The Sacrament of Priesthood1 is often designated Orders, because of its very nature, and that is: the Lord Jesus Christ ordained twelve of His disciples to be Apostles, and ordered them to go forth to teach, to baptize, to forgive sins in His name, to administer His mystical supper till He come again, to heal the sick, and comfort all creatures with the hope of eternal salvation. This Sacrament is also designated Orders, because of the several degrees of office in the priesthood. That it was not to the Apostles only, but also to their successors, the Bishops and Priests, that Christ delivered this ministry, is evident from His promise, which follows in these words: And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt., xxviii. 20). The Apostles themselves lived not to the end of the world; but there have ever been living from the Apostles’ times, and shall be even to the end of the world, their successors in uninterrupted line, who are the Bishops and Priests. This the Apostle Paul confirms, thus: And He, that is, Christ, Who ascended up far above the heavens, gave some, Apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers (Ephes., iv. 2.)
In the Sacrament of the Priesthood, there are three essential and necessary degrees, which are those of Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon. The following: subdeacon, archdeacon, archpriest, archimandrite, archbishop, and patriarch are simply titulary names attached to one or the other of the three ministers first mentioned, in accordance to their lesser or greater commission and the influence of their position in the Church. The office of a deacon is to assist a bishop and a priest in church work, at the services, and at the Sacraments. The office of a priest is to conduct all church work and services and to hallow six of the seven Sacraments, but in dependence on the Bishop. The office of a Bishop is to oversee and preside in a whole district or diocese of the Church, and he has the power also to impart to others, by the laying on of his hands, the gift and grace to hallow Sacraments. A Bishop in his official administration depends on no man, being responsible before a general council of the Church only. The supreme authority of the whole Church is expressed in her General Councils. The Holy Ghost abides in the Body of Christ, which is the Orthodox Apostolic Church, and governs her; therefore no man can be the Head of the Church—but Jesus Christ.
The ministers of the Church are forbidden to occupy themselves with worldly business. What is more, they may not use their Holy office as a means by which to obtain wealth. There are many ways of making sordid gain, which are unbecoming the spiritual order; but here we will mention only some:
Usury; when a minister of the Church takes usury, or increase: this is forbidden by the canons under pain of deprivation: Can. Apost. xliv., I Ecum. Coun. xvi., VI Ecum. Coun. x.
Illicit buying and selling: this offense is forbidden by canon ix of the Sixth Council.
Worldly traffic: to trade, or traffic, and follow other pursuits for gain is forbidden to the stewards of the Divine Mysteries both by the Word of God (2 Tim., ii. 4) and by the canons of the Holy Fathers. Can. Apost. vi, xx, lxxxi.
The exaction of money for spiritual ministrations; this the Lord Himself forbids, saying: Freely ye have received, freely give. And canon xxiii of the Sixth Council subjects a Priest to degradation for taking any pay whatever. These are the words: If the Priest, who communicates the people in the all-pure mysteries, that is, the all-pure Body and all-pure Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, asks so much as a farthing, or anything else from the communicant, let him be degraded.
Such are the laws by which the Church regulates the behavior of those whom she sets forth as examples for the people. Woe unto the unworthy ones! The upright and zealous ministers are named in the books of the New Testament: Angels of the Churches; the light of the world; the salt of the earth; shepherds of the flock of Christ; laborers together with God, and master builders of God’s building; the friends of Christ, the Bridegroom.
On the other hand, the Church with a Divine Right, is mindful of the comfort and physical needs of those who serve her in the priesthood. St. John Chrysostom writes thus: The law commands not to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Seest thou what labor it requires from the Teacher? For there is no labor, no, none, like to his labor. And again: Let us not think only of the hire, but of that qualification which is joined with the command; for it goes on, The laborer is worthy of his hire. There is a law by which the Church protects the ministers of the altar against the hard-heartedness of some members. It is this:
If any Priest with his clerks be he so poor as to want what is necessary for their maintenance, he may at some other time than when he is ministering Sacraments (see Spiritual Regulation for the Clergy) ask his parishioners for assistance, according to the teaching of the Apostle, St. Paul, who says: what soldier ever serveth at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard and eateth not the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Yea, for our sake it was written; because he that ploweth ought to plow in hope. And he that thresheth, to thresh in hope of partaking. If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? If others partake of this right over you, do not we yet more? Even so did the Lord ordain that they which proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things.
From these words of the holy Scriptures, we must conclude that it is the duty of Christians to support the priesthood; the people are obliged to minister to the physical necessities and comfort of their pastors and spiritual teachers.
In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, when the candidate is presented before the holy Table, by deacons—if he is to be a Deacon, by priests—if he is to be a Presbyter, and by bishops—if he is to be a Bishop, a deacon exclaims: Give the command; this is equivalent to: Give the blessing. Another deacon exclaims likewise, but he puts the word in the plural. Then the first deacon exclaims: Command, Most Reverend Master! The first command is addressed to God, supplicating His good will, without which there is no blessing. The second command is addressed to the faithful orthodox and pious Christians, who also make up the Church, asking their consent, which proves that the candidate is worthy. The command, Most Reverend Master, of course, is addressed to the Prelate, petitioning his apostolic blessing in transmitting the priestly gifts of the Holy Ghost, once and forever deposited in the true Church, and preserved by the uninterrupted Apostolic Succession. In the Orthodox Church, married men are ordained to the priesthood as well as celibates.
At the consecration of a Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon, the same are vested in sacred garments appropriate to their respective grades. Some of these vestments belong to all three grades of the priesthood, and others make the distinctive feature of one or another order.
Among the vestments of the first kind may be mentioned: the sticharion (or alb), the stole, the epimanikia (or wristlets). The alb is the vestment of a deacon (and also worn by a reader), and when made in a lighter form it also serves as a vestment both for a bishop and priest. the stole or orarion is worn by a deacon across the left shoulder. With the bishop and priest, it is put around the neck and then falls down over the front of the alb. In this shape, it is called the epitrachelion. The wristbands are the same for all the three orders. The vestment common both to the Bishop and the Priest is the zone, or girdle, with which the alb is drawn together for the convenience in performing the Divine service, and that which distinguishes the latter from the first is the chasuble or phelonion—a long circular and sleeveless vestment, somewhat shortened in the front part. The vestments distinctive of the Bishop’s order are: the sakkos (an upper garment with sleeves), the omophorion (a long wide vestment worn around the shoulders), and the mitre.
Besides these vestments, an epigonation (a four-cornered piece hung on the side from the waist to the knee) is worn by a bishop and by some of the older priests as a reward for their service. All these vestments have a deep, sacred signification. The alb points to the purity of life which is particularly required by the sacred office. The stole reminds the deacon of the grace which is vouchsafed him in his sacred order, and the epitrachelion (double stole) tells the bishops and priests of the double outpouring upon them of the Gifts of grace which correspondingly requires of them particular labors in their sacred office.
The omophorion, placed on the shoulders of a bishop, recalls to us the Lord’s parable of the lost sheep which the good shepherd found and joyfully put on his shoulders. Thus it bids the Bishop to take care of the children of the Church entrusted to his guardianship.
The epimanikia or wrist bands remind the consecrated persons of those fetters with which the hands of our Lord and Savior were tied and tell them not to put their trust in their own powers and gifts, but rather to ask for the help from above for the performance of their duties.
The phelonion and sakkos point to the humiliation and passion of Christ and instill in the shepherds of Christ’s flock a humble spirit.
The epigonation represents the spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which the pastor should always be armed.
The mitre, which should remind us of the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, is at the same time a mark of the glory and power vouchsafed by the Lord to His ministers.
That the priesthood is a great dignity is sufficiently clear from this, that it was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, God and man, as a means whereby mankind should attain the greatest blessedness, even everlasting salvation. St. Gregory the Divine says thus: The Priest, when he ministers, stands with the Angels, glorifies God with the Archangels, lifts up sacrifice to the heavenly altar on high, is joined as a Priest with Christ, renews our corrupt dust, restores the image of God: i.e. brings fallen man by baptism to regeneration. The Councils of the Church decree in the same spirit. The first Fathers of the Church are corroborated also by St. John Chrysostom, who says: Knowest thou not what a Priest is? He is the Angel of the Lord: for when he speaks according to his office, if thou despisest him, thou despisest not him, but the Bishop who ordained him, and God.
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Delivered at an ordination.