The clergy and their vestments
The holy apostles established in the Church of the New Testament three degrees of clergy: bishop, presbyter (that is, priest) and deacon. All of them are called clergy because through the mystery of the priesthood they receive the grace of the Holy Spirit for holy service in the Christian Church: they celebrate the Divine services, instruct people in the Christian faith and in the virtues, and administer the affairs of the Church.
In the picture on the left: the black clergy (monks, among them bishops); on the right, the white clergy (married priests)
The bishops represent the highest degree in the Church. They receive the highest kind of grace. The bishop is also called a hierarch, that is, the chief of the priests. He can celebrate all the mysteries and church services. This means that bishops have the right not only to celebrate the ordinary Divine services, but also to ordain priests and to consecrate chrism, which a priest cannot do.
In the degree of holiness all hierarchs are equal, but to a hierarch of greater merit the degree of archbishop is given, and above him is the metropolitan (in the Greek Orthodox Church the archbishop is above the metropolitan). The assembly of hierarchs, that is, the Holy Synod, and in general the Church of a country, is headed by the patriarch (the head of the Church of Georgia has the title of Catholicos-Patriarch).
The priest, or presbyter, is the second sacred degree after the bishop. With the bishop's blessing he can celebrate all the mysteries and church services except what only a hierarch performs, that is, ordination and the consecration of chrism.
The Christian community that is under a priest is called a parish.
If a priest is at the same time a monk, then he is called a hieromonk; the superior of a monastery is in the degree of hegumen, and higher still is the archimandrite. Those especially distinguished among them are chosen as bishops.
The deacon is the third and lowest sacred degree. The word comes from the Greek and means “servant.” The deacon serves the bishop or the priest during the Divine services and at the celebration of the mysteries, but he cannot celebrate them himself.
The participation of a deacon in the Divine service is not obligatory, and so in many churches the services are celebrated without them. Some deacons receive the degree of protodeacon, that is, first deacon. If a protodeacon is tonsured a monk, then he is called an archdeacon. A monk ordained deacon is called a hierodeacon, and the chief hierodeacon an archdeacon.
Besides these three sacred degrees there are in the Church lower serving degrees as well: the subdeacon, the psalm-reader and the sacristan. They belong to the number of those who serve in the church, but they do not celebrate the mysteries.
The psalm-reader has the duty of reading the psalms, both on the kliros of the church during the Divine services and when the priest performs various services.
The sacristan calls the faithful to the Divine service by the ringing of the bells, lights the candles and the lamps in the church, helps the psalm-readers at the readings, and so on.
The subdeacon takes part only in the hierarchical service. Subdeacons vest the bishop in the hierarchical vestments, hold the candlesticks (the trikirion and the dikirion) and hand them to the hierarch for the blessing of the faithful, and so on.
For the celebration of the Divine services the clergy are vested in special sacred vestments. The sacred vestments are made of silk or of some other suitable fabric and are adorned with crosses.
The deacon's vestments: orarion, cuffs and sticharion
The sticharion is a long garment with wide sleeves. The subdeacon wears it too; the psalm-reader and a layman who serves in the church also have the right to wear it. The sticharion signifies the purity of soul which a person in a sacred degree must have.
The orarion is a long wide strip of the same fabric of which the sticharion is made. The deacon wears it on the left shoulder, over the sticharion. The orarion signifies the divine grace which the deacon received in the mystery of ordination.
The cuffs are the narrow sleeve-pieces that are drawn together with laces. They remind the clergy that when they celebrate the mysteries of Christ, or take part in them, they do this not by their own strength but by the power and grace of God. The cuffs also signify the bonds (the ropes) that were on the Saviour's hands at the time of His passion.
The priest's vestments (in order in the picture): cross; phelonion; epitrachelion; podriznik; nabedrennik; belt and cuffs; epigonation
The podriznik (tunic) is a sticharion of a somewhat altered form. It differs from the sticharion in that it is made of thin, light-coloured fabric and has narrow sleeves drawn together with laces. The light colour of the podriznik reminds the priest that he must always have a pure soul and live blamelessly. Besides this, it reminds us of the tunic in which our Lord Jesus Christ Himself walked on the earth and in which He accomplished the work of our salvation.
The priest's epitrachelion differs from the deacon's orarion in that it is folded double, wrapped round the neck and hangs down in front in two ends, which are sewn to each other or fastened in some way. The priest's epitrachelion signifies the grace, twice greater than the deacon's, which is given to the priest for the celebration of the mysteries. Without the epitrachelion a priest, like a deacon, cannot perform any service.
The belt is put on over the podriznik and signifies readiness for the service of God. It also signifies the divine power which strengthens the minister for the performing of his service. At the same time the belt signifies the towel with which the Saviour girded Himself when He washed the feet of His disciples at the Mystical Supper.
The priest puts the phelonion on over the other vestments. It is a long, wide garment without sleeves, cut away deeply in front for the free movement of the hands. In its outward appearance it recalls the shroud in which the Saviour was wrapped after His passion. The bands sewn onto the phelonion recall the streams of blood that flowed down His body. At the same time the phelonion reminds priests of the garment of righteousness in which they must be clothed as servants of Christ.
Over the phelonion the priest has a cross hanging on his breast.
For diligent, long service a priest is given as a reward the nabedrennik, which is sewn to a band and, passed over the shoulder, hangs at the right hip. It signifies the spiritual sword, as do the cowl and the veil.
In the picture are shown (in order): the trikirion; the cross; the mitre; the panagia; the dikirion; the ripidia; the cuffs; the sakkos, the omophorion and the podriznik; the crozier; the epigonation; the mantle; the orlets; the omophorion
The bishop is vested in all the priest's vestments: the podriznik, the epitrachelion, the belt and the cuffs; but instead of the phelonion he wears the sakkos, and instead of the nabedrennik he has the epigonation; besides this, the hierarch has the omophorion and the mitre.
The sakkos is the bishop's outer vestment, which is like a deacon's sticharion shortened at the bottom and in the sleeves, so that both the podriznik and the epitrachelion can be seen beneath it. The sakkos represents the Saviour's shroud.
The epigonation is a four-cornered piece of cloth, fastened by one corner, which the bishop wears over his vestments on the right side. For ascetic and diligent service the ruling hierarch also rewards deserving priests with the right to wear the epigonation, and they wear it on the right side. In that case the nabedrennik is worn on the left side. For an archimandrite, as for a hierarch, the epigonation is an obligatory part of the vestments. The epigonation, like the nabedrennik, signifies the spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which the clergy must be armed for the struggle against unbelief and impurity.
Over the sakkos the bishop wears on his shoulders the omophorion; this is a long, wide vestment with bands, adorned with crosses. It is laid on the hierarch's shoulders so that it winds about the neck, with one end hanging down in front and the other behind. Omophorion is a Greek word and means “shoulder-piece.” Only a hierarch wears it. Without it a bishop, like a priest without the epitrachelion, cannot perform a service. The omophorion reminds the bishop that he must care for the salvation of the straying flock, like the good shepherd of the Gospel who, having found the lost sheep, carries it home on his own shoulders.
On the breast, over the sakkos, besides the cross, the bishop also has the panagia, which means “all-holy.” It is a small round icon of the Saviour or of the most holy Mother of God, adorned with coloured stones.
On his head the bishop wears the mitre, adorned with small icons and coloured stones. The mitre signifies the crown of thorns which was set on the head of the suffering Saviour. The archimandrite has a mitre too. For long and faithful labour a hierarch may reward a priest with the right to wear the mitre.
The bishop also has the crozier, as a sign of the highest pastoral service.
During the Divine service eagle rugs are spread under the bishop's feet. This is a small round rug with the image of an eagle looking down on a city. The eagle signifies that the bishop, like the eagle, must strive from the earthly toward the heavenly.
