Who are Clergy?
Image from Wikipedia, of Orthodox priest in Dusseldorf
When stepping into an Orthodox church building, there’s a lot of things that you notice. There’s the smell of incense, there’s the sight of icons (usually, icons everywhere!), there’s the sound of church music…
Of course, once you get inside, there’s also no mistaking who the guy leading the service is. He’s the one up front, decked out in beautifully-ornate, flowing vestments, sometimes complete with a hat of some kind.
Which begs the question: what is that guy?
For most Orthodox worship, ‘that guy up front’ will be a priest. He’ll be wearing a robe (generally white or light-coloured), and over that he’ll be wearing something like a robe-slash-cape. There’ll be other things he’ll be wearing – ornate cuffs and belt, probably a cross, and possibly a few other things, too.
The priest will be the usual go-to person for a parish. He’ll give communion, he’ll hear confessions, he’ll marry couples, he’ll visit the sick, he’ll do administration, he’ll talk to the bishop, he’ll give sermons, he’ll chair parish council meetings…and so on. When people join the Church, he’s the one they see; when people have problems, he’s often the one to see then, too.
He’ll often have an assistant. If the parish has one, he’ll be wearing a robe with a funny strip of fabric going over his shoulder. That guy is the deacon. At church, he’ll be saying a lot of stuff, reading the Gospel, and generally helping the priest. He’ll also be helping out in other areas, depending on his abilities – generally education, charity or liturgical music.
The priest’s boss is a bishop. In most parishes, the bishop won’t be there, and when he is there, it’s a very big event. Bishops visit parishes and make sure that parishioners are being taken care of. They also handle a lot of the administrative duties, oversee parishes in a diocese. Part of that is that they are able to ‘ordain’ people to be clergy – whether to major orders, as priests and deacons, or to minor orders.
Minor orders aren’t done in some churches, while other churches have two minor orders. There used to be five, but these became unneeded in the life of the church. The two that did survive were subdeacons and readers. Subdeacons are generally altar servers, and are in charge of those who serve in the altar. They wear a robe and a strip of cloth, like the deacons; but unlike the deacons, they wear it wrapped around their shoulders (forming X shapes over their back and front). Readers are responsible for reading the Epistle, as well as other parts of prayer services, and they only wear the robe.
Generally, whenever you see any of these clergy at coffee hour, you’ll see them in a cassock. It represents their humility and their acceptance of the authority of the Church, as this garment has been handed down as the appropriate dress for clergymen. This is noteworthy, as people are used to clergy being in positions of power; however, in Orthodoxy, the clergy are usually the ones with the least power.
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Did you find this helpful? Know of any photos that might help explain this piece? Perhaps you have some questions? I’m considering doing some follow-up posts on this topic – let me know if this would help you, in comments or by e-mail.
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- Introduction to Orthodox Christianity is still selling, and is available immediately as an ebookfor $9. This price will go up soon, and I’ll put on this blog when it happens.
- I’m working on a page where people can find English-speaking parishes. Give me a week or two.
