappear, and instead of it the rank of Sexton or Novice is increasingly mentioned. The tasks of the Altarman include the duties of carrying out the instructions of the rector of the temple; as a rule, such duties include maintaining a candle fire in the temple, lighting lamps and other lighting devices in the altar and iconostasis, they also help the priests put on clothes, bring prosphora, incense to the temple and perform other menial work. The altar boy can be recognized by the fact that he wears a surplice over his secular clothes. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with

CHURCH OFFICERS – READER

This is the lowest rank of the church and the reader is not included in the priesthood. The reader's duties include reading sacred texts and prayers during worship. In case of advancement in rank, the reader is ordained subdeacon.

CHURCH OFFICES – HYPODIACON

It is something of an intermediate rank between the laity and the clergy. Unlike the readers and altar servers, the subdeacon is allowed to touch the throne and the altar, as well as enter the altar through the royal gate, although the subdeacon is not a clergyman. The duties of this Church rank include assisting the Bishop in Divine services. We recommend that you read

CHURCH OFFICES – DEACON

The lowest level of clergy, as a rule, the duties of deacons include helping priests in worship, although they themselves do not have the right to perform public worship and be representatives of the church. Since a priest has the opportunity to perform rituals without a deacon, the number of deacons is currently being reduced, as the need for them is no longer needed.

CHURCH OFFICES – PROTODEACON OR PROTODEACON

This rank indicates the chief deacon in cathedrals; as a rule, such a rank is assigned to a deacon after at least 15 years of service and is a special reward for service.

CHURCH OFFICERS – PRIEST

Currently, this rank is held by priests, and is designated as a junior title of priest. Priests, receiving power from bishops, have the right to conduct church ceremonies, teach people the Orthodox faith and perform other sacraments, but at the same time priests are prohibited from conducting ordination as priests.

CHURCH OFFICERS – ARCHOPRISH

CHURCH OFFICES – PROTOPRESTER

The highest Church rank in the white clergy is not, as it were, a separate rank and is awarded only as a reward for the most deserved deeds before the Orthodox faith and is appointed only by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Monastic orders or black clergy

CHURCH OFFICES – HIERODEACON: He is a monk with the rank of deacon.
CHURCH OFFICES – ARCHIDEACON: He is a senior hierodeacon.
CHURCH OFFICES – HIEROMONCH: He is a monastic priest with the right to perform Orthodox sacraments.
CHURCH OFFICES – IGUMENE: He is the abbot of an Orthodox monastery.
CHURCH OFFICES – ARCHIMADRID: The highest degree in the monastic ranks, but occupying a step lower than bishop.
CHURCH OFFICES – BISHOP: This rank is supervisory and has the third degree of priesthood and can also be called a bishop.
CHURCH OFFICES – METROPOLITAN: The highest title of bishop in the church.
CHURCH OFFICES – PATRIARCH: The most senior rank of the Orthodox Church.

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