Ordination
By Fr. Peter Orfanakos
What are the Orders of the Holy Priesthood?
The Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood derives its origin from Christ,
the great High Priest, Who was "holy, blameless, unstained,
separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens... a minister
in the sanctuary which is set up not by man but by the Lord." (Hebrews
7:26, 8:2) Christ as the heavenly High Priest offered Himself as
a sacrifice on the Cross "for all," and conferred His
priesthood upon His Apostles. (John 20:21-23, Matthew 28:19-20,
Mark 16:15-18, Acts 2:33)
From the Apostles the office of the Priesthood passed on in an unbroken
chain to the first clergymen whom they ordained, and through them
to their successors. This is called Apostolic succession and it is
fundamental teaching in the Orthodox Church because only through
it can the clergymen receive the authority to become real representatives
of Christ and the Apostles of the Church.
As successors of the Apostles and representatives of Christ in His
Church, clergymen continue the work of Jesus. They teach the word
of God; offer the Holy Eucharist and administer the other sacraments;
they govern the Church and take care of the spiritual needs of the
members of their congregations.
The Bishop
There are three orders of the Priesthood: the order of the Bishop,
of the Priest and of the Deacon. The first and highest order of
Priesthood belongs to the Bishop (the Episcopos). The name Episcopos
was given to the successors of the Apostles (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy
3:1-2; Titus 1:7) and means "Overseer." He is also called
the Archpriest or Archierefs, which distinguishes him as being
chief over the priests of a specific territory.
All bishops are
equal among themselves as they hold the same degree of priesthood,
but there are grades in their titles, depending on their administrative
power. For instance, the title of Metropolitan is given to a bishop
of a great or capital city. The title of Archbishop is given to
the chief or first among the bishops of a large area. The title
of Patriarch is given to the chief among the Bishops.
The Priest
The second order of the Holy Priesthood is occupied by the Priest.
The priest is in charge of a community which he spiritually serves.
He administers all the sacraments with the exception of the Sacrament
of Holy Ordination, and celebrates all the church services with
the exception of the ceremony connected with the consecration of
a church. He leads the community in prayer and blesses them in
the name of the Lord.
The Deacon
The Deacon holds the third order of the Priesthood. The word Deacon
(Diakonos) means "assisstant," (Matthew 20:26; Acts 6:1-7)
and he assists the bishop or the priest in the celebration of the
sacraments and church services. During services the Deacon recites
the litanies, the Gospel readings and other prayers and assists
the celebrant bishop or priest in the sanctuary.
The Origin of the Sacred Vestments
In the Early Church, clergymen wore the same kind of garments when
celebrating the church services as those worn by other people of
that time. Even then however, there was a feeling that the garments
of the celebrant clergy should be distinguished in some way from
those of the laos (people). The feeling of reverence demanded that
the garments of the celebrants should be festive, preferably white
in color (a symbol of holiness and purity) and that they be decorated
with crosses to distinguish them from ordinary garments.
In the course of time, the fashions of the garments
of people changed, but the garments of the celebrants remained unaltered
and took on a symbolic meaning. They distinguished the officiating
clergymen from the laymen and at the same time reminded them all
that the celebrants "are
not of the world" (John 17:16) but participants of Christ's
glory (John 17:22-24) clothed in the robes and the grace of the Holy
Spirit.
Next Chapter
Return to "Mysteries
or Sacramants" Page
Living
the Orthodox Life
Rason: The Rason (Anteri, Cassock) was the garment of the Byzantine
Empire. Today it is a tight-buttoned garment which has a belt at
the waist.
Exorason: The clothing that monks began wearing at the 9th century
made out of linen in order to protect themselves from the weather
conditions. Throughout the years, the Exorason was made in black,
and was characteristic of all monks. The Bishops, Priests, and
Deacons wear it as a more formal item of clothing to distinguish
themselves from the laity.
Kalimafi: A black cylindrical hat worn by many Deacons, Priests
and Bishops. It is worn before the Divine Liturgy begins and during
other ceremonies and even outside the Church. It is symbol of self-denial
from the worldly and devotion to the divine.