The Orthodox Archpriest




The Orthodox Archpriest: who is he, the meaning and peculiarities of how to become


The Church of Christ has retained its original appearance for several thousand years. That is, the basic ordinances and teachings have not changed since the time of Christ and his apostles. It is worth noting that the Church is a living organism, and it consists of ordinary people. It is the Orthodox people who are the guardians of the canons and traditions of the Church. Thus, the hierarchy of the Church, which was established by the apostles themselves, has been preserved to this day. We are talking about the second step of the clergyman, namely the priest, or archpriest.
The archpriest in the church hierarchy

The Orthodox Church has three levels of hierarchy of priests. The representative of each step has different responsibilities both during service and in Church life.

The priest in charge of the parish congregation is called the rector

Deacons belong to the first and lowest stage. These ministers help the priest or bishop to conduct services. Their voices serve as an adornment during the service: the main purpose of the deacon is the beautiful proclamation of prayers and singing. However, the deacon does not have the grace to administer the seven sacraments of the church. Therefore, he has no right to perform the Liturgy alone.

The priests are on the second step of the clergy. These are people who can perform six sacraments. In the Orthodox Church they are called hereeres or archpriestesses. The Greek word "priest" is translated as "priest".
Attention! Archpriestly priests are those who have been serving Christ and His church impeccably for many years. This is a kind of reward for the work that gives little advantage over the simple priestesses.

As mentioned earlier, in the Russian Orthodox Church the task of the priest is to perform worship, anointing, baptism, gathering, marriage, confession and communion. The priest is distinguished from the deacon by his vestments.   Priests wear a phelon or a ribbon, and epitrachillus (a long ribbon that rounds the neck). Outside the service, the priest can wear a cassock or a shaker (long, dark clothes with narrow or wide sleeves) with a pectoral cross on top. Outside the temple, the priest can wear normal clothing. Read more about vestments here.

The last and highest step is the bishopric. Bishops can ordain others as deacons and priests. In the Orthodox Church only monks can become bishops.
It is important that after ordination (or consecration) as a deacon, the clergyman has no right to marry. Otherwise, such a person will be prohibited from serving and will be stripped of his dignity.
How to become a priest

Many people seek the Lord by the call of their hearts. Some see themselves as an ordinary parishioner, while others as a priest or even a monk.

To become a priest, you have to go a long way to becoming a priest. You can forget about the career ladder that is usually observed in worldly life.

    First of all, the candidate for priests must overcome temptations and himself, that is, he must grow spiritually. The main requirement for such a person is to be baptized in the canonical Orthodox Church. Such a believer should visit the services and serve at the temple so that the abbot of this temple could write a description and give a direction.
    Already with the referral, this believer enters a higher spiritual education institution, simply a seminary. To enroll in a seminary, you must have completed secondary or higher education.
    Depending on the wish and recommendation of the spiritual father, a person can be ordained either in the first year of study or after graduating from seminary. First, the deacon is ordained.

Important: This is the first step of the priesthood, and you should not miss it. It is only after forty days that the priestly chiropractoniasis occurs.
Priests' views

Most priests do not recommend that young people who have graduated from high school go straight to the seminary. They say this is a very important step, after which more than one life can be broken. After all, there is nothing more terrible than apostasy and denial of the ministry of Christ.

The fathers recommend that the young men graduate from a higher education institution or join the army. In this way, the young priestly candidate will become more disciplined and disciplined.

In addition, by that time, his or her outlook may have changed and he or she will have changed his or her mind to become a priest. It is also possible to communicate with Christ as a simple parishioner.

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