In the Christian New Testament Church, there are three degrees of priesthood established by the holy Apostles. The dominant position is occupied by bishops, followed by elders - priests - and deacons. This system repeats the structure of the Old Testament church, where the following degrees existed: the high priest, priests and Levites.
Priests for the service of the Church of Christ through the sacrament of the priesthood receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. This allows you to perform divine services, manage the affairs of the Church, teach people through the Christian faith. good life and piety.
The highest rank in the Church are bishops receiving the highest degree of grace. They are also called bishops - chiefs of priests (that is, priests). Bishops have the right to perform all the Sacraments and church services... It is the bishops who have the right not only to conduct ordinary divine services, but also to ordain (or consecrate) other Orthodox Christians. Also, bishops, unlike other priests, can consecrate myrrh and antimensions.
All bishops are equal to each other in the degree of priesthood, but the most honored, the oldest of them are called archbishops. Metropolitan bishops are called metropolitan - translated into Greek "capital" will sound like "metropolitanate". The bishops of the most ancient Christian capitals are called patriarchs. These are the bishops of Jerusalem and Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome.
At times, one bishop is assisted by another bishop. The second of the named clergy in in this case called the vicar (governor).
The holy order, following the bishops, is occupied priests... In Greek they can be called elders or priests. These priests, with the episcopal blessing, can perform almost all church ordinances and services. However, it does not do without exceptions, which are the rituals available only to the highest sacred order - the bishops. Such exceptions, first of all, include the following sacraments: ordination to dignity, as well as the sacraments of the consecration of antimenses and peace. The Christian community, headed by a priest, bears the name of his parish.
The most honored and worthy priests can be called archpriests, in other words, chief priests, preeminent priests. The Chief Archpriest is awarded the title of Protopresbyter.
When a priest is a monk at the same time, he is called hieromonk - priest-monk, translated into modern Russian. Hieromonks who are abbots of monasteries carry the title of abbots. Sometimes a hieromonk can be called an abbot independently of this, simply as an honorary distinction. Archimandrite - even more high rank than the abbot. The most worthy of the archimandrites can subsequently be elected as bishops.
The lowest, third sacred order is deacons... it Greek name translates as "minister". When church ordinances or services are performed, deacons serve bishops or priests. However, the deacons themselves cannot perform them. The participation or presence of a deacon during the service is optional. Accordingly, church services can often take place without a deacon.
Individual deacons, the most worthy and honored, receive the title of protodeacon - or first deacon, in modern language.
If a monk receives the rank of deacon, they begin to call him a hierodeacon, of which the archdeacon is the eldest.
In addition to these three sacred ranks, there are other, lower official positions in the Church. These are subdeacons, sextons and psalmists (sextons). Although they are clergymen, they can be appointed to office without the sacrament of the Priesthood, but only with the blessing of the hierarch.
Psalmists reading and chanting both during the service in the church and when the priest performs spiritual requests in the homes of parishioners is charged with the duty.
Ponomari must summon believers to worship by ringing the bells. In addition, they are required to light candles in the temple, help the psalmists while singing and reading, serve a censer, and so on.
Subdeacons take part only in the ministry of bishops. They dress the bishop in church vestments, and also hold lamps (called dikiri and trikiri), giving them to the bishop who blesses the worshipers.
mamlas the Black and White SpiritHow is the white clergy different from the black?
In Russian Orthodox Church there is a certain church hierarchy and structure. First of all, the clergy is divided into two categories - white and black. How do they differ from each other? © The white clergy includes married clergymen who did not take monastic vows. They are allowed to have a family and children.
When they talk about the black clergy, they mean monks ordained to the priesthood. They devote their whole lives to serving the Lord and take three monastic vows - chastity, obedience and non-covetousness (voluntary poverty).
A person who is going to take holy orders, even before ordination, is obliged to make a choice - to marry or become a monk. After ordination, it is no longer possible for a priest to marry. Priests who did not marry before accepting ordination sometimes choose celibacy instead of taking monastic vows - they take a vow of celibacy.
Church hierarchy
In Orthodoxy, there are three degrees of priesthood. The first step is occupied by deacons. They help to conduct divine services and rituals in temples, but they themselves cannot lead services and perform the sacraments. Church ministers belonging to the white clergy are simply called deacons, and monks ordained to this dignity are called hierodeacons.
Among deacons, the most worthy can receive the rank of protodeacon, and among hierodeacons, archdeacons are elders. A special place in this hierarchy is occupied by the patriarchal archdeacon serving under the patriarch. He belongs to the white clergy, and not to the black, like other archdeacons.
The second degree of the priesthood is priests. They can independently conduct services, as well as perform most of the sacraments, except for the ordination to the priesthood. If a priest belongs to the white clergy, he is called a priest or presbyter, and if he belongs to the black clergy, he is called a hieromonk.
A priest can be elevated to the rank of archpriest, that is, senior priest, and a hieromonk - to the rank of abbot. Often, archpriests are abbots of churches, and abbots are abbots of monasteries.
The highest priestly title for the white clergy, the title of Protopresbyter, is awarded to priests for special merit. This rank corresponds to the rank of archimandrite in the black clergy.
Priests related to the third and the highest degree priesthood are called bishops. They have the right to perform all the sacraments, including the ordination of other priests. Bishops direct church life and lead dioceses. They are divided into bishops, archbishops, and metropolitans.
Only a clergyman belonging to the black clergy can become a bishop. A priest who has been married can only be ordained a bishop if he accepts monasticism. He can do this in the event that his wife has died or also tonsured as a nun in another diocese.
The local church is headed by the patriarch. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is Patriarch Kirill. In addition to the Moscow Patriarchate, there are other Orthodox patriarchates in the world - Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian and Bulgarian.
One of the main directions in Christianity is Orthodoxy. It is professed by millions of people around the world: in Russia, Greece, Armenia, Georgia and other countries. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is considered the keeper of the main shrines in Palestine. exist even in Alaska and Japan. Icons hang in the homes of Orthodox believers, which are picturesque images of Jesus Christ and all the saints. In the XI century Christian church split into Orthodox and Catholic. Most Orthodox people lives in Russia, as one of the most oldest churches is the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by the patriarch.
Priest - who is this?
There are three degrees of priesthood: deacon, priest, and bishop. Then the priest - who is this? This is the name of a priest of the lowest rank of the second degree of the Orthodox priesthood, who, with the blessing of the bishop, is allowed to independently administer six church sacraments, in addition to the sacrament of the laying on of hands.
Many are interested in the origin of the title of priest. Who is this and how does he differ from the hieromonk? It is worth noting that the word itself with Greek translated as "priest", in the Russian Church it is a priest who is called a hieromonk in the monastic rank. In the official or solemn speech it is customary to address the priests as "Your Reverend". Priests and hieromonks have the right to lead church life in urban and rural parishes and they are called abbots.
The exploits of the priests
In the era of great upheavals, priests and hieromonks sacrificed themselves and all that they had for the sake of faith. This is how genuine Christians held on to saving faith in Christ. The church never forgets their real ascetic feat and honors them with all the honors. Not everyone knows how many priests-priests died during the years of terrible trials. Their feat was so great that it is impossible to even imagine.
Hieromartyr Sergius
Priest Sergiy Mechev was born on September 17, 1892 in Moscow into the family of the priest Aleksey Mechev. After graduating from high school with a silver medal, he went to study at Moscow University for medical faculty, but then transferred to the Faculty of History and Philology and graduated in 1917. During his student years, he attended the theological circle named after John Chrysostom. During the war years of 1914, Mechev worked as a brother of mercy on an ambulance train. In 1917, he often visited Patriarch Tikhon, who since special attention treated him. In 1918, he received the blessing to receive the priesthood from After that, being already Father Sergius, he never abandoned his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the most difficult times, having gone through the camps and exile, even under torture did not abandon her, for which he was shot on December 24, 1941 within the walls of the Yaroslavl NKVD. Sergius Mechev was numbered among the holy new martyrs in 2000 by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Confessor Alexey
Priest Aleksey Usenko was born into the family of the psalmist Dmitry Usenko on March 15, 1873. Having received a seminary education, he was ordained a priest and began to serve in one of the villages of Zaporozhye. So he would have worked in his humble prayers, if not for the 1917 revolution. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was not particularly affected by persecution. Soviet power... But in 1936, in the village of Timoshovka, Mikhailovsky district, where he lived with his family, local authorities closed the church. He was already 64 years old then. Then Priest Alexei went to work on the collective farm, but as a priest he continued his sermons, and everywhere there were people who were ready to listen to him. The authorities did not accept this and sent him to distant exiles and prisons. Priest Aleksey Usenko resignedly endured all the hardships and humiliations and until the end of his days was faithful to Christ and the Holy Church. He probably died in BAMLAG (Baikal-Amur camp) - the day and place of his death are not known for certain, most likely he was buried in a camp mass grave. The Zaporizhzhya diocese appealed to the Holy Synod of the UOC to consider the issue of canonizing Priest Aleksey Usenko to the canon of locally revered saints.
Hieromartyr Andrew
Priest Andrei Benediktov was born on October 29, 1885 in the village of Voronino in the Nizhny Novgorod province in the family of the priest Nikolai Benediktov.
He, along with other priests of Orthodox churches and laity, was arrested on August 6, 1937 and accused of anti-Soviet conversations and participation in counter-revolutionary church conspiracies... Priest Andrew did not admit his guilt and did not testify against other evidence. It was a real priestly feat, he died for his unshakable faith in Christ. He was canonized by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
Vasily Gundyaev
He was the grandfather of the Russian Patriarch Kirill and also became one of the the brightest examples real ministry of the Orthodox Church. Vasily was born on January 18, 1907 in Astrakhan. A little later, his family moved to Nizhny Novgorod province, to the city of Lukyanov. Vasily worked in the railway depot as a mechanic-driver. He was a very religious person, and he raised his children in the fear of God. The family lived very modestly. Once Patriarch Kirill said that, as a child, he asked his grandfather where he was doing the money and why he had not saved anything either before or after the revolution. He replied that he sent all the funds to Athos. And so, when the patriarch found himself on Mount Athos, he decided to check this fact, and, which, in principle, is not surprising, it turned out pure truth... In the Simonometra monastery there are old archival records of the early 20th century for the eternal commemoration of Priest Vasily Gundyaev.
During the years of the revolution and cruel trials, the priest defended and preserved his faith to the end. He spent about 30 years in persecution and imprisonment, during which time he spent in 46 prisons and 7 camps. But these years did not break Vasily's faith, he died at the age of eighty on October 31, 1969 in the village of Obrochnoye, Mordovian region. Holy Patriarch Kirill, as a student at the Leningrad Academy, participated in the funeral service for his grandfather, along with his father and relatives, who also became priests.
"Priest-san"
Very interesting Feature Film filmed by Russian filmmakers in 2014. Its name is "Priest-san". The audience immediately had a lot of questions. Priest - who is this? Who will be discussed in the picture? The idea of the film was suggested by Ivan Okhlobystin, who once saw a real Japanese in the church among the priests. This fact plunged him into deep thought and study.
It turns out that Hieromonk Nikolai Kasatkin (Japanese) came to Japan in 1861, during the time of persecution of foreigners from the islands, risking his life with the mission of spreading Orthodoxy. He devoted several years to studying Japanese, culture and philosophy in order to translate the Bible into that language. And now, a few years later, or rather in 1868, the priest was trapped by the samurai Takuma Sawabe, who wanted to kill him for preaching foreign things for the Japanese. But the priest did not flinch and said: "How can you kill me if you do not know why?" He offered to tell about the life of Christ. And imbued with the priest's story, Takuma, being Japanese samurai, became Orthodox priest- Father Pavel. He went through many trials, lost his family, his estate and became right hand father Nikolai.
In 1906, Nicholas of Japan was elevated to the rank of archbishop. In the same year, the Kyoto Vicariate was founded by the Orthodox Church in Japan. He died on February 16, 1912. Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan is canonized.
In conclusion, I would like to note that all the people who were discussed in the article kept their faith like a spark from a big fire and spread it all over the world so that the people would know that there is no greater truth than Christian Orthodoxy.
Patriarch -
in some Orthodox churches - the title of head of the local church. The patriarch is elected by the local council. The title was established by the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451 (Chalcedon, Asia Minor). In Russia, the patriarchate was established in 1589, abolished in 1721 and replaced by a collegial body - the synod, restored in 1918. Currently, there are the following Orthodox patriarchates: Constantinople (Turkey), Alexandrian (Egypt), Antioch (Syria), Jerusalem, Moscow, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian and Bulgarian.
Synod
(Greek special - assembly, council) - currently - an advisory body under the patriarch, consisting of twelve bishops and bearing the title " Holy Synod". The Holy Synod consists of six permanent members: Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna (Moscow Region); Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod; Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus; Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations; Administrator of Moscow patriarchy and six non-permanent members, who are replaced every six months. From 1721 to 1918, the Synod was supreme body church-administrative authority, replacing the patriarch (bore the patriarchal title "Holy") - consisted of 79 bishops. The members of the Holy Synod were appointed by the emperor; a representative took part in the meetings of the Synod. state power- Chief Prosecutor of the Synod.
Metropolitan
(Greek metropolitan) - originally a bishop, head of the metropolis - a large ecclesiastical region uniting several dioceses. The bishops who governed the dioceses were subordinate to the metropolitan. Because ecclesiastical and administrative divisions coincided with the state ones, the departments of the metropolitans were located in the capitals of the countries that covered their metropolitanates. Subsequently, bishops who govern large dioceses began to be called metropolitans. Currently, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the title "Metropolitan" is an honorary title following the title of "Archbishop". A distinctive part of the Metropolitan's vestment is a white cowl.
Archbishop
(Greek senior among the bishops) - originally a bishop, the head of a large ecclesiastical region, uniting several dioceses. The bishops who governed the dioceses were subordinate to the archbishop. Subsequently, bishops who govern large dioceses began to be called archbishops. At present, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the title "Archbishop" is an honorary title, preceding the title "Metropolitan".
Bishop
(Greek. senior priest, head of priests) - a priest belonging to the third, highest degree of the priesthood. Has the grace to perform all the sacraments (including ordination) and to lead church life. Each bishop (except for vicars) governs the diocese. In ancient times, bishops were divided according to the volume of administrative power into bishops, archbishops and metropolitans, at present these titles are preserved as honorary titles. From among the bishops, the local council elects a patriarch (for life) who directs the church life of the local church (some local churches are headed by metropolitans or archbishops). According to the teachings of the church, the apostolic grace received from Jesus Christ is transmitted through ordination to bishops from the most apostolic times, and so on. a grace-filled succession is realized in the church. Ordination to a bishop is carried out by a council of bishops (it must be at least two ordaining bishops - Canon 1 of St. The Apostles; according to rule 60 of the Carthaginian local council of 318 - at least three). According to canon 12 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681 Constantinople), a bishop must be celibate, in real church practice it is customary to appoint bishops from the monastic clergy. It is customary to address the bishop: to the bishop "Your Eminence", to the archbishop or metropolitan - "Your Eminence"; to the Patriarch "Your Holiness" (to some Eastern patriarchs- "Your Bliss"). An unofficial address to the bishop - "lord".
Bishop
(Greek supervisor, overseeing) - a priest of the third, highest degree of the priesthood, otherwise a bishop. Initially, the word "bishop" denoted the bishopric as such, regardless of the church-administrative position (in this sense, it is used in the epistles of St. Paul), later, when bishops began to be distinguished into bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and patriarchs, the word "bishop "came to mean, as it were, the first category of the above, and in the original sense was replaced by the word" bishop ".
Archimandrite -
monastic rank. Currently given as the highest award to the monastic clergy; corresponds to the archpriest and protopresbyter in the white clergy. The rank of archimandrite appeared in the Eastern Church in the 5th century. - this was the name of the persons elected by the bishop from among the abbots to supervise the monasteries of the diocese. Subsequently, the name "archimandrite" passed to the heads of the most important monasteries and then to monastics holding church-administrative positions.
Abbot -
monastic rank in the priestly rank, abbot of the monastery.
Archpriest -
senior priest in the white clergy. The title of archpriest is given as an award.
Priest -
a clergyman belonging to the second, middle degree of the priesthood. Has the grace to perform all the sacraments, except for the ordination. Otherwise, the priest is called a priest or presbyter (Greek. Elder; this is the name of a priest in the epistles of the Apostle Paul). The ordination to the priesthood is accomplished by the bishop through ordination. It is customary to address the priest: "Your blessing"; to a monastic priest (hieromonk) - "Your Reverend", to an abbot or archimandrite - "Your Reverend". Unofficial address - "father". Priest (Greek priest) is a priest.
Hieromonk
(Greek. Priest-monk) - priest-monk.
Protodeacon -
senior deacon in the white clergy. The title of protodeacon is given as an award.
Hierodeacon
(Greek. Deacon-monk) - deacon-monk.
Archdeacon -
senior deacon in the monastic clergy. The title of archdeacon is given as a reward.
Deacon
(Greek minister) - a priest related to the first, inferior clergy. The deacon has the grace to directly participate in the performance of the sacraments by a priest or bishop, but he cannot perform them on his own (except for baptism, which, if necessary, laymen can also perform). During the service, the deacon prepares sacred vessels, proclaims the litany, etc. The ordination to deacon is accomplished by the bishop through ordination.
The clergy -
clergymen. A distinction is made between white (non-monastic) and black (monastic) clergy.
Shimonakh -
a monk who has accepted the great schema, otherwise - a great angelic image. When tonsured into the great schema, a monk vows to renounce the world and everything worldly. The schema-monk-priest (schema monk or hieroskhimonk) retains the right to officiate, the schema-abbot and schema-archimandrite must be removed from the monastic power, the schema-bishop must be removed from the episcopal power and has no right to celebrate the Liturgy. The vestments of the schema monk are complemented by corn and lemongrass. Scheme monasticism arose in the Middle East in the 5th century, when, in order to streamline hermitism, the imperial power ordered the hermits to settle in monasteries. The hermits, who adopted the seclusion as a substitute for hermitism, began to be called monks of the great schema. Subsequently, the shutter ceased to be obligatory for the schema monks.
Priests -
persons who have the grace to perform the sacraments (bishops and priests) or directly participate in their performance (deacons). They are divided into three consecutive degrees: deacons, priests and bishops; supplied through ordination. Ordination is a divine service during which the sacrament of the priesthood is performed - ordination to the priesthood. Otherwise, ordination (Greek ordination). Ordination is performed to deacons (from subdeacons), to priests (from deacons) and bishops (from priests). Accordingly, there are three orders of ordination. Deacons and priests may be ordained by one bishop; ordination into bishops is performed by a council of bishops (at least two bishops, see 1 Rule of the Holy Apostles).
Ordination
to deacons is performed at the liturgy after the Eucharistic canon. The initiate is introduced into the altar through the royal gates, three times during the singing of the troparion, he is circled around the throne and then kneels on one knee before the throne. The bishop lays the edge of the omophorion on the head of the initiate, puts his hand on top and reads the secret prayer. After the prayer, the bishop removes the cross-dressed orarion from the initiate and places the orarion on him. left shoulder with an exclamation "axios". Ordination to the priesthood is performed at the liturgy after the Great Entrance. In a similar way- the believer kneels on both knees before the throne, another secret prayer is read, the ordained one puts on the priestly garments. Ordination to the episcopate takes place at the liturgy after the singing of the Trisagion before the reading of the Apostle. The ordained one is introduced into the altar through royal gates, makes three bows before the throne and, kneeling on both knees, puts his hands folded in a cross on the throne. The bishops who ordain hold an open Gospel over his head, the foremost of them reads the secret prayer. Then the litany is proclaimed, after which the Gospel is placed on the throne, and the newly ordained one is clothed with an exclamation of "axios" in bishop's vestments.
Monk
(Greek one) - a person who has dedicated himself to God through the adoption of vows. Taking vows is accompanied by cutting hair as a sign of service to God. Monasticism is divided into three successive degrees in accordance with the accepted vows: the cassock monk (crimson monk) - a preparatory degree for accepting the lesser schema; a monk of the lesser schema - takes a vow of chastity, non-acquisitiveness and obedience; monk of the great schema or angelic image (schema monk) - takes a vow of renunciation of the world and everything worldly. Preparing to be tonsured as a cassock monk and passing the test in a monastery is called a novice. Monasticism arose in the 3rd century. in Egypt and in Palestine. Initially, these were hermits who retired to the desert. In the IV century. Saint Pachomius the Great organized the first cenobitic monasteries, and then cenobitic monasticism spread throughout the entire Christian world. The founders of Russian monasticism are considered Venerable Anthony and Feodosia Pechersk, who created in the XI century. Kiev-Pechersky Monastery.
Enoch
(from glory. some - lonely, the other) - Russian name monk, literal translation from Greek.
Subdeacon -
a clergyman serving the bishop during the divine service: prepares the vestments, gives the dikiri and trikiry, opens the royal gates, etc. The vestments of the subdeacon surplice and cross-dressing orarion. Ordination to subdeacon see ordination.
Sexton
(distorted Greek. preceptor) - a clergyman mentioned in the charter. Otherwise - the altar boy. In Byzantium, the watchman of the temple was called a sexton.
Tonsured -
1. An action performed in some services. Hair trimming existed in ancient world as a symbol of slavery or service, and with this meaning entered the Christian worship: a) hair cutting is performed on the newly baptized after baptism as a sign of service to Christ; b) the cutting of the hair is performed during the initiation of the newly appointed reader as a sign of service to the church. 2. Worship performed during the adoption of monasticism (see monk). According to the three degrees of monasticism, there are tonsure in the cassock, tonsure in the lesser schema, and tonsured in the great schema. The tonsure of non-clergymen (see clergy) is performed by a monastic priest (hieromonk, abbot, or archimandrite), for clerics - by a bishop. The order of the tonsure of the cassock consists of the blessing, the beginning of the customary, the troparion, the priestly prayer, the cruciform tonsure and the vesting of the newly tonsured in a cassock and kamilavka. The tonsure into the lesser schema is performed at the liturgy after the entrance with the Gospel. Before the Liturgy, the tonsured person is placed on the porch and. While singing the troparia, he is led into the temple and placed in front of the royal gates. The one who takes the tonsure asks about sincerity, voluntariness, etc. and then tonsured and given a new name, after which the newly shorn is dressed in a tunic, paraman, belt, cassock, mantle, cowl, sandals and beads. The tonsure of the great schema is performed more solemnly and for a longer period, the one who is tonsured is clothed in the same clothes, except for paraman and klobuk, which are replaced by anolav and kukul. The rites of the tonsure are contained in a large missal.
The emergence of Christianity is associated with the coming to earth of the Son of God - Jesus Christ. He miraculously incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, grew up and matured as a person. At the age of 33, he went to preach in Palestine, called twelve disciples, performed miracles, denounced the Pharisees and the Jewish high priests.
He was arrested, tried and subjected to a shameful execution by crucifixion. On the third day he rose again and appeared to his disciples. On the 50th day after the resurrection, he was taken up into God's palaces to his Father.
Christian worldview and dogmas
The Christian Church was founded over 2 thousand years ago. The exact time of its beginning is difficult to determine, since the events of its occurrence have no documented official sources. Research on this issue is based on the books of the New Testament. According to these texts, the church arose after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (the feast of Pentecost) and began their preaching of the word of God among the people.
The rise of the apostolic church
The apostles, after gaining the ability to understand and speak in all languages, went around the world preaching about a new teaching based on love. This teaching was based on the Jewish tradition of worshiping one God, the foundations of which are set forth in the books of the prophet Moses (the Pentateuch of Moses) - the Torah. The new faith proposed the concept of the Trinity, which singled out three hypostases in one God:
The main difference between Christianity was the priority of God's love over the law, while the law itself was not canceled, but supplemented.
Development and dissemination of teachings
The preachers followed from village to village, after their departure, the emerging adepts united into communities and led the recommended way of life, ignoring the old foundations that contradict the new dogmas. Many officials of the time did not accept the emerging doctrine that limited their influence and questioned many of the established positions. Persecutions began, many followers of Christ were tortured and executed, but this only strengthened the spirit of Christians and expanded their ranks.
By the fourth century, communities had expanded across the Mediterranean and even expanded widely. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine was imbued with the depth of the new teaching and began to assert it within his empire. Three saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, developed and structurally presented the teaching, approving the order of divine services, the formulation of dogmas and the canonicity of sources. The hierarchical structure is strengthened, and several local Churches emerge.
The further development of Christianity takes place rapidly and over vast areas, but at the same time two traditions of divine services and dogmas arise. They each develop in their own way, and in 1054 there is a final split into Catholics who professed the Western tradition and Orthodox supporters of the Eastern tradition. Mutual claims and accusations lead to the impossibility of mutual liturgical and spiritual communication. Catholic Church considers the Pope to be his head. Eastern Church includes several patriarchies formed at different times.
Orthodox communities with patriarchy status
Each patriarchy is headed by a patriarch. Patriarchates can include Autocephalous Churches, Exarchates, Metropolises, and Dioceses. The table lists modern churches that profess Orthodoxy and have the status of patriarchy:
- Constantinople, formed by the Apostle Andrew in 38 g. Since 451, it receives the status of the Patriarchate.
- Alexandrian. It is believed that its founder was the Apostle Mark about 42 years old, in 451 the ruling bishop received the title of patriarch.
- Antioch. Founded in the 30s A.D. NS. by the apostles Paul and Peter.
- Jerusalem. Tradition claims that at first (in the 60s) it was headed by the relatives of Joseph and Mary.
- Russian. Formed in 988, autocephalous metropolis from 1448, in 1589 - the patriarchate was introduced.
- Georgian Orthodox Church.
- Serbian. Receives autocephaly in 1219.
- Romanian. From 1885 he officially received autocephaly.
- Bulgarian. In 870 she achieved autonomy. But only in 1953 was it recognized by the patriarchy.
- Cypriot. Formed in 47 year by the apostles Paul and Barnabas. Receives autocephaly in 431.
- Greek. She achieved autocephaly in 1850.
- Polish and Albanian Orthodox churches. They gained autonomy in 1921 and 1926, respectively.
- Czechoslovakian. The baptism of Czechs began in the 10th century, but only in 1951 did they receive autocephaly from the Moscow Patriarchate.
- Orthodox Church in America. It was recognized in 1998 by the Constantinople Church, and is considered the last Orthodox Church to receive patriarchy.
The head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ. It is ruled by its primate, the Patriarch, and consists of church members, people professing the teachings of the church, having undergone the sacrament of baptism, regularly participating in divine services and sacraments. All people who consider themselves members are represented by the hierarchy in the Orthodox Church, the scheme of their division includes three communities - laity, clergy and clergy:
- Lay people are members of the church who attend services and take part in the ordinances performed by the clergy.
- Clergymen are pious lay people who obey the clergy. They provide approved functionality church life... With their help, there is cleaning, protection and decoration of temples (workers), providing external conditions the order of services and sacraments (readers, sextons, altar men, subdeacons), economic activity churches (treasurers, elders), as well as missionary and educational work(teachers, catechists and educators).
- Priests or clerics are divided into white and black clergy and include all ecclesiastical dignities: deacons, priesthood and bishops.
The white clergy includes churchmen who have passed the sacrament of ordination, but have not taken monastic vows. Among the lower ranks, such titles are distinguished as deacon and protodeacon, who received grace to perform the prescribed actions, helping to lead the service.
The next rank is a presbyter, they have the right to perform most of the sacraments accepted in the church, their ranks in the Orthodox Church in ascending order: priest, archpriest and the highest - the mitred archpriest. Among the people, they are called priests, priests or priests, their duty is to be rectors of churches, to head parishes and associations of parishes (deaneries).
Members of the church who have taken monastic vows limiting the freedom of a monk are ranked among the black clergy. Consistently distinguish between the tonsure of the ryasophore, the mantle and the schema. Monks usually live in a monastery. At the same time a new name is given to the monk. A monk who has passed deacon ordination is transferred to a hierodeacon, he is deprived of the opportunity to perform almost all the sacraments of the church.
After the priestly ordination (performed only by the bishop, as in the case of the ordination of a priest), the monk is assigned the rank of hieromonk, the right to perform many sacraments, and to lead parishes and deaneries. The following ranks in monasticism are called abbot and archimandrite or holy archimandrite. Wearing them presupposes the occupation of the position of senior leader of the monastic brethren and the household of the monastery.
The next hierarchical community is called the episcopate, it is formed only from the black clergy. In addition to bishops, archbishops and metropolitans are distinguished here by seniority. Ordination to a bishop is called consecration and is carried out by a college of bishops. It is from this community that the leaders of dioceses, metropolises, and exarchates are appointed. It is customary for the people to address the leaders of the dioceses - a bishop or a bishop.
These are the signs that make church members different from other citizens..
