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 custodian of the main shrines in Palestine. exist even in Alaska and Japan. In the homes of Orthodox believers hang icons that are picturesque images of Jesus Christ and all the saints. In the 11th century Christian church split into Orthodox and Catholic. Today the majority Orthodox people lives in Russia, since one of the 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 given to 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, except for the sacrament of ordination.

Many are interested in the origin of the title priest. Who is this and how does he differ from a hieromonk? It is worth noting that the word itself is translated from Greek as “priest”; in the Russian Church it is a priest, who in the monastic rank is called a hieromonk. In an official or ceremonial speech, it is customary to address priests as “Your Reverence.” Priests and hieromonks have the right to lead church life in urban and rural parishes and they are called rectors.

The exploits of the priests

During the era of great upheavals, priests and hieromonks sacrificed themselves and everything they had for the sake of faith. This is how true Christians held onto saving faith in Christ. The church never forgets their true ascetic deed and honors them with all honors. Not everyone knows how many priests died during the years of terrible trials. Their feat was so great that it is impossible to even imagine.

Hieromartyr Sergius

Priest Sergius Mechev was born on September 17, 1892 in Moscow into the family of priest Alexei Mechev. After graduating from high school with a silver medal, he went to study at Moscow University at the Faculty of Medicine, 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 of 1914, Mechev worked as a brother of mercy on an ambulance train. In 1917, he often visited Patriarch Tikhon, who special attention treated him. In 1918, he received the blessing to accept the priesthood from After this, being already Father Sergius, he never abandoned his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the most difficult times, having gone through camps and exile, even under torture he did not abandon it, for which he was shot on December 24, 1941 within the walls of the Yaroslavl NKVD. Sergius Mechev was canonized as a holy new martyr in 2000 by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Confessor Alexey

Priest Alexey Usenko was born into the family of psalm-reader 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 revolution of 1917. In the 1920-1930s, he was not particularly affected by persecution by the Soviet government. 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 a 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 exile and prison. Priest Alexey Usenko resignedly endured all the hardships and bullying and until the end of his days he 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 Zaporozhye diocese appealed to the Holy Synod of the UOC to consider the issue of canonizing Priest Alexei Usenko as a locally revered saint.

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 priest Nikolai Benediktov.

He, along with other clergy of Orthodox churches and laymen, was arrested on August 6, 1937 and accused of anti-Soviet conversations and participation in counter-revolutionary church conspiracies. Priest Andrei did not admit his guilt and did not testify against others. This was a real priestly feat; he died for his unshakable faith in Christ. He was canonized as a saint 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 brightest examples of true service Orthodox Church. Vasily was born on January 18, 1907 in Astrakhan. A little later, his family moved to the Nizhny Novgorod province, to the city of Lukyanov. Vasily worked at the railway depot as a machinist. He was a very religious man and raised his children in the fear of God. The family lived very modestly. Patriarch Kirill once said that, while still a child, he asked his grandfather where he put the money and why he didn’t save 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 Athos, he decided to check this fact, and, which, in principle, is not surprising, it turned out to be true. In the Simonometra Monastery there are old archival records from the beginning of the twentieth century for the eternal remembrance of Priest Vasily Gundyaev.

During the years of 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 time in 46 prisons and 7 camps. But these years did not break Vasily’s faith; he died as an eighty-year-old man on October 31, 1969 in the village of Obrochny, Mordovian region. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, while 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. His name is "Priest-san". The audience immediately had many questions. Priest - who is this? Who will the film be about? The idea for the film was suggested by Ivan Okhlobystin, who once saw a real Japanese among the priests in a temple. This fact plunged him into deep thought and study.

It turns out that in 1861, during the persecution of foreigners from the islands, Hieromonk Nikolai Kasatkin (Japanese) came to Japan with the mission of spreading Orthodoxy, risking his life. He devoted several years to studying Japanese, culture and philosophy in order to translate the Bible into this language. And then a few years later, or rather in 1868, the priest was waylaid by the samurai Takuma Sawabe, who wanted to kill him for preaching things alien to the Japanese. But the priest did not flinch and said: “How can you kill me if you don’t know why?” He suggested telling about the life of Christ. And imbued with the priest’s story, Takuma, being a Japanese samurai, became an Orthodox priest - Father Paul. He went through many trials, lost his family, his estate and became right hand Nikolai's father.

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 canonized.

In conclusion, I would like to note that all the people discussed in the article kept their faith like a spark from a big fire and spread it around the world so that people would know that there is no greater truth than Christian Orthodoxy.

White clergy are married clergy. Black is monks in the priesthood. There are three hierarchical levels of the priesthood and each of them has its own hierarchy: deacon, priest, bishop. Either a married priest or a monk can be a deacon and a priest. Only a monk can become a bishop.

The Sacrament of the Priesthood is performed only when the candidate is elevated to the next of the three levels. As for the hierarchy of titles within these levels, in ancient times they were associated with special church obediences, and now - with administrative power, special merits, or simply the length of service to the Church.

I. Bishops (bishops) - the highest sacred rank

Bishop - supervising bishop

Archbishop – the most honored bishop

Metropolitan - bishop, head of the metropolis

Vicar - assistant to another bishop or his vicar

The Patriarch is the chief bishop in the Local Church

II. Priests- second sacred rank

The word “priest” has several Greek synonyms:

For white priesthood:

1) Priest(priest; from Greek hieros - sacred) / Presbyter (from Greek presbyteros, literally - elder).

2) Archpriest(first priest) / Protopresbyter (first elder).

For black priesthood:

1) Hieromonk- a monk in the rank of priest.

2) Archimandrite- (from the Greek archon - head, elder and mandra - sheepfold; literally - elder over the sheepfold), that is, elder over the monastery. The word “mandra” was used to describe monasteries in Greece. In ancient times, only the abbot of one of the largest monasteries (in the modern Church of Constantinople and Greece this practice is preserved, however, an archimandrite can be both an employee of the Patriarchate and an assistant to the bishop). In modern practice of the Russian Church, the title can be given to the abbot of any monastery and even simply to abbots for special merits and after certain period service to the Church.

! Abbot- (from the Greek hegumenоs, literally - going ahead, leader, commander), currently the abbot of the monastery (he can be a hieromonk, an archimandrite or a bishop). Until 2011, he was an honored hieromonk in the Russian Orthodox Church. When leaving the position of abbot, the title of abbot is retained. Also, this title remains with those who received it as an award until 2011 and who are not abbots of monasteries.

III. Deacon - the lowest sacred rank

For the white priesthood:

1. deacon
2. protodeacon

For the black priesthood:

1. hierodeacon
2. archdeacon

Words stand apart pop and archpriest. In Rus', these words did not have any negative meaning. Apparently, they come from the Greek “pappas”, which means “daddy”, “father”. This word (due to its prevalence among the Western Slavs) probably came into the Russian language from Old High German: pfaffo - priest. In all ancient Russian liturgical and other books, the name “priest” is constantly found as a synonym for the words “priest”, “priest” and “presbyter”. Protopop is the same as protopresbyter or archpriest.

Address to clergy:

As for appeals to priests, they exist official and unofficial. Unofficially, priests and deacons are usually called fathers: “Father George”, “Father Nikolai”, etc. Or simply “father”. On official occasions, the deacon is called “Your Reverence,” the presbyter “Your Reverence,” and the protopresbyter “Your Reverence.” When addressing a bishop, they say “Vladyka” (Vladyka George, Vladyka Nikolai). In the Russian Orthodox Church, when formally addressing a bishop, he is called “Your Eminence,” and an archbishop and metropolitan is called “Your Eminence.” The Patriarch is always addressed: “Your Holiness.” All these appeals relate not to the person’s personality, but to his ministry.

A priest in the Orthodox Church is not just a “priest”. An uninitiated person guesses that there are many degrees of priesthood in the church: it is not for nothing that one Orthodox priest wears a silver cross, another is gold, and the third is also decorated with beautiful stones. In addition, even a person who does not go particularly deep into the Russian church hierarchy, from fiction knows that the clergy can be black (monastic) and white (married). But when faced with such Orthodox Christians as archimandrite, priest, protodeacon, the vast majority of people do not understand what they are talking about we're talking about, and how the listed clergy differ from each other. Therefore, I offer a short overview of the orders of Orthodox clergy, which will help you understand large quantities spiritual titles.

Priest in the Orthodox Church - black clergy

Let's start with the black clergy, since monastic Orthodox priests have much more titles than those who have chosen family life.

• Patriarch is the head of the Orthodox Church, the highest ecclesiastical rank. The Patriarch is elected at a local council. Distinctive feature his vestments are a white headdress (kukol), crowned with a cross, and a panagia (decorated precious stones image of the Virgin Mary).
• A metropolitan is the head of a large Orthodox ecclesiastical region (metropolis), which includes several dioceses. Currently, this is an honorary (as a rule, award) rank, immediately following the archbishop. The Metropolitan wears a white hood and panagia.
• Archbishop - Orthodox clergyman, under whose administration there were several dioceses. Currently a reward. The archbishop can be distinguished by his black hood, decorated with a cross, and a panagia.
• Bishop - head Orthodox diocese. He differs from the archbishop in that there is no cross on his hood. All patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops can be called in one word - bishops. All of them can ordain Orthodox priests and deacons, consecrate, and perform all other sacraments of the Orthodox Church. Ordination as bishops, according to church rule, is always carried out by several bishops (council).
• An archimandrite is an Orthodox priest in the highest monastic rank, preceding that of a bishop. Previously, this rank was assigned to the abbots of large monasteries; now it is often of an award nature, and one monastery can have several archimandrites.
• Hegumen is a monk in the rank of an Orthodox priest. Previously, this title was considered quite high, and only abbots of monasteries had it. Today this is no longer important.
• Hieromonk is the lowest rank of monastic priest in the Orthodox Church. Archimandrites, abbots and hieromonks wear black vestments (cassock, cassock, mantle, black hood without a cross) and a pectoral (breast) cross. They can commit church sacraments, except for ordination to the priesthood.
• Archdeacon is the senior deacon in an Orthodox monastery.
• Hierodeacon - junior deacon. Archdeacons and hierodeacons differ in appearance from monastic priests in that they do not wear pectoral cross. Their vestments during worship also differ. They cannot perform any church sacraments; their functions include concelebrating with the priest during the service: proclaiming prayer requests, bringing out the Gospel, reading the Apostle, preparing sacred vessels, etc.
• Deacons, both monastics and those belonging to the white clergy, belong to the lowest level of the priesthood, Orthodox priests to the middle, and bishops to the highest.

Orthodox clergyman - white clergy

• An archpriest is the senior Orthodox priest in a church, usually the rector, but today in one parish, especially a large one, there may be several archpriests.
• Priest - junior Orthodox priest. White priests, like monastic priests, perform all sacraments except ordination. Archpriests and priests do not wear a mantle (this is part of the monastic vestment) and a hood; their headdress is a kamilavka.
• Protodeacon, deacon - respectively senior and junior deacons among the white clergy. Their functions fully correspond to the functions of monastic deacons. White clergy are not ordained as Orthodox bishops only if they accept monastic orders (this often happens by mutual consent in old age or in the case of widowhood, if the priest has no children or they are already adults.

In the Christian New Testament Church there are three degrees of priesthood established by the holy Apostles. Bishops occupy the leading position, followed by presbyters - priests - and deacons. This system repeats the structure of the Old Testament church, where the following degrees existed: high priest, priests and Levites.

To serve the Church of Christ, clergy receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of priesthood. This allows you to perform divine services, manage the affairs of the Church, teach people through Christian faith good life and piety.

Most high rank in the Church have bishops, receiving highest degree grace. They are also called bishops - heads of priests (that is, priests). Bishops have the right to administer all Sacraments and church services. It is bishops who have the right not only to perform ordinary Divine services, but also to ordain (or ordain) other Orthodox Christians as clergy. Also, bishops, unlike other priests, can consecrate chrism and antimensions.

All bishops are equal to each other in terms of priesthood, but the most honored, the oldest of them are called archbishops. Metropolitan bishops are called metropolitans - translated into Greek, “capital” will sound like “metropolis”. The bishops of the most ancient Christian capitals are called patriarchs. These are the bishops of Jerusalem and Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome.

Sometimes one bishop is assisted by another bishop. The second of the named clergy in this case is called a vicar (vicar).

The sacred rank after the bishops is occupied priests. In Greek they may be called elders or priests. These clergy, with the episcopal blessing, can perform almost all church sacraments and services. However, there are also exceptions, which are rituals accessible only to the highest sacred rank - bishops. Such exceptions primarily include the following sacraments: ordination, as well as the sacraments of the consecration of antimensions and chrism. The Christian community, led by a priest, bears the name of his parish.

The most honored and worthy priests can be called archpriests, in other words, chief priests, leading priests. The chief archpriest is awarded the title of protopresbyter.

When a priest is also a monk, he is called hieromonk - priest-monk, translated into modern Russian. Hieromonks who are abbots of monasteries bear the title of abbot. Sometimes a hieromonk can be called abbot regardless of this, simply as an honorary distinction. Archimandrite is an even higher rank than abbot. The most worthy of the archimandrites may subsequently be elected as bishops.

The lowest, third sacred rank consists of deacons. This Greek name translates to “servant.” When church sacraments or divine services are performed, deacons serve bishops or priests. However, deacons themselves cannot perform them. The participation or presence of a deacon during the Divine Service is not mandatory. Accordingly, church services can often take place without a deacon.

Individual deacons, the most worthy and deserved, receive the title of protodeacon - first deacon, if expressed in modern language.

If a monk receives the rank of deacon, he begins to be called hierodeacon, of which the eldest is archdeacon.

In addition to the three sacred ranks mentioned above, there are other, lower official positions in the Church. These are subdeacons, sextons and psalm-readers (sacristans). Although they are clergy, they can be appointed to office without the sacrament of the Priesthood, but only with the bishop’s blessing.

To the Psalmists it is obligatory to read and sing both during divine services in the church and when the priest performs spiritual services in the homes of parishioners.

Sexton should call believers to Divine services by ringing bells. In addition, they are required to light candles in the temple, assist psalm-readers during singing and reading, serve the censer, and so on.

Subdeacons take part only in the ministry of bishops. They dress the bishop in church vestments, and also hold lamps (which are called dikiri and trikiri), presenting them to the bishop, who blesses the worshipers.

The emergence of Christianity is associated with the coming to earth of the son of God - Jesus Christ. He miraculously became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, grew and matured as a man. At the age of 33, he went to preach in Palestine, called twelve disciples, performed miracles, denounced the Pharisees and Jewish high priests.

Was arrested, tried and subjected to shameful execution through the crucifix. On the third day he rose again and appeared to his disciples. On the 50th day after the resurrection, he was ascended to God’s chambers to his Father.

Christian worldview and dogmas

The Christian Church was formed more than 2 thousand years ago. The exact time of its beginning is difficult to determine, since the events of its occurrence do not have 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 (Feast of Pentecost) and the beginning of their preaching of the word of God among people.

The emergence of the apostolic church

The apostles, after gaining the ability to understand and speak all languages, went around the world preaching a new teaching based on love. This teaching was based on the Jewish tradition of worshiping one God, the foundations of which are set out in the books of the prophet Moses (the Pentateuch of Moses) - the Torah. New faith proposed the concept of the Trinity, which distinguished three hypostases in the one God:

The main difference between Christianity was the priority of God's love over the law, while the law itself was not abolished, but supplemented.

Development and dissemination of the doctrine

The preachers followed from village to village; after their departure, the emerging adherents united into communities and led the recommended way of life, ignoring the old principles that contradict the new dogmas. Many officials of that time did not accept the emerging doctrine, which limited their influence and called into question many established positions. Persecution 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 grown throughout the Mediterranean and even spread widely beyond its borders. The Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine, imbued with the depth of the new teaching and began to establish it within the boundaries of 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 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 occurs rapidly and over vast areas, but at the same time two traditions of worship and dogma arise. They each develop along their own path, and in 1054 the final split occurs into Catholics who professed the Western tradition and Orthodox supporters eastern tradition. Mutual claims and accusations lead to the impossibility of mutual liturgical and spiritual communication. Catholic Church considers the Pope to be its head. Eastern Church includes several patriarchates formed at different times.

Orthodox communities with patriarchal status

At the head of every patriarchy is a patriarch. Patriarchates may include Autocephalous Churches, Exarchates, Metropolises and Dioceses. The table lists modern churches that profess Orthodoxy and have the status of patriarchy:

• Constantinople, founded by the Apostle Andrew in 38. Since 451 it receives the status of Patriarchate.
• Alexandria. It is believed that its founder was the Apostle Mark around the year 42; in 451, the ruling bishop received the title of patriarch.
• Antioch. Founded in the 30s AD. e. the apostles Paul and Peter.
• Jerusalem. Tradition claims that at first (in the 60s) it was headed by relatives of Joseph and Mary.
• Russian. Formed in 988, an autocephalous metropolitanate since 1448, a patriarchate introduced in 1589.
• Georgian Orthodox Church.
• Serbian. Receives autocephaly in 1219
• Romanian. Since 1885 it officially receives autocephaly.
• Bulgarian. In 870 it achieved autonomy. But only in 1953 was it recognized by the patriarchy.
• Cyprus. Founded in 47 by the apostles Paul and Barnabas. Receives autocephaly in 431.
• Hellas. Autocephaly was achieved in 1850.
• Polish and Albanian Orthodox Churches. Gained autonomy in 1921 and 1926, respectively.
• Czechoslovakian. The baptism of the 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 Church of Constantinople and is considered the last Orthodox Church to receive patriarchy.

The head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ. It is governed by its primate, the patriarch, and consists of church members, people who profess the teachings of the church, have undergone the sacrament of baptism, and regularly participate 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:

• The laity are members of the church who attend services and take part in the sacraments performed by the clergy.
• Clergymen are pious laymen who perform the obedience of clergy. They ensure approved functioning church life. With their help, they clean, protect and decorate temples (workers), provide external conditions the order of divine services and sacraments (readers, sextons, altar servers, subdeacons), the economic activities of the church (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 church ranks: deacons, priesthood and bishops.

The white clergy includes clergy who have undergone the sacrament of ordination, but have not taken monastic vows. Among the lower ranks, there are such titles as deacon and protodeacon, who have received grace to perform the required actions and help conduct the service.

The next rank is presbyter, they have the right to perform most of the sacraments accepted in the church, their ranks in the Orthodox Church are in ascending order: priest, archpriest and the highest - mitred archpriest. People call them priests, priests or priests; their duties include being rectors of churches, heading parishes and associations of parishes (deanery).

The black clergy includes members of the church who have taken monastic vows that limit the freedom of the monk. The tonsure into the ryassophore, the mantle and the schema are consistently distinguished. Monks usually live in a monastery. At the same time, the monk is given a new name. A monk who has been ordained as a deacon is transferred to hierodeacon; he is deprived of the opportunity to perform almost all the sacraments of the church.

After priestly ordination (performed only by a bishop, just as in the case of the ordination of a priest), the monk is given the rank of hieromonk, the right to perform many sacraments, to head parishes and deaneries. The following ranks in monasticism are called abbot and archimandrite or holy archimandrite. Wearing them presupposes occupying the position of senior leader of the monastery brethren and the monastery's economy.

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 by seniority. The ordination of 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 people to address the leaders of dioceses as bishop or bishop.

These are the signs that distinguish church members from other citizens.