If for worldly affairs on important ceremonial occasions they dress in the best clothes, then when serving God they put on special clothes. Sacred vestments refer to garments used during Divine services. Each rank of clergy and clergy is assigned its own special clothes during Divine services. At the same time, the highest rank of clergy always has the vestments of the lower ranks.

The deacon puts on surplice- long clothes with wide sleeves, altar servers and readers also wear surplices, orari- a long wide ribbon that he wears over the surplice on his left shoulder. The deacon puts on his hands instruct-short sleeves covering only the wrist.

The priest dresses in sacristan(surplice with narrow sleeves), stole- an orarion folded in two means that the priest is given double grace, greater than that of a deacon; according to the statutes of the Church, a priest without an epitrachelion, like a deacon without an orarion, cannot perform a single service. Belt-clothing worn over the epitrachelion and vestment symbolizes the readiness to serve the Lord and Divine power, strengthening the clergy in their service. Gaiter And club- these are clothes worn on the belt at the hip. The first is a quadrangular, somewhat oblong board, and the second is a square board. Felonne, or chasuble- this is a long, round, sleeveless robe with a hole for the head; the phelonion reminds priests of the robe of truth with which they must be clothed as servants of Christ. On their heads during worship, priests wear skufji-small hats made of cloth, or kamilavki-tall velvet hats, which are given as a reward or distinction. Unlike deacons, priests wear a pectoral cross on their vestments and on their home clothes.

The vestments of a bishop are all priestly vestments, only instead of a phelonion, the bishop wears sakkos, on top of it omophorion. Omophorion means that lost sheep that Christ, the Good Shepherd, took on his shoulders to carry to the Father. Miter- forms the head adornment of the bishop, it serves as a symbol of pastoral power, the skufia and kamilavka given to priests have the same meaning. Panagia- a small round image of the Savior or the Mother of God, worn by bishops on their chests. Rod, or staff, used by bishops during sacred services, indicates their pastoral responsibility: to guide their flock on the path of salvation, to prevent them from going astray and to repel the spiritual wolves attacking them. Orletsy-round rugs with the image of an eagle flying over the city. They are placed at the feet of the bishop during the service and remind him that he must strive for heaven with his thoughts and deeds. The bishop wears a pectoral cross on his chest.

Part of the church-liturgical symbolism is the variety of colors of priestly vestments. Their color scheme consists of all the colors of the rainbow: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo, violet; and besides, it’s also white.
White, is a symbol of Divine uncreated light. Priests serve in white vestments on great holidays: the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Ascension, Transfiguration, and Easter Matins begins in them. During baptism and burial, the priest is also dressed in white.
Red Following the white one, the Easter service continues and in red vestments they serve until the Feast of the Ascension. This color is a symbol of God’s inexpressible, fiery love for the human race. But red is also the color of blood, which is why services in honor of the martyrs are held in red vestments.
Yellow, or gold and orange colors are symbols of glory, greatness and dignity. They serve in such vestments on Sundays and on the days of remembrance of prophets, apostles and saints.
Green adopted on the days of remembrance of the like and testifies that their monastic feats revive a person by union with Christ and elevate him to heaven. Green flowers are used on Trinity Day, Palm Sunday, and Holy Spirit Monday.
Blue or blue color Mother of God holidays. This is the color of the sky, and it corresponds to the teaching about the Mother of God, who carried Christ the Celestial in her womb.
Purple adopted on the days of remembrance of the Holy Cross.
In black Priests wear vestments during the days of Lent. This is a symbol of renunciation from pomp, from worldly vanity, the color of repentance and crying.

What does the color of a priest's vestment mean? Why does the color of the vestments change depending on the day? What color does a priest wear for Christmas services? For Easter? On other holidays? Colors of vestments: we tell you the main thing you need to know.

Liturgical vestments

Liturgical vestments are varied and depend on the rank of the priest, whether he is a priest at all (maybe a deacon, for example, or a sexton), and also on certain moments of the services.

We will definitely tell you in detail what the liturgical vestments of a priest consist of. But if we speak now in the most general terms, then it is distinguished by external solemnity, and without it - worn partially or completely - the priest cannot perform divine services or some of the Sacraments. For example, a priest cannot serve or confess without an epitrachelion.

Depending on the day the service takes place, the priest’s vestments can be of different colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, black, white or green. No other colors are used.

What does the color of priests' vestments mean?

The set of colors that are used in the church has developed traditionally in the Church over two millennia. Moreover, not only the priest, but also everyone who serves him - deacons, altar servers, sextons - dress in different colors. Also, depending on the day, the color of the vestments of the throne and, if possible, other details in the structure of the temple change (for example, on Easter in some churches the lamps are changed to red - the color of this Holiday).

What does the color of a priest's vestment mean? On the one hand, each color really acquired its symbolic meaning in the Church and from this point of view, some unspoken rules were established. For example, priests serve all the feasts of the Mother of God in blue, and on Easter days - in red.

On the other hand, the color of vestments is precisely a tradition, not a dogma, therefore in certain cases, depending on the temple, the principles for choosing colors may differ slightly. But in general terms, the rules for forming the color of a priest’s vestments are the same everywhere and look like this:

Blue Priest's Robe

Required for the Mother of God holidays. For example: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 21) or Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28). Or on the day of celebration of especially revered Mother of God icons.

(By the way, if a church has a blue dome, then it was also most likely consecrated in honor of the feast of the Mother of God. Although in general, there are no rules at all for domes regarding color... See text:)

White Priest's Robe

Intended for the holidays of the Nativity of Christ (January 7), Epiphany (January 18), Ascension of the Lord (date depends on the day of Easter), Transfiguration of the Lord (August 19) and Circumcision of the Lord (January 14).

Priests, deacons and altar servers also dress in white on the days of the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Apostle John the Theologian, and also on the days of remembrance of ethereal powers, virgins and virgins.

Burial, as a rule, is also performed in white vestments, and not black ones - because death in Christianity is not a tragic event, but on the contrary - a bright one, for the soul goes into Eternity.

White vestments are also used during the Sacraments of Baptism and Wedding.

Purple Priest's Robe

Intended for the holidays of the Holy Cross. For example - the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 27).

In addition, priests dress in purple during Lent on Sundays and major holidays. For example, on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which is celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent.

Red Priest's Robe

Clergy wear red on days of remembrance of martyrs. In addition, it is the color of Easter week. Although during the Easter service itself it is customary that the priests alternately put on vestments of different colors, and greet the Resurrection of Christ itself and the first message “Christ is Risen!” proclaimed in white.

On Maundy Thursday - the last Thursday before Easter - the priest also dresses in red (the memory of the Blood given by Christ to his disciples at the Last Supper) - but in a dark red shade, so that it is not Easter.

Green color of vestments

Green vestments are intended for the holidays of the Holy Spirit (51st day after Easter), the Holy Trinity (50th day after Easter), the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (a week before Easter) and, in addition, on the days of remembrance of holy fools, ascetics, etc.

Black color of vestments

Black vestments are required for fasting. Moreover, on some days it can be not only black, but dark blue or dark green. However, during Lent - especially during Holy Week - the vestments are exclusively black.

The exception for “Lenten” vestments are Great Feasts or Sundays, when priests also wear purple vestments or black, but with gold or colored trim.

Yellow or golden priestly vestments

Yellow color - apostles, prophets, saints and other servants of the Church.

In addition, a priest can wear this color in poor or rural parishes on those days for which he does not have vestments of the appropriate color.

Another thing that can be said about the priest’s vestments is that they are usually made of silk or brocade.

At the same time, the vestments on the pattern can be very diverse. For example, “minimalistic” like this:

Or vice versa - with an exquisite pattern, like this:

However, the choice of pattern, unlike the color of the vestment, does not carry any rules at all and depends entirely on the tastes of those who sew and the person who purchases the vestment.

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The clergy can be distinguished by ranks and titles during services by their liturgical robes, special headdresses, and pectoral crosses.

Clergy and monastics wear headdresses called skufi in everyday use. This is a soft figured folding cap, sewn so that its folds above the head form the sign of the cross.

From the end of the 18th century, kamilavkas were introduced into church use as rewards for the white clergy. This is a solid headdress, which is a cylinder, slightly expanded at the top. The everyday headdress of bishops and monks, in which they can perform some services, is a hood. This is a kamilavka, covered with black crepe, descending on the back and ending in the form of three long ends, called kukul. Metropolitans have the right to wear white hoods. And the hoods of the patriarchs retained the ancient shape of a spherical cap covered with a white hood. Two of their ends descend onto the chest, the third - behind the back. At the top of the patriarchal hood is a cross. During divine services, the headdress of bishops is a miter, a cap richly decorated with brocade embroidery and precious stones.

Pectoral crosses for priests in the Russian Orthodox Church appeared relatively recently. Until the 18th century, only bishops had the right to wear pectoral crosses. Since the clothing of priests is practically no different from the clothing of deacons and monks, the difference between priests and other clergy is the cross. Priests wear crosses over their cassocks during divine services, but they can also be worn in everyday settings over their cassocks.

The distinctive breastplate of a bishop is the panagia. Panagia is an image of the Mother of God, most often round or oval in shape, with various decorations. In everyday settings, bishops wear only a panagia, and during divine services they wear a panagia and a cross. These are signs of the highest authority in the church.

§ 81. The Orthodox clergy has its own insignia, by which they can be distinguished by ranks and titles.

1. Bishops (bishops). Panagia, staff.

Patriarch - white cockle, panagia.

Metropolitan - white hood with a cross.

Archbishop - hood with a cross.

The bishop is a hood without a cross.

2. Priests. Pectoral cross.

Archimandrite - cross with decorations, miter.

Archpriest (abbot) - a cross gilded or with decorations.

Priest (hieromonk) - silver or gilded cross.

3. Deacons - kamilavkas, purple skufiyas. There is no pectoral cross.

Protodeacon (archdeacon) is a double orarion (a long strip of cloth with crosses sewn on it, descending from the front and back almost to the floor).

Deacon (hierodeacon) - orarion.

EVERYDAY VESTMENTS

Everyday attire, which distinguishes the ministers of the Church from lay people and testifies to their rank and title, once originated from the attire used in the world, and quickly, already in ancient times, acquired special characteristics, so that the clergy and monasticism began to be outwardly distinguished from the worldly environment. This was deeply consistent with the concept of the Church as a kingdom not of this world, which, although it goes through its journey and service in the world, is nevertheless deeply different from it in nature. In the minds of the ancients, the holy order or monastic title obliged its bearers to always and everywhere be who they are before God and the Church.

The main everyday attire of the clergy and monasticism of all degrees are cassock and cassock.

It is a long robe, reaching to the toes, with a tightly buttoned collar and narrow sleeves. A cassock is an undergarment. For monastics it should be black. The colors of the cassocks of the white clergy are black, dark blue, brown, gray and white for summer. Material: cloth, wool, satin, linen, comb, less often silk fabrics.

- an outer garment with long, wide sleeves below the palms. Cassocks are predominantly black, but can be dark blue, brown, white, and less often cream and gray. The materials for cassocks are the same as for cassocks. Both cassocks and cassocks can be lined.

For everyday use, there are cassocks, which are demi-season and winter coats. These are cassocks of the first type, with a turn-down collar, trimmed with black velvet or fur. Winter cassocks-coats are made with a warm lining.

All services, except the Liturgy, are performed by the priest in a cassock and cassock, over which special liturgical vestments are worn ( vestments). When serving the Liturgy, as well as in special cases when, according to the Rules, the priest must be in full liturgical vestments, the cassock is removed and the cassock and other vestments are put on over the cassock. The deacon serves in a cassock, over which he wears surplice.

The bishop performs all divine services in a cassock, on which special holy vestments are put on. The only exceptions are some prayer services, litias, cell services and other sacred services of the bishop, when he can serve in a cassock or cassock and mantle, over which an epitrachelion is worn.

Thus, the everyday attire of the clergy is an obligatory basis for liturgical vestments.

Long-skirted clothing with narrow sleeves was widespread throughout the world among Eastern and Western peoples. Loose long clothes with wide sleeves - oriental origin. It was also common among the Jews during the earthly life of the Savior, who Himself wore such clothing, as evidenced by legend and iconography. Therefore, the cassock and cassock are considered the attire of the Lord Jesus Christ. The antiquity of clothing of this type is indirectly confirmed by the fact that to this day, many eastern peoples use wide, long, cut and uncut at the front clothing with wide long sleeves, very similar to a cassock, as traditional national clothing. The word “cassock” comes from the Greek adjective “to rason”, which means scraped, wiped, lint-free, worn. It was precisely this kind of almost beggarly clothing that monastics were supposed to wear in the Ancient Church. From the monastic environment, the cassock came into use among the entire clergy, which is confirmed by many testimonies.

In the Russian Church, until the 17th century, cassocks were not required. In everyday situations, the clergy wore long single-row suits of a special cut made of cloth and velvet in green, purple and crimson colors. The gates were also trimmed with velvet or fur. The uniforms of secular persons differed in many ways from the attire of the clergy, so that clergy in Rus' from ancient times stood out from the secular environment by their appearance. Even the wives of the white clergy always wore clothes in which one could immediately recognize them as mothers. Expanding ties with the Orthodox East in the second half of the 17th century contributed to the penetration of the attire of the Greek clergy into the Russian church environment. The Great Moscow Council of 1666-1667 decided to bless the spiritual vestments accepted at that time in the Orthodox East for Russian clergy and monks. At the same time, a reservation was made that the Council does not force, but only blesses the wearing of such robes and strictly forbids condemning those who do not dare to wear them. This is how the Greek cassock first appeared in Russia. But a loose, straight cassock, convenient for countries with hot climates, seemed, apparently, unacceptable in our country due to the fact that external conditions created the habit of wearing clothes that fit tightly to the body; moreover, spacious clothes with a slit in the middle, in the front, were worn in that time the Turks. Therefore, Russian cassocks began to be wrapped and sewn in at the waist; straight sleeves were made in the form of a bell. At the same time, two cuts of cassocks arose - Kiev and Moscow. The “Kiev” cassock is slightly sewn in at the waist from the sides, and leaves the back straight, while the “Moscow” cassock is sewn in significantly at the waist, so that it fits to the body both from the sides and from the back.

Since the 18th century, the secular clothes of the upper classes took on a completely different look from traditional Russian clothes. Gradually all classes of society began to wear short clothes, often of the European type, so that the attire of the clergy was in especially sharp contrast to the secular. At the same time, in the 18th century, the everyday clothes of the clergy acquired greater uniformity and consistency in cut and color. Monastics began to wear mostly only black cassocks and cassocks of the first type, whereas in ancient times they often wore green single-row cassocks, and the white clergy narrowed the color range of their clothes.

The general symbolic meaning of the cassock and cassock is evidence of detachment from worldly vanity, a symbol of spiritual peace. Peace and tranquility of the heart in its constant spiritual presence with God is the highest goal of the efforts of any believer. But especially the clergy and monastics, as those who have dedicated their entire lives to serving God, should have as a result of their spiritual activity this inner renunciation of worldly worries and vanity, peace and tranquility of the heart. The outer attire of the clergy corresponds to this state, reminds of it, calls for it, helps to achieve it: being an image of the outer garment that the Lord Jesus Christ wore during his earthly life, the cassock and cassock mean that the clergy and monasticism imitate Jesus Christ, as He and commanded His disciples. The long robe of the clergy is a sign of God's grace, clothing His servants, covering their human infirmities; The cloth or wool cassock of the monks, belted with a leather belt, is an image of the hair shirt and leather belt that the preacher of repentance John the Baptist wore in the desert (Matthew 3:4). The black color of cassocks and cassocks is especially noteworthy: black is, essentially, the absence of color, something that lies outside the light spectrum. When applied to the attire of the clergy and monasticism, this means the color of perfect peace as the absence of movements of passion, as if spiritual death for sin and renunciation of all vanity, from external, carnal life and concentration on the invisible, internal life. The everyday attire of the clergy also has meaning for the surrounding believers, as evidence of the spiritual state to which all who hope for salvation in God should strive.

The special detachment of monks from the world is indicated by mantle, or paly, is a long, sleeveless cape with a fastener only at the collar, descending to the ground and covering the cassock and cassock. In early Christian times, this was the clothing of all Christians who turned to faith from paganism and renounced the titles and ranks that they had in a pagan environment. Such a long cape made of the simplest material meant renunciation of idolatry and humility. Subsequently, it became the property of only monastics. According to the interpretation of Saint Herman, Patriarch of Constantinople, a loose, unbelted mantle is a sign of angelic wings, which is why it is called the “angelic image”. The mantle is only a monastic robe. In ancient times in Rus', monks wore a robe always and everywhere and had no right to leave their cells without it. For going out into the city without a robe, monks were punished in the 17th century by exile to distant monasteries under close supervision. Such severity was due to the fact that at that time the monks did not yet have robes as obligatory outerwear. They wore single-row shorts with narrow sleeves, so that the robe was the only outer clothing. The robes of monks, like their cassocks and cassocks, are always black.

The clergy and monastics have special headdresses in everyday use. White clergy may wear skufia. In ancient times, skufia was a small round cap, similar to a bowl without a stand. Since ancient times, in the Western Church and in Rus', such a cap was used to cover the shaved part of the head of the clergy. After ordination to the priesthood, the proteges immediately shaved their hair on their heads in the form of a circle, which in Rus' received the name gumenzo, which meant the sign of the crown of thorns. The shaved part was covered with a small cap, which also received the Slavic name gumentso, or the Greek name skufia.

In ancient times, priests and deacons constantly wore skufia, even at home, taking it off only during worship and before bed.

By decree of Emperor Paul I of December 18, 1797, purple skufiyas and kamilavkas were introduced into church use as awards for the white clergy. The priest can also wear the award skufiya in the church and perform divine services, removing it in the cases provided for by the Charter. Clergymen can wear such a skufiya every day.

The everyday headdress of bishops and monks, in which they can perform some divine services, is also hood. This is a headdress consisting of a kamilavka and a kukul. Klobuk has been known among Slavic people since ancient times. Initially, it was a princely headdress, which was a cap trimmed with fur, with a small coverlet sewn to it, descending onto the shoulders. Such caps with veils were also used by other noble people in Rus', men and women. On ancient icons, Saints Boris and Gleb are often depicted wearing hoods. There are mentions of hoods as a princely headdress in chronicles. It is unknown when the hood became the headdress of Russian monks. It appeared in the church environment a very long time ago and had the appearance of a deep soft cap made of simple material with a fur band. The etymology of the verb “to put on, to pull a headdress low over the forehead, over the ears” goes back to the root klobuk. The cap was covered with a black blanket that went down to the shoulders. Such hoods were worn in Rus' by both monks and bishops; only the bishops' hoods were made of expensive materials and sometimes decorated with precious stones. In the Orthodox East, monastic headdresses had a different look. There, only the veil worn over the cap was considered to be the actual monastic kukul. The lower part of that blanket, which went down onto the back, began to split into three ends.

Some ancient Russian saints wore white hoods. The iconography depicts the holy metropolitans Peter, Alexy, Jonah, and Philip in such hoods. With the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia in 1589, Russian Patriarchs began to wear white hoods. At the Council of 1666-1667, all metropolitans were given the right to wear white hoods. But at the same time, the metropolitans’ hoods were no different in shape from the monastic hoods of the new (Greek) model (with a solid cylindrical kamilavka), only their “basting” (kukol) became white. And the hoods of the Patriarchs retained the ancient shape of a spherical cap, covered with a white hood, the ends of which also differed from the ends of the monastic marking. The three ends of the patriarchal hood start almost from the cap, two of them descend from the front to the chest, the third to the back. At the top of the patriarchal hood (on the makovtsa) a cross began to be placed, the frontal side of the hood was decorated with icons, and at the ends of the hood cherubs or seraphim were depicted with gold embroidery.

Currently, the hood of the Moscow Patriarch on the frontal side and at the ends of the hood has images of six-winged Seraphim; in all other respects it is similar to the hoods of the ancient Russian Patriarchs. The white color of metropolitan and patriarchal hoods means a special purity of thoughts and enlightenment by Divine light, which corresponds to the highest degrees of the church hierarchy, which are designed to reflect the highest degrees of spiritual state. In this regard, the Patriarch's hood with images of the Seraphim indicates that the Patriarch, as the head of the entire Russian Church and the prayer book for it, is likened to the highest angelic ranks closest to God. The shape of the patriarchal hood, reminiscent of the dome of a church with a cross on top, also fully corresponds to the position of the Patriarch as the head of the local Church.

From the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Church established the custom, which still exists today, of wearing diamond crosses on black hoods for archbishops and white hoods for metropolitans. The cross on the headdress is not new. In the ancient Russian and especially Ukrainian church environment, even simple priests wore crosses on their everyday hats. Among priests, this custom ceased at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century. Subsequently, diamond crosses on hoods became the insignia of archbishops and metropolitans (bishops wear a regular black monastic hood without a cross). The diamond cross can mean high spiritual perfection and special firmness of faith and teaching, corresponding to the highest degrees of the church hierarchy.

The modern monastic hood is a solid kamilavka in the shape of a cylinder, slightly widened at the top, covered with black crepe, descending to the back and ending in the form of three long ends. This crepe is commonly called nametka (or kukul). In the rite of monastic tonsure called klobuk, of course, there is only crepe, a veil with which the kamilavka is covered. This veil is sometimes called a kukul, just like the veil worn when being tonsured into the Great Schema. In this meaning, the hood is called “the helmet of the hope of salvation,” and the kukul of the great schema, according to the rank of tonsure into the small and great schema, means “the helmet of the hope of salvation.”

This symbolic meaning of monastic veils comes from the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: “Let us, being sons of the day, be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:8), and elsewhere : “Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; and most of all, take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17). Thus, everyday spiritual, especially monastic, clothing signifies by external means those internal qualities that any Christian must possess, called a soldier of Christ at Baptism, since he will have to wage a tireless war against the invisible spiritual enemies of salvation.

Monastics of all degrees wear rosaries. This is a prayer item used for frequent reading of the Jesus Prayer. Modern rosary is a closed thread consisting of one hundred “grains”, divided into dozens of intermediate “grains” of larger sizes than ordinary ones. Cell rosaries sometimes contain a thousand “grains” with the same division. The rosary helps to count (hence their name) the number of prayers included in the monk's daily rule, without focusing on the count itself. Rosary beads have been known since ancient times. In Rus', in the old days they had the form of a closed ladder, consisting not of “grains”, but of wooden blocks covered with leather or fabric, and were called “ladder” or “lestovka” (ladder). Spiritually, they mean the ladder of salvation, the “spiritual sword”, and show the image of unceasing (eternal) prayer (a circular thread is a symbol of eternity).

Pectoral Cross

Pectoral crosses for priests appeared in the Russian Orthodox Church relatively recently. Until the 18th century, only bishops had the right to wear pectoral crosses. The cross of a priest testifies that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, who suffered for the sins of the world, and must have Him in his heart and imitate Him. The two-pointed chain of the cross is a sign of the lost sheep, that is, pastoral care for the souls of the parishioners entrusted to the priest, and the cross that Christ carried on His back, as a sign of deeds and suffering in earthly life. The cross and chain are made silver-gilded.

At the beginning of the 19th century, priests began to be awarded crosses with decorations on special occasions. By a decree of the Holy Synod of February 24, 1820, Russian priests serving abroad were blessed to wear special gold crosses issued from the emperor’s office. Such crosses are called cabinet crosses. Sometimes they were given as a reward to certain priests and those who did not travel outside of Russia.

By state decree of May 14, 1896, the cross was introduced into church use, which is a sign of distinction for every priest and hieromonk. This cross, which has since been placed at priestly consecration, is silver, eight-pointed in shape with a relief image of the crucified Savior on the front side and the inscriptions in the upper part: “Where, King, Glory” (“The Lord is the King of Glory”); at the ends of the wide crossbar “IC, XC” (“Jesus Christ”), under the lower oblique crossbar – “Nika” ( Greek– victory). On the reverse side of the cross is the inscription: “Be an image by faithful speech, life, love, spirit, faith, purity (1 Tim. 4:12). Summer 1896, May 14 days.” The cross is equipped with a silver chain of single elongated rings. This chain is also divided into two parts by a jumper in the middle. The crosses of 1896 became an indispensable insignia of priests, which they wear during divine services over their vestments and can be worn in everyday settings over their cassocks, and the crosses of 1797 remained an award, traditionally also awarded to all graduates of theological academies who have been ordained priests.

In addition, in the 19th century, archpriests began to receive crosses with decorations, similar to bishop’s pectoral crosses, as a reward.

Panagia- the distinctive breastplate of a bishop.

The first mention of panagia as an obligatory accessory for a bishop, which is given to him during initiation after the Liturgy, is contained in the writings of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica (XV century). The 17th-century writer Jacob Goar testifies that upon accepting the omophorion, the bishops of the Greek Church received a precious cross with the relics of saints, called an encolpion, with the addition of the greeting the word axios (worthy). The custom of placing an encolpion on a bishop during his consecration passed from the Orthodox East to the Russian Church. But in Rus', panagiars in the form of rectangular reliquaries with images of the Lord Christ, the Mother of God, and saints were already in widespread use. Often one reliquary with relics had images of the Holy Trinity, Christ Pantocrator, the Mother of God, and saints. There were gilded icons only with images of the Mother of God. Such icons were worn by bishops and archimandrites in the 16th century. Therefore, during the episcopal consecration in Russia, from the 17th century, they began to lay a cross. Since it was the custom of Russian bishops to wear an icon of the Mother of God or an encolpion-reliquary with relics over their robes, the Moscow Council of 1674 allowed Russian metropolitans to wear an “encolpion and cross” over the sakkos, but only within their diocese. An exception was made for the Novgorod Metropolitan, who had the right to wear a cross and encolpion in the presence of the Patriarch.

Russian Patriarchs, as well as Kyiv metropolitans as exarchs, have worn two panagias and a cross since the mid-17th century.

Over time, the relics of saints ceased to be a mandatory part of panagias. Currently, a panagia is an image of the Mother of God, most often round or oval in shape, with various decorations, without relics. Bishops' crosses now also come without relics. Since 1742, archimandrites of some monasteries were awarded panagias. In order to distinguish bishops from archimandrites, from the middle of the 17th century, bishops began to be given two tributes at their consecration: a cross and a panagia. In everyday settings, bishops had to wear a panagia, and during divine services a panagia and a cross. This order continues to this day.

The bishop's cross and panagia are signs of the highest authority in the Church. These images spiritually mean the same thing as the altarpiece Cross and the icon of the Mother of God, namely: The economy of the salvation of people in the Church is carried out by the grace-filled power of the feat of the cross of the Son of God Jesus Christ and the intercession of the Mother of God as the Mother of the Church. The bishop's cross and panagia remind us that a bishop must always have in his heart the Lord and Representative before Him - the Ever-Virgin Mary, that for this he must have a pure heart and a right spirit, and from the excess of heart purity and truth his lips must utter only one thing: good. This is also noted in the prayers said by the deacon when putting a cross and then a panagia on the bishop. When putting the cross on the bishop, the deacon says: “And if anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself,” says the Lord, “and take up his cross and follow Me, always, now, and ever, and forever and ever, Amen.” When putting on the first panagia, the deacon says: “God will create a pure heart in you, and will renew a right spirit in your womb, always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.” When putting on the second panagia, he says: “Let your heart spit out the good word that your deeds say, always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.”

The bishop's cross and panagia with the image of the Mother of God, which were fully defined in their main features two hundred years ago, arose seemingly by accident, but their symbolism deeply corresponds to the most ancient ideas of the Church about the participation of the Mother of God in the salvation of the world. Only Christ and the Mother of God are addressed with the words “Save us.” The rest of the saints are asked: “Pray to God for us.”

The bishop's cross and panagia are worn on chains, which are separated by a jumper, so that the front half of the chain, covering the neck, descends to the chest and converges on the upper part of the cross or panagia, and the back half descends to the back. One cannot help but see in this a repetition of the symbolism of the bishop’s omophorion, which also has front and back ends, signifying the lost sheep that the good shepherd took for his ramen, and the cross that the Lord Christ carried to Calvary. In the consciousness of the Church, the lost sheep is an image of the nature of fallen humanity, which the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself, incarnated in this nature and ascended it to Heaven, numbering it among the unlost - among the Angels. This is how Saint Herman, Patriarch of Constantinople (8th century), interprets the meaning of the omophorion, and Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, adds that crosses on the omophorion are depicted for the purpose of “as Christ also bore His cross on His shoulder; Thus, those who want to live on their own in Christ accept their cross, that is, suffering. For the cross is a sign of suffering.” Saint Isidore Pelusiot († c. 436-440) emphasizes the idea that “the bishop, in the image of Christ, fulfills His work and shows everyone by his very clothes that he is an imitator of the good and great Shepherd, who took upon Himself the infirmities of the flock.”

The two ends of the chains of the bishop's cross and panagia signify the bishop's imitation of Christ in his pastoral concern for the salvation of people - the sheep of the “verbal flock” and in the feat of bearing his cross. The two ends of the chains correspond to the dual nature of the archpastor’s ministry - to God and people.

The chains or cords of the pectoral crosses of ordinary lay people do not have a back end, since a lay person does not have pastoral responsibilities towards other people.

In everyday situations, bishops wear staves, different from the staff-staffs that they use during worship. Bishops' daily staffs are usually long wooden sticks with a frame and a thickening at the top made of carved bone, wood, silver or other metal. Everyday staves have a much more ancient origin than liturgical staffs. The liturgical bishop's staff was separated from the ordinary everyday staff of bishops because, according to canonical rules, bishops and other clergy are prohibited from decorating themselves with expensive and bright clothes and household items. Only during divine services, where the bishop must show people the image of the glory of the Heavenly King, does he put on specially decorated vestments and headdresses and take a splendid staff in his hands.

Liturgical Vestments of a Deacon and a Priest

The liturgical vestments of the clergy have a common name - vestments and are divided into deaconal, priestly and bishop's vestments. The priest has all the robes of a deacon and, in addition, those inherent in his rank; the bishop has all the priestly vestments and, in addition, those assigned to his episcopal rank.

The liturgical robes of the Orthodox clergy are typified in the Old Testament by the robes of Aaron and other priests, made at the direct command of God (Ex. 28:2; 31:10) and intended only for priestly service, for the glory and splendor of Divine services. They cannot be worn or used in everyday life. Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord commands the Old Testament priests, leaving the temple into the outer courtyard to the people, to take off their liturgical vestments and place them in the barriers of the saints, putting on other clothes (Ezek. 44:19). In the Orthodox Church, at the end of the service, vestments are also removed and remain in the church.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the parable of those invited to the royal feast, which figuratively tells about the Kingdom of God, speaks of the inadmissibility of entering it not in wedding clothes (Matthew 22: 11-14). The parable depicts a wedding feast on the occasion of the marriage of the king's son. According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, marriage, which is often spoken of here and in other similar images in the Holy Scriptures, is the sacramental marriage of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ (the Lamb) with His beloved bride - the Church (Rev. 19: 7-8). The Apocalypse notes that “it was given to her (the wife of the Lamb) to be clothed in fine linen, clean and bright; and the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

Thus, the general symbolic meaning of church vestments is the expression in visible material garments of the spiritual garments of righteousness and purity, in which the souls of believing people must be clothed in order to participate in the eternal joy of Christ’s union with the Church of His elect.

Historically, liturgical vestments did not appear immediately. In its main features, the canon of liturgical vestments was formed in the 6th century. It is known that until this time the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem, wore the long white linen robe of the Jewish priests and a headband. The Apostle John the Theologian also wore a gold bandage on his head as a sign of the high priest. Many believe that the phelonion left by the Apostle Paul at Carp in Troas (2 Tim. 4:13) was his liturgical attire. According to legend, the Mother of God with Her own hands made an omophorion for Saint Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Christ and was then Bishop of Cyprus. Thus, the apostles already used some liturgical vestments. Most likely, the Church has preserved from them a tradition expressed by Blessed Jerome (IV century), according to which it is by no means acceptable to enter the altar and perform divine services in common and simply used clothes.

The common attire for all degrees of the priesthood is surplice, or podsnik. This is also the most ancient garment in terms of time of origin. The surplice corresponds to the undercoat of the Old Testament high priests, but in Christianity it takes on a slightly different appearance and meaning.

For deacons and lower clergy, the surplice is the outer liturgical garment with wide sleeves. For priests and bishops, the surplice is the undergarment over which other vestments are worn. That’s why it has a special name – podrisnik.

The surplice is a long garment without a slit in the front and back, with a hole for the head and wide sleeves. The surplice is also required for subdeacons. The right to wear the surplice can be given to both psalm-readers and laymen serving in the church. The surplice signifies the purity of the soul that persons of holy orders must have.

For priests and bishops this is the lower liturgical clothing. She is put on a cassock, and other vestments are put on her. This vestment has some differences from the surplice. The cassock is made with narrow sleeves, since they must have handrails. The sleeves of the cassock have slits at the ends. A braid or cord is sewn to one side of the cut, so that when wearing this lace, the lower edge of the cassette sleeve is pulled tightly together at the wrist. These laces represent the fetters that tied the hands of the Savior as he was led to judgment. For this reason, there are no stripes on the sleeves of the vest. They are not on the sacristan's shoulders, because his shoulders are covered with outer liturgical clothing (felonion or sakkos).

On the back of the vestment only a cross is sewn, and on the hem, since it protrudes from under the outer clothing and is visible to everyone, there is the same sewn stripe as on the surplice, with the same symbolic meaning. On the sides of the cassock there are the same slits as on the surplice. The casings are made of light fabric and, in accordance with the considered value, should be white. A distinctive feature of the bishop's vestment can be the so-called gammata - sources, streams in the form of ribbons hanging in front. They mean the blood that flowed from the wounds of Christ, and, according to Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, the teaching grace of the hierarch, and various gifts given to him from above and through him poured out on everyone. The cassock is worn only when serving the Liturgy and on some special occasions.

On the left shoulder above the surplice the deacons have orari- a long strip of brocade or other colored material, descending from the front and back almost to the floor. The orarion is secured with a loop on a button on the left shoulder of the surplice, so that its ends hang down freely. Taking the lower front end of the orarion in his right hand, the deacon raises it while pronouncing litanies (petitions), makes the sign of the cross with this end, and, in appropriate cases, indicates to the priest and bishop the order of liturgical actions. At the Liturgy of the “Our Father”, preparing himself to receive the Holy Mysteries, the deacon girds himself with an orar across his chest (chest) so that the orar first crosses the lower part of the chest, across, passes with two ends under the armpits on the back, crosses crosswise on the back , rising on both shoulders, through the shoulders the ends of the orarion descend to the chest, intersect here also crosswise and pass under that part of the orarion that crossed across the lower part of the chest. Thus, the chest and back of the deacon are covered by the orarion in a cross shape. After communion, the deacon again girds the orarion and hangs it on his left shoulder.

Deacon is the first holy degree. The orarion, which he almost always wears on one left shoulder, means precisely the grace of the holy order, but only of the first degree of priesthood, which gives the deacon the right to be a minister, but not a performer of the sacraments. However, this grace of the sacred deaconate is a yoke and a yoke of work for God and people, it is a crucifixion. The symbolic expression of these spiritual truths is contained in the deacon’s orarion. On the other hand, the orarion reminds the deacon of the need to imitate the angels in his service and life, always ready to quickly fulfill the will of God, preserving purity and purity, and remaining in perfect chastity.

Even now, the words of the angelic chant “Holy, Holy, Holy” are sometimes written on orarions. Most often this inscription is found on the so-called double orarions of protodeacons and archdeacons. This orarion is much wider than the usual deacon's one, and has the peculiarity that its middle part passes under the right arm so that one end of the orarion rises over the back to the left shoulder and falls down in front, and the other end passes from under the right arm through the chest up and down the same left shoulder from behind. This arrangement of the orarion marks the seniority of protodeacons and archdeacons within the same diaconal rank, which is an image of the seniority of some Angels over others.

On the sleeves of the cassock, and when fully vested, on the sleeves of the cassock, priests and bishops put instruct, or sleeves. Deacons put them on the sleeves of their cassock. The handrail is a slightly curved strip of dense material with an image of a cross in the middle, trimmed along the edges with a ribbon of a different shade than the handrail itself. Covering the hand at the wrist, the handrail is connected to the inside of the arm using a cord threaded through metal loops on its side edges, and the cord is wrapped around the hand, so that the handrail tightly pulls the sleeve of the cassock or cassock and holds firmly on the hand. In this case, the sign of the cross appears on the outside of the hand. The orders are worn on both sleeves and signify God's power, strength and wisdom, given to His clergy to perform the Divine sacraments. The sign of the cross means that it is not the human hands of the clergy, but the Lord Himself through them who performs the sacraments with His Divine power. This meaning of the braces is reflected in the prayers when putting them on for serving the Liturgy. For the right hand it reads: “Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength; Thy right hand, O Lord, has crushed the enemies and with the multitude of Thy glory has erased these adversaries.” This prayer also contains the idea that the orders, as a sign of the power of God, protect the clergyman from demonic machinations when performing the sacraments. For the left handrail it reads: “Thy hands have made me and created me; give me understanding and I will learn Thy commandment.”

The history of the origin of the handrails is as follows. There were no commissions in the original Church. Since ancient times, the narrow sleeves of the imathium (cassock) and cassock were decorated with a special decoration in the form of two or three stripes covering the edges of the sleeves. At the same time, a cross was sometimes depicted between these stripes. There are no interpretations of this decoration among ecclesiastical authors of antiquity. Armbands first appeared as an item of clothing for Byzantine kings. They were used to decorate and tighten the sleeves of the lower clothing, protruding from under the wide sleeves of the sakkos - the upper royal vestment. Wanting to honor the patriarchs of their capital Constantinople with special honor, the emperors began to bestow upon them items of royal vestments. Byzantine kings granted the patriarchs wands and the right to depict a double-headed eagle on shoes and carpets. In the 11th-12th centuries, the saints of Constantinople received sakkos and orders from the kings; then the assignments passed to the primates of other Orthodox Churches, to the most prominent eastern metropolitans and bishops. Somewhat later, the assignments passed to the priests. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica (12th century), writes about the cords as a necessary accessory for priestly and episcopal vestments. In the 14th-15th centuries, orders as a reward appeared first among some archdeacons, and then among all deacons. Ancient armatures were often richly decorated with gold and silver embroidery, pearls, sometimes they depicted a deisis, an icon of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, John the Baptist, sometimes they did not have any images. Subsequently, the only image on the arms becomes a cross - a sign of the power of the cross imparted to the servant of the throne of God. The symbolism of the handrails thus reaches its completion in the 16th-17th centuries. With the advent of handrails, stripes and crosses were no longer sewn on the sleeves of the cassock and cassock. The handpieces, as an object external to the sleeves, provided clear evidence that the power and wisdom in performing the sacraments and services do not belong to the clergyman himself, but is given to him from the outside, from God. This is the dogmatic meaning of the change that has occurred in the symbolism of the sleeves. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, gives the orders, in addition to the sign of God's power and wisdom, the meaning of the image of the fetters that tied the hands of the Savior, led to judgment. When the handles are put on a cassock or cassock without cords on the sleeves, they actually acquire this meaning. When they are put on the vestment, the sleeves of which are already tied with a cord - the image of the paths of Christ - only their first meaning remains behind the straps - the power and wisdom of God performing the sacraments.

The surplice, orarion and bridles are the vestments of the deacon. Other liturgical vestments belong to the vestments of the priestly rank.

Starting from the 15th century, the bishop, ordaining a deacon to the priesthood, wrapped a deacon's orar around his neck, so that both of its ends evenly descended down the chest, to the hem, and at the same time were connected to one another. It turned out stole- an item of clothing for priests and bishops. (The word epitrachelion in Greek is masculine, but in Russian books it was used in the feminine gender.) This is exactly what bishops did starting from the 15th century when ordaining a deacon to the rank of priest. The epitrachelion formed from the orarion meant that the priest, without losing the grace of the deaconate, acquires double grace, in comparison with the deacon, giving him the right and obligation to be not only a minister, but also a performer of the Sacraments of the Church and the entire work of the priesthood. This is not only double grace, but also a double yoke, a yoke.

In later times (approximately from the 16th-17th centuries), stoles began to be made not from deacon’s orarions, but especially for ease of wearing. In the part that covers the neck, the epitrachelion is made curly and narrow, so that this part can comfortably fit the collar of a cassock or cassock. When consecrating a deacon as a presbyter, the bishop no longer places the orarion around the dedicatee’s neck, but immediately places the finished epitrachelion on him. The separation of the epitrachelion from the orarion does not, however, abolish the meaning of the epitrachelion as an orarion connected at the front. Therefore, even today, the epitrachelion is sewn in such a way that it represents two separate stripes at the front, connected only in a few places where conditional buttons are placed, since there are no loops, the buttons are planted in those places where the halves of the epitrachelion are simply sewn to one another. But the epitrachelion is not sewn along its entire length, with rare exceptions. The deacon's orarion, as a rule, has seven sewn crosses on it to commemorate the fact that the deacon is the minister of all seven Sacraments of the Church, and the priest performs six Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Blessing of Anointing. Only the bishop has the right to perform the Sacrament of Holy Orders. When the orarion is bent around the neck, the cross in its middle part ends up on the back side of the neck, and the other six are located opposite each other on both halves of the orarion, connected in front. In the same way, the signs of the cross are sewn onto the stole, so that in front it has three pairs of crosses on both halves, which indicates that the priest performs the six Sacraments of the Church. The seventh sign of the cross, located on the neck of the priest, means that he received his priesthood from the bishop and is subject to him, and also that he bears the yoke (yoke) of serving Christ, who redeemed the human race through the feat of the cross.

The priest can perform all divine services and services only in the epitrachelion, which is placed over the cassock, and in full vestment over the cassock, as is always the case when serving the Liturgy and in some special cases .

Felonne(in everyday life - chasuble) is the outer liturgical attire of priests and, in some cases, bishops. In the plural, the word “chasuble” means all vestments in general, but the singular form implies a phelonion.

This robe is very ancient. In ancient times, a phelonion was a cloak-cape made of a long rectangular piece of woolen material and served to protect against cold and bad weather. It was worn on both shoulders, with the front ends pulled together on the chest, and over one shoulder; sometimes a cutout was made in the middle of this cloak for the head, and the phelonion, worn over the shoulders, covered the entire body of the person with long ends in front and behind. At the same time, among the Jews, the edges of the phelonion were sometimes decorated with cassocks or omets - trim made of sewn lace; and along the very edge of this trim the so-called cracks were sewn - a blue cord with tassels or fringe as a sign of constant remembrance of the commandments and the Law, which was commanded by God Himself (Num. 15: 37-40). The phelonion was worn by the Lord Jesus Christ in His earthly life. This is confirmed by ancient icons, where the Savior is almost always depicted in a cloak, sometimes worn over both shoulders, and sometimes over one shoulder. Perhaps it is the phelonion-cloak that John the Evangelist has in mind when he says that at the Last Supper, the Lord, intending to wash the feet of the disciples, took off His outer clothing. The apostles also wore the phelonion, as evidenced by the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 4:13). Many believe that this was his liturgical clothing. In any case, even if the Lord and the apostles used the phelonion only as the usual outer clothing of those times, in the consciousness of the Church it precisely for this reason acquired sacred meaning and from very ancient times began to be used as liturgical vestments.

The form of the felony changed. To make it easier to wear, a larger or smaller semicircular cutout began to be made at the front hem, that is, the front hem of the phelonion no longer reached the feet. Over time, the upper shoulders of the phelonion began to be made firm and high, so that the rear upper edge of the phelonion in the form of a truncated triangle or trapezoid now began to rise above the shoulders of the clergyman.

On the back, in the upper part of the phelonion, under the shoulder stripe, in the same way as on the surplice and for the same reasons, the sign of the cross is placed. And at the bottom of the back of the phelonion, closer to the hem, an eight-pointed star is sewn on the same line with the cross. The eight-pointed star in the Christian view means the eighth century - the advent of the Kingdom of Heaven, a new earth and a new sky, since the earthly history of mankind has seven periods - seven centuries. Thus, in two short symbols - the cross and the eight-pointed star - the beginning and the end of the salvation of mankind in Christ Jesus are indicated on the phelonion. These symbols can also mean the Nativity of Christ (the star over Bethlehem) and His Feat of the Cross. However, the Star of Bethlehem also contains a sign of the future age, for with the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, “the Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near” to people. The star and cross on the phelonion symbolize, in addition, the union in the Orthodox Church of the grace of the priesthood of the Old (star) and New (cross) Testaments.

Containing many high spiritual concepts, the phelonion in its general appearance primarily means the radiance of Divine glory and the strength of Divine light, clothing the clergy, the robe of righteousness and spiritual joy. Therefore, in the prayer when putting on the phelonion it is read: “Thy priests, O Lord, will be clothed in truth, and Thy saints will always rejoice with joy, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen” (Ps. 131:9). The concepts of Divine light, righteousness, joy, as a wealth of spiritual gifts and feelings, make it possible for phelonies to be not only white. Feloni are made from gold and silver brocade, which especially emphasizes the meaning of the radiance of glory, as well as from material of other primary colors, accepted in worship for vestments. Since the 18th century, during Great Lent, black phelonions with white stripes have been worn, being in this case a sign of the rags and sackcloth in which the Savior was dressed when he was humiliated.

The epitrachelion, armlets and phelonion make up the small priestly vestment, in which all evening and morning services and services are served, except for the Liturgy. When serving the Liturgy, as well as in certain cases provided for by the Charter, the priest puts on full vestments. The basis of full vestment is the cassock. On top of it, they successively put on an epitrachelion, armbands, a belt, a legguard, a club, and a phelonion. At the same time, the legguard and club, being awards for the clergy, may not be worn by all priests and are not among the required items of vestment.

Belt, worn over the cassock and epitrachelion, is a not very wide strip of material with trim in the form of stripes of a different color or shade along the edges, in the middle there is a sewn sign of the cross. There are ribbons at both ends of the belt that tie it at the back, on the lower back.

From ancient times to the present day, a tightly tied belt, as an item of clothing for workers and warriors, has been used to give the body strength and strength. Hence, as a symbolic object in religious and secular use, the belt has always meant certain concepts of strength, strength, power or readiness to serve. The psalmist prophet David says: “The Lord reigned, clothed with beauty; the Lord clothed himself with strength and girded himself.” Here, as in many other places of Holy Scripture, Divine power is symbolically indicated by a belt, a girdle. Christ, girding himself with a long towel and washing the feet of His disciples, gives this image of His service to people. And the Lord Jesus Christ speaks figuratively about His service to the faithful in the future age of the Kingdom of Heaven: “He will gird himself and make them sit down, and approaching and serving them” (Luke 12:37). The Apostle Paul exhorts Christians, saying: “Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth” (Eph. 6:14). In these words, the concept of the spiritual strength of truth is combined with the concept of serving God in the spirit of truth.

The legguard is an oblong rectangular plate on a long ribbon - the first in line reward for zealous service to the Church.

Gaiter Archimandrites, abbots and priests are awarded. Symbolically, the rectangular shape of the legguard means the Four Gospels, which is quite consistent with the concept of the spiritual sword, which is the word of God.

Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
God's law

Priests and their sacred vestments

Following the example of the Old Testament Church, where there were a high priest, priests and Levites, the holy Apostles established in the New Testament Christian Church three degrees of priesthood: bishops, presbyters (i.e. priests) and deacons.

They are all 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 among themselves equal, but the oldest and most honored of the bishops are called archbishops, 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.

From 1721 to 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church was governed by the 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.

To help a bishop, another bishop is sometimes given, who, in this case, is called vicar, i.e., viceroy.

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.

The Christian community under the jurisdiction of a priest is called his arrival.

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 appears at the same time monk, then it is called hieromonk, i.e., a priestly monk. 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 bishops.

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 perform 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, psalmists(sacristans) and sexton. They, belonging to the number 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.

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.

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.

To perform divine services, clergy must wear special sacred robes. Sacred robes are made of brocade or any other suitable material and decorated with crosses.

Clothes deacon are: surplice, orarion And instruct.

Surplice There are long clothes without a slit in the front and back, with a hole 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 Orarium signifies the grace of God that the deacon received in the sacrament of the Priesthood.

By hand are called narrow sleeves, tightened with laces. 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.

vestment priest are: vestment, epitrachelion, belt, brace and phelonion(or chasuble).

Podryznik there 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.

Stole there 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.

Belt worn over the epitrachelion and cassock and signifies readiness to serve the Lord. The belt also signifies Divine power, which strengthens the clergy in carrying out their ministry. The belt also resembles the towel with which the Savior girded when washing the feet of His disciples at the Last Supper.

Riza, or felonion, 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 robe, on the priest’s chest is pectoral cross.

For diligent, long-term service, priests are given legguard, that is, a quadrangular plate hung on a ribbon over the shoulder and two corners on the right thigh, meaning a spiritual sword, as well as head decorations - skufja And kamilavka.

Bishop (bishop) dresses in all the priest's robes: cassock, epitrachelion, belt, brace, only his robe is replaced sakkos, and the legguard club. In addition, the bishop puts on omophorion And miter.

Sakkos- the bishop’s outer garment, 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.

Mace, this is a quadrangular board hung at one corner, over the sakkos on the right hip. As a reward for excellent and diligent service, the right to wear a club is sometimes received from the ruling bishop by honored archpriests, who also wear it on the right side, and in this case the legguard 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 omophorion. An omophorion is a long, wide, ribbon-shaped cloth 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 panagia, which means "All Holy". This is a small round image of the Savior or the Mother of God, decorated with colored stones.

Placed on the bishop's head miter, decorated with small images and colored stones. 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 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, they place orlets. 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.

Home clothes the bishop, priest and deacon are made up of a cassock (half-caftan) and cassock. Over the cassock, on the chest bishop wears cross And panagia, A priest - cross.