Organization of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has a strictly centralized organization. The head of the Roman Church is dad, which means "father" in Greek. In early Christianity, believers called their spiritual leaders, monks, priests, and bishops this way. At the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. In Eastern Christianity, the title "pope" was assigned to the patriarch of the Church of Alexandria. In the West, this title was borne by the bishops of Carthage and Rome. In 1073 the pope Gregory VII declared that the right to bear the title "pope" belongs only to the bishop of Rome. However, at present, the word “dad” is not used in official nomenclature. It is replaced by the expression RomanusPontifex(Roman pontiff or high priest), borrowed from ancient Roman. This name reflects the two main functions of the pope: he is the bishop of Rome and at the same time the head of the Catholic Church. According to the thesis of apostolic heritage, the Bishop of Rome inherited all the attributes of power that the Apostle Peter had, who headed the college of the twelve apostles. Just as Peter was the head of the church, so his successors have power over the entire Catholic world and its hierarchy. This thesis found final expression in the adopted Vatican Council (1870)dogma of papal supremacy.

The first bishops of Rome were confirmed by the people and the clergy, followed by approval of the election of bishops from neighboring dioceses. After this, the chosen one was consecrated bishop. In the 5th century the process of eliminating the influence of secular persons on the election of the bishop of Rome begins, which becomes the prerogative of the clergy. The approval of the elected candidate by the people turned into a pure formality. However, for a long time the election of the pope was influenced by the supreme secular power. In 1059 the pope Leo IX turned the election of popes into a matter only cardinals. Previously, priests and deacons of parish churches were called cardinals, and in the 11th century. This is how the bishops of the Roman ecclesiastical region began to be called. In subsequent years, the title of cardinal was awarded to other church hierarchs, but from the 13th century. it becomes higher than the title of bishop.

From the 13th century the requirements for the procedure for elective meetings were tightened. During the elections, the College of Cardinals began to be isolated from the outside world. Locked with a key (hence the name conclave- lat. “turnkey”), the cardinals were obliged to quickly complete the election of a new pope, otherwise they were threatened with food ration restrictions. A requirement was introduced to keep the progress of the conclave completely secret. Election ballots were ordered to be burned in a special stove. If the elections did not take place, then wet straw was mixed with the ballots and the black color of the smoke informed those gathered in front of the cathedral about the negative result of the vote. If elected, dry straw was mixed into the ballots. The white color of the smoke indicated that a new pope had been elected. After the election, the head of the college of cardinals made sure that the chosen one agreed to take the throne, and then he was given a new name according to his wishes.

The Pope exercises his authority through a set of institutions called papal curia. The name "curia" comes from the Latin word curia, which meant the seat of the city authorities of Rome on the Capitol. In addition to the curia, there are currently two advisory bodies under the pope: college of cardinals And synod of bishops, created after II Vatican Council in 1970

Official documents accepted by the pope are called constitutions or bulls. The second group of documents includes breve or private decisions. The most important documents are called "decrees". The first appeared in 1740 encyclical. Some documents are sealed with a special seal called “ fisherman's ring", since the figure of Peter the Fisherman is engraved on it. The Pope exercises the right to award orders of knighthood for services to the Church.

The Pope is not only a spiritual mentor, but also the leader of the city-state Vatican, which arose in 1929 as a result of the Lutheran agreements with the Mussolini government. The purpose of the ecclesiastical state is to ensure the independence of the pope and the Catholic Church from secular authorities, his unhindered communication with bishops and believers around the world. The territory of the Vatican is 44 hectares and is located in Rome. The Vatican has symbols of political sovereignty - the flag and anthem, the gendarmerie, financial authorities, communications and media.

The current state of the Catholic Church

The modern Catholic Church in its structure and administration has a distinct legal nature. The norm for regulating all church affairs is Code of Canon Law, which contains a collection of all ancient church decrees and the innovations that followed them.

Hierarchy in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has developed a strict centralization of the clergy. At the top of the hierarchical pyramid stands the pope as the source of all spiritual power. He bears the title “Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the Servants of God.” The pope is elected for life by a special meeting of the College of Cardinals - the conclave. The election may be made unanimously and orally; by compromise, when the right to elect is transferred in writing to the participants of the conclave - seven, five or three cardinals, and the latter must come to a unanimous opinion. Elections are usually conducted by secret ballot using prepared ballots. The person who receives two-thirds plus one vote is considered elected. Those elected to the throne can also renounce power. If the election is accepted by him, then from the balcony of St. Peter, the new pope gives a blessing to the City and the World.

The Pope has unlimited power. He appoints the highest church hierarchs. The Pope agrees on the appointment of cardinals consistory- meeting of the College of Cardinals. The Pope also serves as the sovereign of the Vatican City State. The Vatican maintains diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries and is represented in the UN. General management is carried out by the Roman curia- a set of central institutions located in Rome, governing bodies of the church and the Vatican state. According to the Apostolic Constitution « Pastorbonus», entered into force in 1989, the most important institutions are the Secretariat of State, 9 congregations, 12 councils, 3 tribunals, 3 chancelleries. Subordinate to the Cardinal, Secretary of State, are papal envoys, including nuncio(from Latin - “messenger”) - permanent representatives of the pope to the governments of foreign countries. All priests of the country where the nuncio is sent, except cardinals, are under his control, all churches must be open to him. A new advisory body was introduced into the Roman Curia - synod of bishops, the conferences of national episcopates delegate their representatives to it.

Recently, the rights of the laity in the church have been expanding and strengthening. They are involved in the activities of collective governing bodies, in the Eucharistic service, and in managing the finances of the church. Various cultural and educational activities are practiced in parishes, circles and clubs are created.

Activities of the Catholic Church

There are many organizations in the Catholic Church that do not have an official character. Their activities are determined by the personality of the leader. This could be reading and studying the Bible, or it could be an activity of a mystical nature. Such organizations include “Emmanuel”, “Community of Bliss”, “Knights of Columbus”, etc.

Since the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church has attached great importance to missionary activities. Currently, the majority of Catholics live in Third World countries. The Church includes in its worship elements of the cult of ancestors common in these countries and refuses to consider it as idolatry, as it was previously.

Monasticism, organized into orders and congregations subordinate to the pope, occupies an important position in the Catholic Church. The orders are divided into “contemplative” and “active” and live according to rules in which prayer and worship are combined with physical and mental labor. The regulations of contemplative orders are more strict, requiring that monks devote themselves to prayer and work only to maintain life.

Any Catholic from the age of 15 can be a member of the order, if there are no canonical obstacles to this. After two years of novitiate, vows are taken - solemn (by monastics) or simple. Traditionally, vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are taken, as well as vows prescribed by the rules of the order. Solemn vows are considered eternal and require papal permission to be withdrawn. Lay members of orders are called brothers, religious priests are called fathers. Women who have taken perpetual vows are called nuns, others are called sisters. The “First Orders” are for men, the “Second Orders” are for women, and the “Third Orders” are composed of lay people who strive to realize the ideals of a given order.

The process began at Vatican II "adjarnamento" - renewal, modernization of all aspects of church life, aimed at simplifying rituals and worship, adapting them to specific conditions.

The Vatican pays significant attention to the expansion and strengthening of its positions in Russia. There are more than 2 million Catholics on the territory of the Russian Federation. Recently, more and more new parishes have been opening. There is an official body of the apostolic administration in Moscow, Catholic educational institutions are opening. Since the beginning of 1990, the monastic orders of the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits began to become active. Catholic nuns appeared: Carmelites, Pauline nuns, etc. The leadership of the Catholic Church in Russia is friendly towards the Russian one and is ready to cooperate with it.

Yu. Ruban

HIERARCHY(Greek ἱεραρχία - literally means “hierarchy”) is a term used in Christian theological terminology in a double meaning.

1) “Heavenly hierarchy” - a set of heavenly forces, angels, presented in accordance with their traditional gradation as intermediaries between God and people.

2) “Church hierarchy”, which, according to Pseudo- (who first used this term), is a continuation of the heavenly hierarchy: a three-degree sacred order, whose representatives communicate divine grace to the church people through worship. Currently, the hierarchy is a “class” of clergy (clergy) divided into three degrees (“ranks”) and in a broad sense corresponds to the concept of clergy.

For greater clarity, the structure of the modern hierarchical ladder of the Russian Orthodox Church can be represented by the following table:

Hierarchical degrees	White clergy (married or celibate)	Black clergy (monastic)
III Episcopate (bishopric)		patriarch metropolitan archbishop bishop
II Presbytery (priesthood)	protopresbyter archpriest priest (presbyter, priest)	archimandrite abbot hieromonk
I Diaconate	protodeacon deacon	archdeacon hierodeacon

The lower clergy (clerics) are outside this three-tier structure: subdeacons, readers, singers, altar servers, sextons, church watchmen and others.

Orthodox, Catholics, as well as representatives of the ancient eastern (“pre-Chalcedonian”) Churches (Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, etc.) base their hierarchy on the concept of “apostolic succession.” The latter is understood as a retrospective continuous (!) sequence of a long chain of episcopal consecrations, going back to the apostles themselves, who ordained the first bishops as their sovereign successors. Thus, "apostolic succession" is the concrete ("material") succession of episcopal ordination. Therefore, the bearers and guardians of internal “apostolic grace” and external hierarchical power in the Church are bishops (bishops). Protestant confessions and sects, as well as our priestless Old Believers, based on this criterion, do not have a hierarchy, since representatives of their “clergy” (leaders of communities and liturgical meetings) are only elected (appointed) for church administrative service, but not possess an internal gift of grace, communicated in the sacrament of the priesthood and which alone gives the right to perform the sacraments. (A special question is about the legality of the Anglican hierarchy, which has long been debated by theologians.)

Representatives of each of the three degrees of the priesthood differ from each other by “grace” granted to them during elevation (ordination) to a specific degree, or by “impersonal holiness,” which is not associated with the subjective qualities of the clergyman. The bishop, as the successor of the apostles, has full liturgical and administrative powers within his diocese. (The head of a local Orthodox Church, autonomous or autocephalous - an archbishop, metropolitan or patriarch - is only “first among equals” within the episcopate of his Church). He has the right to perform all the sacraments, including successively elevating (ordaining) representatives of his clergy and clergy to sacred degrees. Only the consecration of a bishop is carried out by a “council” or at least two other bishops, as determined by the head of the Church and the synod attached to him. A representative of the second degree of priesthood (priest) has the right to perform all sacraments, except for any consecration or consecration (even as a reader). His complete dependence on the bishop, who in the Ancient Church was the predominant celebrant of all sacraments, is also expressed in the fact that he performs the sacrament of confirmation in the presence of the chrism previously consecrated by the patriarch (replacing the laying on of the hands of the bishop on the head of a person), and the Eucharist - only with the presence of the antimins he received from the ruling bishop. A representative of the lowest level of the hierarchy, a deacon, is only a co-celebrant and assistant of a bishop or priest, who does not have the right to perform any sacrament or divine service according to the “priestly rite.” In case of emergency, he can only baptize according to the “secular rite”; and he performs his cell (home) prayer rule and daily cycle services (the Hours) according to the Book of Hours or the “secular” Prayer Book, without priestly exclamations and prayers.

All representatives within one hierarchical degree are equal to each other “by grace,” which gives them the right to a strictly defined range of liturgical powers and actions (in this aspect, a newly ordained village priest is no different from an honored protopresbyter - the rector of the main parish church of the Russian Church). The difference is only in administrative seniority and honor. This is emphasized by the ceremony of successive elevation to the ranks of one degree of priesthood (deacon - to protodeacon, hieromonk - to abbot, etc.). It occurs at the Liturgy during the entrance with the Gospel outside the altar, in the middle of the temple, as if awarded with some element of vestment (gaiter, club, miter), which symbolizes the person’s preservation of the level of “impersonal holiness” given to him at ordination. At the same time, elevation (ordination) to each of the three degrees of priesthood takes place only inside the altar, which means the transition of the ordained to a qualitatively new ontological level of liturgical existence.

The history of the development of the hierarchy in the ancient period of Christianity has not been fully elucidated; only the firm formation of the modern three degrees of the priesthood by the 3rd century is indisputable. with the simultaneous disappearance of the early Christian archaic degrees (prophets, didaskals- “charismatic teachers”, etc.). The formation of the modern order of “ranks” (ranks, or gradations) within each of the three degrees of the hierarchy took much longer. The meaning of their original names, reflecting specific activities, changed significantly. So, abbot (Greek. egu?menos- lit. ruling,presiding, - one root with “hegemon” and “hegemon”!), initially - the head of a monastic community or monastery, whose power is based on personal authority, a spiritually experienced person, but the same monk as the rest of the “brotherhood”, without any sacred degree. Currently, the term "abbot" indicates only a representative of the second rank of the second degree of the priesthood. At the same time, he can be the rector of a monastery, a parish church (or an ordinary priest of this church), but also simply a full-time employee of a religious educational institution or an economic (or other) department of the Moscow Patriarchate, whose official duties are not directly related to his priestly rank. Therefore, in this case, elevation to another rank (rank) is simply a promotion in rank, an official award “for length of service,” for an anniversary or for another reason (similar to the assignment of another military degree not for participation in military campaigns or maneuvers).

3) In scientific and common usage, the word “hierarchy” means:
a) arrangement of parts or elements of the whole (of any design or logically complete structure) in descending order - from highest to lowest (or vice versa);
b) strict arrangement of official ranks and titles in the order of their subordination, both civilian and military (“hierarchical ladder”). The latter represent the typologically closest structure to the sacred hierarchy and a three-degree structure (rank and file - officers - generals).

Lit.: The clergy of the ancient universal Church from the times of the apostles to the 9th century. M., 1905; Zom R. Lebedev A.P. On the question of the origin of the early Christian hierarchy. Sergiev Posad, 1907; MirkovicL. Orthodox Liturgics. Prvi opshti deo. Another edition. Beograd, 1965 (in Serbian); Felmy K.H. Introduction to Modern Orthodox Theology. M., 1999. S. 254-271; Afanasiev N., prot. Holy Spirit. K., 2005; The Study of Liturgy: Revised edition / Ed. by C. Jones, G. Wainwright, E. Yarnold S. J., P. Bradshaw. - 2nd ed. London - New York, 1993 (Chap. IV: Ordination. P. 339-398).

BISHOP

BISHOP (Greek) archiereus) - in pagan religions - “high priest” (this is the literal meaning of this term), in Rome - Pontifex maximus; in the Septuagint - the highest representative of the Old Testament priesthood - the high priest (). In the New Testament - the naming of Jesus Christ (), who did not belong to the Aaronic priesthood (see Melchizedek). In the modern Orthodox Greek-Slavic tradition, it is the generic name for all representatives of the highest degree of hierarchy, or “episcopal” (i.e., bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and patriarchs themselves). See Episcopate, Clergy, Hierarchy, Clergy.

DEACON

DEACON, DIACON (Greek. diakonos- “servant”, “minister”) - in ancient Christian communities - an assistant to the bishop heading the Eucharistic meeting. The first mention of D. is in the epistles of St. Paul (and). His closeness to a representative of the highest degree of the priesthood was expressed in the fact that the administrative powers of the D. (actually the archdeacon) often placed him above the priest (especially in the West). The church tradition, which genetically traces the modern diaconate to the “seven men” of the book of the Acts of the Apostles (6:2-6 - not named at all by D. here!), is scientifically very vulnerable.

Currently, D. is a representative of the lowest, first degree of the church hierarchy, “a minister of the word of God,” whose liturgical duties consist primarily of loud reading of Holy Scripture (“evangelization”), proclamation of litanies on behalf of those praying, and censing of the temple. The church charter provides for his assistance to the priest performing the proskomedia. D. does not have the right to perform any divine service and even to put on his own liturgical clothes, but must every time ask for the “blessing” of the clergyman. The purely auxiliary liturgical function of D. is emphasized by his elevation to this rank at the Liturgy after the Eucharistic canon (and even at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, which does not contain the Eucharistic canon). (At the request of the ruling bishop, this can happen at other times.) He is only a “minister (servant) during the sacred rite” or a “Levite” (). A priest can do without D. entirely (this occurs mainly in poor rural parishes). D.'s liturgical vestments: surplice, orarion and shoulder straps. Non-liturgical clothing, like that of a priest, is a cassock and cassock (but without a cross over the cassock, worn by the latter). The official address to D., found in old literature, is “Your gospel” or “Your blessing” (not used now). The address “Your Reverence” can be considered competent only in relation to the monastic D. The everyday address is “Father D.” or “father named”, or simply by name and patronymic.

The term “D.”, without specification (“simply” D.), indicates his belonging to the white clergy. A representative of the same lower rank in the black clergy (monastic D.) is called a “hierodeacon” (lit. “hierodeacon”). He has the same vestments as D. from the white clergy; but outside of worship he wears the clothes common to all monks. The representative of the second (and last) rank of deaconate among the white clergy is the “protodeacon” (“first deacon”), historically the eldest (in the liturgical aspect) among several deacons serving together in a large temple (cathedral). It is distinguished by a “double orar” and a violet kamilavka (given as a reward). The reward at present is the rank of protodeacon itself, so there can be more than one protodeacon in one cathedral. The first among several hierodeacons (in a monastery) is called “archdeacon” (“senior D.”). A hierodeacon who constantly serves with a bishop is also usually elevated to the rank of archdeacon. Like the protodeacon, he has a double orarion and a kamilavka (the latter is black); non-liturgical clothing is the same as that of the hierodeacon.

In ancient times there was an institution of deaconesses (“ministers”), whose duties consisted mainly of caring for sick women, preparing women for baptism, and serving priests at their baptism “for the sake of propriety.” St. (+403) explains in detail the special position of deaconesses in connection with their participation in this sacrament, while decisively excluding them from participation in the Eucharist. But, according to the Byzantine tradition, deaconesses received a special ordination (similar to that of a deacon) and participated in the communion of women; at the same time, they had the right to enter the altar and take St. cup directly from the throne (!). The revival of the institution of deaconesses in Western Christianity has been observed since the 19th century. In 1911, the first community of deaconesses was supposed to be opened in Moscow. The issue of reviving this institution was discussed at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917-18, but, due to the circumstances of the time, no decision was made.

Lit.: Zom R. Church system in the first centuries of Christianity. M., 1906, p. 196-207; Kirill (Gundyaev), archimandrite. On the issue of the origin of the diaconate // Theological works. M., 1975. Sat. 13, p. 201-207; IN. Deaconesses in the Orthodox Church. St. Petersburg, 1912.

DIACONATE

DIACONATE (DIACONATE) - the lowest degree of the Orthodox church hierarchy, including 1) deacon and protodeacon (representatives of the “white clergy”) and 2) hierodeacon and archdeacon (representatives of the “black clergy.” See Deacon, Hierarchy.

EPISCOPATH

EPISCOPATE is the collective name for the highest (third) degree of priesthood in the Orthodox church hierarchy. Representatives of E., also collectively referred to as bishops or hierarchs, are currently distributed, in order of administrative seniority, into the following ranks.

Bishop(Greek episkopos - lit. overseer, guardian) - an independent and authorized representative of the “local church” - the diocese headed by him, therefore called the “bishopric”. His distinctive non-liturgical clothing is the cassock. black hood and staff. Address - Your Eminence. A special variety - the so-called. "vicar bishop" (lat. vicarius- deputy, vicar), who is only an assistant to the ruling bishop of a large diocese (metropolis). He is under his direct supervision, carrying out assignments on the affairs of the diocese, and bears the title of one of the cities on its territory. There can be one vicar bishop in a diocese (in the St. Petersburg Metropolis, with the title “Tikhvinsky”) or several (in the Moscow Metropolis).

Archbishop(“senior bishop”) - a representative of the second rank E. The ruling bishop is usually elevated to this rank for some merit or after a certain time (as a reward). He differs from the bishop only in the presence of a pearl cross sewn on his black hood (above his forehead). Address - Your Eminence.

Metropolitan(from Greek meter- "mother" and polis- “city”), in the Christian Roman Empire - the bishop of the metropolis (“mother of cities”), the main city of a region or province (diocese). A metropolitan can also be the head of a Church that does not have the status of a patriarchate (the Russian Church until 1589 was ruled by a metropolitan with the title first of Kiev and then of Moscow). The rank of metropolitan is currently bestowed on a bishop either as a reward (after the rank of archbishop), or in the case of transfer to a department that has the status of a metropolitan see (St. Petersburg, Krutitskaya). A distinctive feature is a white hood with a pearl cross. Address - Your Eminence.

Exarch(Greek chief, leader) - the name of a church-hierarchical degree, dating back to the 4th century. Initially, this title was borne only by representatives of the most prominent metropolises (some later turned into patriarchates), as well as extraordinary commissioners of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, who were sent by them to the dioceses on special assignments. In Russia, this title was first adopted in 1700, after the death of Patr. Adrian, locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. The head of the Georgian Church (since 1811) was also called Exarch during the period when it became part of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 60s - 80s. 20th century some foreign parishes of the Russian Church were united on a territorial basis into the “Western European”, “Central European”, “Central and South American” exarchates. The governing hierarchs could be of lower rank than the metropolitan. A special position was occupied by the Metropolitan of Kiev, who bore the title “Patriarchal Exarch of Ukraine.” Currently, only the Metropolitan of Minsk (“Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus”) bears the title of exarch.

Patriarch(lit. “ancestor”) - a representative of the highest administrative rank of E., - the head, otherwise the primate (“standing in front”), of the Autocephalous Church. A characteristic distinctive feature is a white headdress with a pearl cross attached above it. The official title of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is “His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.” Address - Your Holiness.

Lit.: Charter on the governance of the Russian Orthodox Church. M., 1989; see the article Hierarchy.

JEREY

JEREY (Greek) hiereus) - in a broad sense - “sacrificer” (“priest”), “priest” (from hiereuo - “to sacrifice”). In Greek language is used both to designate the servants of pagan (mythological) gods, and the true One God, i.e., Old Testament and Christian priests. (In the Russian tradition, pagan priests are called “priests.”) In the narrow sense, in Orthodox liturgical terminology, I. is a representative of the lowest rank of the second degree of the Orthodox priesthood (see table). Synonyms: priest, presbyter, priest (obsolete).

HIPODIACON

HYPODEAKON, HYPODIAKON (from Greek. hupo- “under” and diakonos- “deacon”, “minister”) - an Orthodox clergyman, occupying a position in the hierarchy of the lower clergy below the deacon, his assistant (which fixes the naming), but above the reader. When consecrated into Islam, the dedicatee (reader) is clothed over the surplice in a cross-shaped orarion, and the bishop reads a prayer with the laying of his hand on his head. In ancient times, I. was classified as a clergyman and no longer had the right to marry (if he was single before being elevated to this rank).

Traditionally, the duties of the priest included taking care of sacred vessels and altar covers, guarding the altar, leading catechumens out of the church during the Liturgy, etc. The emergence of the subdiaconate as a special institution dates back to the 1st half of the 3rd century. and are associated with the custom of the Roman Church not to exceed the number of deacons in one city above seven (see). Currently, the subdeacon's service can only be seen during the bishop's service. Subdeacons are not members of the clergy of one church, but are assigned to the staff of a specific bishop. They accompany him during mandatory trips to the churches of the diocese, serve during services - they dress him before the start of the service, supply him with water for washing his hands, participate in specific ceremonies and actions that are absent during regular services - and also carry out various extra-church assignments. Most often, I. are students of religious educational institutions, for whom this service becomes a necessary step towards further ascent up the hierarchical ladder. The bishop himself tonsures his I. into monasticism, ordains him to the priesthood, preparing him for further independent service. An important continuity can be traced in this: many modern hierarchs went through the “subdeaconal schools” of prominent bishops of the older generation (sometimes even pre-revolutionary consecration), inheriting their rich liturgical culture, system of church-theological views and manner of communication. See Deacon, Hierarchy, Ordination.

Lit.: Zom R. Church system in the first centuries of Christianity. M., 1906; Veniamin (Rumovsky-Krasnopevkov V.F.), archbishop. New Tablet, or Explanation of the Church, Liturgy and all services and church utensils. M., 1992. T. 2. P. 266-269; Works of the blessed one. Simeon, Archbishop Thessalonian. M., 1994. pp. 213-218.

CLERGY

CLIR (Greek - “lot”, “share inherited by lot”) - in a broad sense - a set of clergy (clergy) and clergy (subdeacons, readers, singers, sextons, altar servers). “Clerics are so called because they are elected to church degrees in the same way as Matthias, appointed by the apostles, was chosen by lot” (Blessed Augustine). In relation to temple (church) service, people are divided into the following categories.

I. In the Old Testament: 1) the “clergy” (high priests, priests and “Levites” (lower ministers) and 2) the people. The principle of hierarchy here is “tribal”, therefore only representatives of the “tribe” (tribe) of Levi are “clerics”: the high priests are direct representatives of the clan of Aaron; priests are representatives of the same family, but not necessarily direct; Levites are representatives of other clans of the same tribe. “People” are representatives of all other tribes of Israel (as well as non-Israelites who accepted the religion of Moses).

II. In the New Testament: 1) “clergy” (clergy and clergy) and 2) the people. The national criterion is abolished. All Christian men who meet certain canonical standards can become priests and clergymen. Women are allowed to participate (auxiliary positions: “deaconesses” in the Ancient Church, singers, servants in the temple, etc.), but they are not classified as “clergy” (see Deacon). The “people” (laity) are all other Christians. In the Ancient Church, the “people,” in turn, were divided into 1) laity and 2) monks (when this institution arose). The latter differed from the “laity” only in their way of life, occupying the same position in relation to the clergy (acceptance of holy orders was considered incompatible with the monastic ideal). However, this criterion was not absolute, and soon monks began to occupy the highest church positions. The content of the concept of K. has changed over the centuries, acquiring rather contradictory meanings. Thus, in the broadest sense, the concept of K. includes, along with priests and deacons, the highest clergy (episcopal, or bishopric) - so in: clergy (ordo) and laity (plebs). On the contrary, in a narrow meaning, also recorded in the first centuries of Christianity, K. are only clergymen below the deacon (our clergy). In the Old Russian Church, the clergy is the totality of altar and non-altar ministers, with the exception of the bishop. Modern K. in a broad sense includes both clergy (ordained clergy) and clergy, or clerics (see Clergy).

Lit.: On the Old Testament priesthood // Christ. Reading. 1879. Part 2; , priest Controversy on the issue of the Old Testament priesthood and the essence of priestly ministry in general. St. Petersburg, 1882; and under the article Hierarchy.

LOCATOR

LOCAL TENNS - a person temporarily performing the duties of a high-ranking state or church figure (synonyms: vicar, exarch, vicar). In the Russian church tradition, only “M. patriarchal throne” - the bishop who governs the Church after the death of one patriarch until the election of another. The most famous in this capacity are Met. , mit. Peter (Polyansky) and Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky), who became Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' in 1943.

PATRIARCH

PATRIARCH (PATRIARCHES) (Greek. patriarches -“ancestor”, “forefather”) is an important term in the biblical Christian religious tradition, used mainly in the following meanings.

1. The Bible calls the P.-mi, firstly, the ancestors of all mankind (“antediluvian P.-i”), and secondly, the ancestors of the people of Israel (“the forefathers of the people of God”). All of them lived before the Mosaic Law (see Old Testament) and therefore were the exclusive guardians of the true religion. The first ten P., from Adam to Noah, whose symbolic genealogy is represented by the book of Genesis (chap. 5), were endowed with extraordinary longevity, necessary to preserve the promises entrusted to them in this first earthly history after the Fall. Of these, Enoch stands out, who lived “only” 365 years, “because God took him” (), and his son Methuselah, on the contrary, lived longer than the others, 969 years, and died, according to Jewish tradition, in the year of the flood (hence the expression “ Methuselah, or Methuselah, age"). The second category of biblical stories begins with Abraham, the founder of a new generation of believers.

2. P. - a representative of the highest rank of the Christian church hierarchy. The title of P. in a strict canonical meaning was established by the Fourth Ecumenical (Chalcedon) Council in 451, which assigned it to the bishops of the five main Christian centers, determining their order in diptychs according to “seniority of honor.” The first place belonged to the bishop of Rome, followed by the bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Later, the title of P. was also received by the heads of other Churches, and the Constantinople P., after the break with Rome (1054), received primacy in the Orthodox world.

In Rus', the patriarchate (as a form of government of the Church) was established in 1589. (before this, the Church was ruled by metropolitans with the title first “Kiev” and then “Moscow and All Rus'”). Later, the Russian patriarch was approved by the Eastern patriarchs as fifth in seniority (after the Jerusalem one). The first period of the patriarchate lasted 111 years and actually ended with the death of the tenth Patriarch Adrian (1700), and legally - in 1721, with the abolition of the institution of the patriarchate itself and its replacement by a collective body of church government - the Holy Governing Synod. (From 1700 to 1721, the Church was ruled by Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky of Ryazan with the title “Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne.”) The second patriarchal period, which began with the restoration of the patriarchate in 1917, continues to the present day.

Currently, the following Orthodox patriarchates exist: Constantinople (Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), Antioch (Syria), Jerusalem, Moscow, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian and Bulgarian.

In addition, the title of P. is held by the heads of some other Christian (Eastern) Churches - Armenian (P. Catholicos), Maronite, Nestorian, Ethiopian, etc. Since the Crusades in the Christian East there have been so-called. "Latin patriarchs" who are canonically subordinate to the Roman Church. Some Western Catholic bishops (Venetian, Lisbon) also have this same title, in the form of an honorary distinction.

Lit.: Old Testament doctrine in the time of the patriarchs. St. Petersburg, 1886; Roberson R. Eastern Christian Churches. St. Petersburg, 1999.

SEXTON

SEXTON (or “paramonar” - Greek. paramonarios,- from paramone, lat. mansio - “stay”, “finding”") - a church cleric, a lower servant ("deacon"), who initially performed the function of a guard of sacred places and monasteries (outside and inside the fence). P. is mentioned in the 2nd rule of the IV Ecumenical Council (451). In the Latin translation of church rules - “mansionarius”, the gatekeeper in the temple. considers it his duty to light lamps during worship and calls him “the guardian of the church.” Perhaps in ancient times the Byzantine P. corresponded to the Western villicus (“manager”, “steward”) - the person who controlled the selection and use of church things during worship (our later sacristan or sacellarium). According to the “Teaching News” of the Slavic Service Book (calling P. “servant of the altar”), his duties are to “... bring prosphora, wine, water, incense and fire into the altar, light and extinguish candles, prepare and serve the censer to the priest and warmth, often and with reverence to clean and clean the entire altar, as well as the floors from all dirt and the walls and ceiling from dust and cobwebs” (Sluzhebnik. Part II. M., 1977. P. 544-545). In the Typikon, P. is called “paraecclesiarch” or “kandila igniter” (from kandela, lampas - “lamp”, “lamp”). The northern (left) doors of the iconostasis, leading to that part of the altar where the indicated sexton accessories are located and which are mainly used by P., are therefore called “sextons”. At present, in the Orthodox Church there is no special position of a priest: in monasteries, the duties of a priest mainly lie with novices and ordinary monks (who have not been ordained), and in parish practice they are distributed among readers, altar servers, watchmen and cleaners. Hence the expression “read like a sexton” and the name of the watchman’s room at the temple - “sexton”.

PRESBYTER

PRESBYTER (Greek) presbuteros -“elder”, “elder”) - in liturgical. terminology - a representative of the lowest rank of the second degree of the Orthodox hierarchy (see table). Synonyms: priest, priest, priest (obsolete).

PRESBYTERMITY

PRESBYTERSM (priesthood, priesthood) - the general (tribal) name of representatives of the second degree of the Orthodox hierarchy (see table)

PRIT

PRECHT, or CHURCH PRECEPTION (glor. whine- “composition”, “assembly”, from Ch. lament- “to count”, “to join”) - in a narrow sense - a set of lower clergy, outside the three-degree hierarchy. In a broad sense, it is a collection of both clergy, or clergy (see clergy), and the clerks themselves, who together make up the staff of one Orthodox Church. temple (church). The latter include the psalm-reader (reader), sexton, or sacristan, candle-bearer, and singers. In pre-rev. In Russia, the composition of the parish was determined by states approved by the consistory and the bishop, and depended on the size of the parish. For a parish with a population of up to 700 souls, men. gender was supposed to consist of a priest and a psalm-reader; for a parish with a large population - a P. of a priest, a deacon and a psalm-reader. P. populous and wealthy parishes could consist of several. priests, deacons and clergy. The bishop requested permission from the Synod to establish a new P. or change staff. P.'s income consisted of ch. arr. from the fee for completing the requirement. The village churches were provided with land (at least 33 tithes per village), some of them lived in the church. houses, that is. part with gray 19th century received a government salary. According to the church The 1988 statute defines the P. as consisting of a priest, a deacon, and a psalm-reader. The number of members of the P. changes at the request of the parish and in accordance with its needs, but cannot be less than 2 people. - priest and psalm-reader. The head of P. is the rector of the temple: priest or archpriest.

PRIEST - see Priest, Presbyter, Hierarchy, Clergy, Ordination

ORDINARY - see Ordination

ORDINARY

ORDINARY is the external form of the sacrament of the priesthood, its actual culminating moment is the action of laying on of hands on a correctly chosen protege being elevated to the priesthood.

In ancient Greek language word cheirotonia means casting votes in the people's assembly by show of hands, i.e. elections. In modern Greek language (and church usage) we find two similar terms: cheirotonia, ordination - “ordination” and cheirothesia, hirothesia - “laying on of hands”. The Greek Euchologius calls each ordination (ordination) - from the reader to the bishop (see Hierarchy) X. In the Russian Official and liturgical manuals the Greek is used as left without translation. terms and their glory. equivalents, which are artificially different, although not completely strictly.

Ordination 1) of the bishop: ordination and X.; 2) presbyter (priest) and deacon: ordination and X.; 3) subdeacon: H., consecration and ordination; 4) reader and singer: dedication and consecration. In practice, they usually speak of the “consecration” of a bishop and the “ordination” of a priest and deacon, although both words have an identical meaning, going back to the same Greek. term.

T. arr., X. imparts the grace of the priesthood and is an elevation (“ordination”) to one of the three degrees of the priesthood; it is performed in the altar and at the same time the prayer “Divine grace...” is read. Chirotesia is not “ordination” in the proper sense, but only serves as a sign of admission of a person (clerk, - see) to perform some lower church service. Therefore, it is performed in the middle of the temple and without reading the prayer “Divine Grace...” An exception to this terminological differentiation is allowed only in relation to the subdeacon, which for the present time is an anachronism, a reminder of his place in the ancient church hierarchy.

In the ancient Byzantine handwritten Euchologies, the rite of the X. deaconess, which was once widespread in the Orthodox world, similar to the X. deacon (also before the Holy Altar and with the reading of the prayer “Divine grace...”) was preserved. Printed books no longer contain it. Euchologius J. Gohar gives this order not in the main text, but among the variant manuscripts, the so-called. variae lectiones (Goar J. Eucologion sive Rituale Graecorum. Ed. secunda. Venetiis, 1730. P. 218-222).

In addition to these terms for designating ordination to fundamentally different hierarchical degrees - the priestly and lower “clerical” ones, there are also others that indicate elevation to various “church ranks” (ranks, “positions”) within one degree of the priesthood. “The work of an archdeacon, ... abbot, ... archimandrite”; “Following the creation of a protopresbyter”; “Erection of archdeacon or protodeacon, protopresbyter or archpriest, abbot or archimandrite.”

Lit.: Henchman. Kyiv, 1904; Neselovsky A. The ranks of consecrations and consecrations. Kamenets-Podolsk, 1906; A guide to the study of the rules of worship of the Orthodox Church. M., 1995. S. 701-721; Vagaggini C. L » ordinazione delle diaconesse nella tradizione greca e bizantina // Orientalia Christiana Periodica. Roma, 1974. N 41; or T. under the articles Bishop, Hierarchy, Deacon, Priest, Priesthood.

APPLICATION

ENOCH

INOC - Old Russian. the name of a monk, otherwise - a monk. In zh. R. - monk, let’s lie. - nun (nun, monk).

The origin of the name is explained in two ways. 1. I. - “lonely” (as a translation of the Greek monos - “alone”, “lonely”; monachos - “hermit”, “monk”). “A monk will be called, for he alone speaks to God day and night” (“Pandects” Nikon Montenegrin, 36). 2. Another interpretation derives the name I. from the other way of life of someone who has accepted monasticism: he “otherwise must lead his life from worldly behavior” ( , priest Complete Church Slavonic dictionary. M., 1993, p. 223).

In modern Russian Orthodox church usage, a “monk” is not called a monk in the proper sense, but Rassophoran(Greek: “wearing a cassock”) novice - until he is tonsured into the “small schema” (conditioned by the final acceptance of monastic vows and the naming of a new name). I. - like a “novice monk”; In addition to the cassock, he also receives a kamilavka. I. retains his worldly name and is free to stop completing his novitiate at any time and return to his former life, which, according to Orthodox laws, is no longer possible for a monk.

Monasticism (in the old meaning) - monasticism, blueberry. To monk - to lead a monastic life.

LAYMAN

LAYMAN - one who lives in the world, a secular (“worldly”) person who does not belong to the clergy or monasticism.

M. is a representative of the church people who takes part in prayerful participation in church services. At home, he can perform all the services given in the Book of Hours, Book of Prayer or other liturgical collection, omitting the priestly exclamations and prayers, as well as the deacon’s litanies (if they are contained in the liturgical text). In case of emergency (in the absence of a clergyman and in mortal danger), M. can perform the sacrament of baptism. In the first centuries of Christianity, the rights of the laity were incomparably superior to modern ones, extending to the election of not only the rector of the parish church, but even the diocesan bishop. In ancient and medieval Rus', M. were subject to the general princely judicial administration. institutions, in contrast to the people of the church, who were under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan and bishop.

Lit.: Afanasyev N. The ministry of the laity in the Church. M., 1995; Filatov S.“Anarchism” of the laity in Russian Orthodoxy: Traditions and prospects // Pages: Journal of Biblical Theology. in-ta ap. Andrey. M., 1999. N 4:1; Minney R. Participation of the laity in religious education in Russia // Ibid.; Laity in the Church: Materials of the international. theologian conference M., 1999.

SACRISTAN

Sacristan (Greek sacellarium, sakellarios):
1) head of the royal clothes, royal bodyguard; 2) in monasteries and cathedrals - the custodian of church utensils, the clergyman.

) and 2) church I.; this is the name for the 3 degrees of priesthood - bishops, presbyters and deacons in their subordination - and the degrees of government I. clergy. Sometimes the word “hierarchy” is used in relation to one degree of priesthood - the episcopate, and not to the lower degrees of presbyters and deacons, just as the word “clergy”, which refers to all 3 degrees of clergy and to ordained clergy, is used primarily in relation to clergy and to 2 lower degrees of the priesthood - deacons and elders, but not to bishops, therefore in church literature, including in official. church acts, the expression “clergy and bishops” is often found, although from this point of view. According to canon law, bishops also belong to the clergy.

Sacred I.

In accordance with the basic ecclesiological dogmas, members of the Church are divided into 2 main categories. The first category consists of those called by the Holy Spirit through ordination to perform church service: preaching, teaching the sacraments, taking care of the external structure of the temple - these are clergy. The second category consists of the laity, who are also participants in church life: they take part in church teaching, but only with the blessing of the clergy and, as a rule, not from the pulpit, in worship - with their prayers, in church administration, for example. at the disposal of church property, but under the direction of clergy of different degrees depending on the position occupied by the layman. The clergy are divided into higher, or clergy, degrees of which together constitute I., and lower, or clergy, who are not classified as I., - these are the reader, choirboy, subdeacon, paramonar (sexton), they serve at performing worship in the temple; in the present time in the Russian Orthodox Church there remained 2 degrees of clergy - subdeacon and reader.

The hierarchical priesthood is a divinely established institution. From the very beginning, the Church has known 3 degrees of sacred priesthood: episcopal, presbyteral and deaconal. Bishops are the successors of the apostles, having a grace-filled connection with them through a series of ordinations. These are archpastors, high priests and highest teachers of their Churches. The presbyter, by virtue of his authority received from the bishop, can perform all sacred rites, except for the consecration of the antimension and the consecration of the world, as well as consecration and ordination, with the exception of presbyters in charge of monasteries, who can supply subdeacons and readers for their monasteries. Presbyters teach the people the dogmas of faith and piety, and provide pastoral care for the Christians entrusted to their care. Deacons assist bishops and presbyters in the performance of their ministry by participating in the performance of sacred rites in the church, including the altar. At the same time, according to the 39th Apostolic Canon, “presbyters and deacons do nothing without the will of the bishop. For the people of the Lord have been entrusted to him, and he will give account for their souls.”

The three degrees of the priesthood are of apostolic origin, and they will remain until the end of the age. The Church does not have the power to abolish any of them, nor can it increase the number of sacred degrees.

In some, and even very authoritative, Orthodox Churches. The books reflected different ideas about the boundary between the degrees of lower and higher clergy than those that have become generally accepted in the present day. time. Thus, in the “Orthodox Confession” of St. Peter (Grave) (1662) distinguishes between the highest and lowest degrees of the priesthood. He includes the highest ones as episcopal and presbytery, and the lowest - the degrees of deacon, subdeacon, priest, singer and reader, in other words, the lowest sacred degree - deacon and clergy ranks. In his work, St. Peter (Tomb), in essence, repeats the Catholic one. classification of the priesthood. Catholics distinguish in the hierarchy of sacred rites priests (bishops and presbyters) and ministers (deacons, subdeacons, acoluths, exorcists, lectors and ostiarii), and according to special canonical obligations (for example, celibacy) - higher and lower degrees, ranking bishops as the highest, presbyters, deacons and subdeacons, and to the lower level the rest of the clergy (after the Vatican II Council the lower ranks were partially abolished). In Orthodox Church deacons, as well as lower clergy, are not independent performers of divine services; ordained subdeacons, in the absence of mandatory celibacy, cannot, like clergy, enter into marriage after ordination. It would seem that there are circumstances that can serve as a basis for the classification borrowed by St. Peter (Mogila) from the Catholic. rights. But for what is generally accepted in Orthodoxy. The division of the Church into higher and lower clergy, into degrees of sacred I. and clergy, passing between deacons and subdeacons, is a strong dogmatic basis: the 3 degrees of sacred I. are divinely established institutions, go back to the apostolic age and will remain in the Church until the end of the world, and the degrees lower clergy - clergymen - were established by the Church in the process of its history and were abolished in the course of this history. Thus, the rank of subdeacon became known in the Church no earlier than the 3rd century; The very fact that the Church did not know him from the beginning does not allow this rank to be attributed to the divinely established degrees of sacred I.

Priests belonging to I. receive the grace of the priesthood after their election in relation to bishops by the episcopal council (in the Russian Orthodox Church at present by the Holy Synod), and in relation to presbyters and deacons by the ruling bishop, through the sacrament of the Priesthood, or ordination performed in the altar for Divine Liturgy. The participation of elders, deacons, lower clergy and laity in the election of candidates for the priesthood of various hierarchical degrees in different eras of history and in different local Churches was a transitory and changeable factor, in contrast to the participation of bishops, which at all times of church history was of decisive importance.

The power to perform ordination to all 3 degrees of the sacred I. belongs to the bishops, and only to them, as the successors of the saint. apostles One of the conditions for the validity of consecration is Orthodoxy. confession of its perpetrator. If the bishop who performed the consecration belongs to I., which separated from the Universal Church, then for a positive solution to the question of the validity of the act he performed, it is absolutely necessary that the schismatic I. maintain apostolic succession and that the retreat of the separated community from the Orthodox Church. creeds did not concern the basic dogmas. The right to make a final decision on the possibility of joining non-Orthodox clergy to the Orthodox Church. The Church in its present rank always belongs to the Orthodox court. Churches. Thus, the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council on the 8th right. recognized the validity of ordinations among the Kafars: “For those who once called themselves pure, but join the catholic and apostolic church, in the good pleasure of the holy and great council, yes, after the laying on of hands on them, they remain in the clergy.” John Zonara, in his interpretation of this rule, wrote: “If they are ordained bishops, or presbyters, or deacons, then those who join the church remain in the clergy, in their degrees.” The fathers of the Council of Nicaea judged differently the heretical Paulians (Paulicians). In I Universe. 19 says: “For those who were Paulines, but then resorted to the Catholic Church, a decree is made that they should all be baptized again. If those who in former times belonged to the clergy: such, having been found blameless and blameless, after rebaptism, may be ordained bishops of the Catholic Church.”

Sacred I. exists in the Churches that have preserved the apostolic succession of ordinations, to the present day. time is Orthodox, Catholic. and non-Chalcedonian Churches.

Hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church

differs significantly from the one reflected in the canonical corpus of the Orthodox Church. Church and which was preserved in the Universal Church in the West and in the East in the 1st millennium Christ. stories. In Catholic in theology, the authority of the Church, its infallibility are personified in the person of the Bishop of Rome, called the Supreme Pontiff and Vicar, Vicar of Christ. In the Code of Canon Law, Catholic. Church contains the following formulation: “The Bishop of the Roman Church, in whom resides the ministry specially entrusted by the Lord to Peter, the first of the apostles, and subject to transmission to his successors, is the head of the College of Bishops, the Vicar of Christ and the Shepherd of the entire Church on this earth, therefore, by virtue of his office he enjoys in the Church the supreme, complete, immediate and universal ordinary power, which he can always freely exercise” (CIC. Can. 331). Essentially, the pope is placed at the highest level in relation to the bishops, not only of government, but also of sacred history, although this is not directly declared in the Catholic Church. theology and law. The Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is recognized as a bishop, but at the same time he is assigned powers in the Church that exceed the power of any episcopal Councils, including Ecumenical Councils (CIC. Can. 333).

Another feature of the Catholic hierarchical system. The Church plays the role of the College of Cardinals, which has the right to elect the Roman Pontiff (CIC. Can. 349). The College consists of cardinals of 3 degrees: episcopal, presbyteral and deaconal (CIC. Can. 350. 1). Cardinal-bishops bear the titles of the 7 suburban (suburban) Churches of Rome: Ostia (“The diocese of Ostia together with another Church, which was already its title before” is the title of the cardinal-dean, the head of the college of cardinals - CIC. Can. 350. 4; 352. 1), Frascati, Palestrina, Porto - Santa Rufina, Sabina - Poggio Mirteto and Velletri - Segni; Lat. also belongs to their number. and uniat. patriarchs with the titles of their patriarchal sees (CIC. Can. 350. 1, 3). Cardinal presbyters and cardinal deacons receive the title or diaconia from the pope in Rome (CIC. Can. 350. 2). In the 20th century the vast majority of cardinal presbyters and cardinal deacons were also bishops (CIC. Can. 351.1), so that one person belonged to 2 degrees: one of them belongs to the I. of the sacred degrees, the other to the I. within the College of Cardinals . But even today. time there are cardinal presbyters who do not have episcopal consecration and are truly presbyters within the framework of the sacred I. (cf.: CIC. Can. 350. 5). Elevation to the cardinalate is the exclusive authority of the pope (CIC. Can. 351.1). The bishop of Rome elects cardinals from among the bishops and presbyters; Moreover, in most cases, but not in all, presbyters, after being elevated to the rank of cardinal, receive episcopal consecration (cf. Ibidem). The cardinals help the Supreme Shepherd in governing the Church, gathering by decree of the pope for regular and extraordinary consistories, in which the Roman Pontiff presides (CIC. Can. 353. 1-3). Cardinals in plural relations stand even above the patriarchs, if they are not awarded the title of cardinal (CIC. Can. 357. 2).

In the Middle Ages and in modern times, due to the fact that in Catholic ecclesiology there is a fundamental distinction between potestas ministerii (the power of ministry) and potestas jurisdictionis (the power of jurisdiction), in Catholic. The Church had bishops, endowed with jurisdiction and governmental power in their diocese, but who did not have the power of ministry, that is, they did not perform divine services, since they did not have episcopal consecration.

Another feature of the Catholic hierarchical system. The Church lies in the fact that already in the Middle Ages the diaconate actually disappeared from its life, so that candidates for the priesthood were ordained to the diaconal degree shortly before their ordination as presbyters, while the diaconal service itself was absent (see Art. Deacon). The experience of reviving the diaconal ministry is being undertaken in the Catholic Church. Churches after the Second Vatican Council, but it is local and limited in nature.

In the Anglican Church

(and accordingly in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA) 3 degrees of priesthood are preserved, but the reality of this I. from the Orthodox Church. t.zr. doubtful; its non-recognition is connected both with the circumstances of the separation of the Anglicans. Church from the Catholic in the 16th century, questioning the preservation of the apostolic succession of ordinations in it, and from the official, completely Protestant. the doctrine of Anglicanism, which does not see church-sacramental significance in I., in other words, it denies the sacrament of the Priesthood. The more ecclesiastical ideas of theologians belonging to the “High Church” movement do not change anything, since the “High Church” is only a direction, a kind of party within the united Anglican Church. The Church and its representatives have communion with adherents of other directions of Anglicanism - the “Broad” and “Low” Churches - with their essentially Calvinistic, anti-hierarchical ecclesiology. Moreover, in the actual structure of the Anglicans. The highest powers of the Church in Great Britain belong not to its first bishop, who bears the title of Archbishop of Canterbury, but to the king, in the present day. time - to the Queen, recognized as the head of the Anglicans. Church, while the queen exercises her powers through a 2-chamber parliament and government.

Real sacred I. is also absent in other Protestant communities, which unconditionally reject the sacrament of the Priesthood and the apostolic succession of ordinations.

Thus, Orthodox. The Church recognizes the validity of ordinations performed in the Catholic Church. and non-Chalcedonian Churches, however, does not recognize Protestant ordinations, not considering them grace-filled and having hierarchical significance. The Russian Orthodox Church has not officially recognized the validity of the Old Believer I. of both interpretations: Belokrinitsky and Novozybkovsky.

Government I. Priesthood

Sacramentally, persons belonging to the same degree of sacred I. are equal to each other. However, bishops, as well as presbyters and deacons, may differ in the scope of their powers and the place they occupy in diptychs or before the altar. The distinction of clergy on this basis is called government classification of the priesthood.

Thus, holders of the highest episcopal degree of priesthood, as members of the government hierarchy, have the rank or title of popes, patriarchs, Catholicoses, exarchs, primates, metropolitans and archbishops. The appearance of each of these titles is associated with a particular territorial region included in the administrative system. divisions of the Universal Church, although later. the differences between them could lose their dependence on the volume of real government power, turning into titular differences and advantages, acquired either by episcopal sees or by the bishops personally occupying them. Historically, the first episcopal title was the rank of metropolitan - this is how the bishops of the capital cities of the provinces of the Roman Empire were called in ancient times. Currently Since then, the Russian Orthodox Church has retained the following degrees of government bishops: patriarch, metropolitan and archbishop. In some Orthodox, as well as in non-Chalcedonian Churches, along with the title of patriarch, the title of pope (this title is borne by the Patriarch of Alexandria) and the title of Catholicos, which belongs to the Georgian Patriarch, as well as the Patriarch of all Armenians, Metropolitan of Malankara, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, are used. In addition, in the Greek-speaking Churches, the Antiochian Patriarchate, and the Albanian Church, the title of archbishop is higher than the title of metropolitan, in contrast to the Russian Church.

There are various degrees of government and for elders. In the Russian Orthodox Church today. for a time, a priest may have the rank of archpriest or protopresbyter; monastic presbyter (hieromonk) - abbot or archimandrite. In the diaconal degree, in addition to deacons themselves, there are protodeacons and archdeacons.

Government degrees, unlike divinely established sacred degrees, have historical origins. They are established and abolished by the Church, sometimes increasing or decreasing their number. So, 39(48) is right. The Council of Carthage (419) prohibited the titles of exarch, high priest and all titles of the first throne; according to the rule, the occupant of this see should be called only "bishop of the first see." But in the 9th, 12th, 17th, 25th, 28th rules of the Council of Chalcedon (451) the titles of exarch, metropolitan and archbishop are indicated; these titles are also mentioned in subsequent rules (VII Om. 6; Dvukr. 14, etc.).

In contrast to the sacred degrees, which are communicated through the sacrament of the Priesthood - ordination, the degrees of government I. are assigned either by the rank of ordination, or by appointment, promotion to one or another degree by legitimate church authority.

The degrees of government government also differ from church positions. As can be seen from the history of the origin of government degrees, at first each of them was associated with a certain amount of power, i.e., corresponded to a specific position, but over time this connection was weakened and lost, and government degrees turned into titles. In Byzantium, not only church, but also court, military and civil positions often lost their original meaning and became titles. The fundamental difference between governmental church I. degrees and positions lies in the fact that degrees are permanent in nature, while positions are, as a rule, temporary, associated with a certain range of powers. In contrast to government degrees, I. are placed in church positions only by appointment and production, without church rites. In the 2nd right. The Council of Chalcedon, condemning simony, made a distinction between the degrees of sacred and governmental I., on the one hand, and church positions, on the other: “If a bishop performs ordination for money, and converts unsellable grace into sale, and installs a bishop for money, or a chorebishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or someone else from among the clergy, or will promote for money to an oikonom, or an ekdik, or a paramonary, or generally to any church position, for the sake of his vile profit: such... let him be subject to deprivation own degree..."

Source: Nicodemus [Milash], bishop. Rules; The rules of the Armed Forces with interpretation; CIC.

Prot. Vladislav Tsypin

Faith of the Roman Catholic Church

The doctrine of the Catholic Church is set out in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed and is revealed in the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, as well as councils held later on the initiative of the Pope.

In the main issues of doctrine, Catholicism has much in common with Orthodoxy, but there are also differences. Here are the main ones. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is one eternal God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. Catholic dogma is given in the Nicene Creed and described in detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic faith declares that the Church "...is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth." The Church teaches that salvation exists only in the Catholic Church, but recognizes that the Holy Spirit can use Christian communities to bring people to salvation.

Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church

The head of the Church is the Pope.

As in all other historical churches, the priestly hierarchy is clearly separated from the laity, and is divided into three degrees of priesthood:

· bishop;

· priest.

· deacon

The hierarchy of the clergy includes numerous ecclesiastical degrees and offices (see Ecclesiastical degrees and offices in the Roman Catholic Church), as an example:

· cardinal;

· archbishop;

Primate

· metropolitan;

· prelate;

There are also the offices of Ordinary, Vicar and Coadjutor - the latter two offices involving the function of a deputy or assistant, such as a bishop. Members of monastic orders are sometimes called the regular (from the Latin regula - rule) clergy, but the majority, appointed by the bishop, are diocesan, or secular. Territorial units can be:

· diocese (diocese);

archdiocese (archdiocese);

· apostolic administration;

Apostolic prefecture

· Apostolic Exarchate;

· Apostolic Vicariate;

· territorial abbey;

Each territorial unit consists of parishes, which can sometimes be grouped into deaneries. The union of dioceses and archdioceses is called a metropolitanate, the center of which always coincides with the center of the archdiocese. There are also military ordinariates serving military units. Particular Churches in the world, as well as various missions, have the status of “Sui iuris”.

Collegiality in the government of the Church (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus) is rooted in apostolic times. The Pope exercises administrative authority in accordance with the Code of Canon Law and may consult with the World Synod of Bishops. Diocesial clergy (archbishops, bishops, etc.) act within the framework of ordinary jurisdiction, that is, associated by law with the office. A number of prelates and abbots also have this right, and priests within their parish and in relation to their parishioners.

Structure of the Catholic Church

The Pope of Rome has the highest, full, immediate, universal and ordinary authority in the Catholic Church. The advisory bodies under the pope are the College of Cardinals and the Synod of Bishops. The administrative apparatus of the Church is called the Roman Curia, which includes congregations, courts and other institutions. The episcopal see of the pope together with the curia form the Holy See, located in the independent state of Vatican City. The Holy See is a subject of international law.

The Universal Catholic Church consists of the Latin Rite Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, which profess one of the Eastern liturgical rites and have the status of “sui iuris” (their right). In practice, this is expressed in the fact that these churches, while remaining in communion with the Pope and fully sharing Catholic dogma, have their own hierarchical structure and their own canon law. The largest Eastern Catholic churches are headed by a Patriarch or supreme archbishop. Eastern Patriarchs and supreme archbishops are equated to cardinal bishops of the Latin rite and occupy the place immediately behind the pope in the Catholic hierarchy.

The basic distinct territorial unit is the diocese, headed by a bishop. Some important dioceses have historically been called archdioceses. Other types of territorial units are equated to dioceses:

Apostolic Vicariate

· apostolic prefecture

· apostolic administration

· military ordinariate

· territorial prelature

· territorial abbey

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, there are also exarchates.

Several dioceses (and archdioceses) may constitute a metropolitanate or an ecclesiastical province. The center of the metropolitanate necessarily coincides with the center of the archdiocese, thus the metropolitan in the Catholic Church is necessarily an archbishop. In some countries (Italy, USA, etc.) metropolises are united into ecclesiastical regions. The bishops of most countries are united in a conference of bishops, which has great powers in organizing the church life of the country.

Dioceses consist of parishes, which are headed by parish priests, subordinate to the bishop. The rector in the parish may be assisted by other priests, called vicars. Sometimes nearby parishes unite into deaneries.

A special role in the Catholic Church is played by the so-called institutions of consecrated life, that is, monastic orders and congregations; as well as the Society of Apostolic Life. Institutes of consecrated life have their own statutes (approved by the pope); their territorial organization does not always correspond to the diocesan structure of the church. Local units of monastic orders and congregations are sometimes subordinate to local diocesan bishops and sometimes directly to the pope. A number of orders and congregations have a single head (General of the Order, Superior General) and a clear hierarchical structure; others are amalgamations of completely autonomous communities.

The priesthood of the Russian Orthodox Church is divided into three degrees, established by the holy apostles: deacons, priests and bishops. The first two include both clergy belonging to the white (married) clergy and the black (monastic) clergy. Only persons who have taken monastic vows are elevated to the last, third degree. According to this order, all church titles and positions among Orthodox Christians are established.

Church hierarchy that came from Old Testament times

The order in which ecclesiastical titles among Orthodox Christians are divided into three different degrees dates back to Old Testament times. This happens due to religious continuity. It is known from the Holy Scriptures that approximately one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ, the founder of Judaism, the prophet Moses, selected special people for worship - high priests, priests and Levites. It is with them that our modern church titles and positions are associated.

The first of the high priests was Moses' brother Aaron, and his sons became priests, leading all the services. But in order to perform numerous sacrifices, which were an integral part of religious rituals, assistants were needed. They became the Levites - the descendants of Levi, the son of the forefather Jacob. These three categories of clergy of the Old Testament era became the basis on which all ecclesiastical ranks of the Orthodox Church are built today.

Lowest level of priesthood

When considering church ranks in ascending order, one should start with deacons. This is the lowest priestly rank, upon ordination to which God’s Grace is acquired, necessary to fulfill the role assigned to them during the divine service. The deacon does not have the right to independently conduct church services and perform the sacraments, but is only obliged to help the priest. A monk ordained a deacon is called a hierodeacon.

Deacons who have served for a sufficiently long period of time and have proven themselves well receive the title of protodeacons (senior deacons) in the white clergy, and archdeacons in the black clergy. The privilege of the latter is the right to serve under the bishop.

It should be noted that all church services these days are structured in such a way that, in the absence of deacons, they can be performed by priests or bishops without much difficulty. Therefore, the participation of the deacon in the divine service, while not being obligatory, is rather its decoration than an integral part. As a result, in some parishes where serious financial difficulties are felt, this staffing unit is being reduced.

Second level of the priestly hierarchy

Looking further at church ranks in ascending order, we should focus on priests. Holders of this rank are also called presbyters (in Greek, “elder”), or priests, and in monasticism, hieromonks. Compared to deacons, this is a higher level of priesthood. Accordingly, upon ordination a greater degree of the Grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired.

Since evangelical times, priests have been leading divine services and have the right to perform most of the holy sacraments, including everything except ordination, that is, ordination, as well as the consecration of antimensions and the world. In accordance with the official responsibilities assigned to them, priests lead the religious life of urban and rural parishes, in which they can hold the post of rector. The priest is directly subordinate to the bishop.

For long and impeccable service, a priest of the white clergy is rewarded with the title of archpriest (chief priest) or protopresbyter, and a black priest is rewarded with the rank of abbot. Among the monastic clergy, the abbot, as a rule, is appointed to the position of rector of an ordinary monastery or parish. If he is entrusted with leading a large monastery or monastery, he is called an archimandrite, which is an even higher and more honorable title. It is from the archimandrites that the episcopate is formed.

Bishops of the Orthodox Church

Further, when listing church titles in ascending order, it is necessary to pay special attention to the highest group of hierarchs - bishops. They belong to the category of clergy called bishops, that is, heads of priests. Having received the greatest degree of Grace of the Holy Spirit at ordination, they have the right to perform all church sacraments without exception. They are given the right not only to conduct any church services themselves, but also to ordain deacons to the priesthood.

According to the Church Charter, all bishops have an equal degree of priesthood, with the most honored of them being called archbishops. A special group consists of the capital's bishops, called metropolitans. This name comes from the Greek word "metropolis", which means "capital". In cases where another is appointed to assist one bishop holding a high position, he bears the title of vicar, that is, deputy. The bishop is placed at the head of the parishes of an entire region, called in this case a diocese.

Primate of the Orthodox Church

And finally, the highest rank of the church hierarchy is the patriarch. He is elected by the Council of Bishops and, together with the Holy Synod, exercises leadership over the entire local church. According to the Charter adopted in 2000, the rank of patriarch is for life, but in some cases the bishop's court is given the right to try him, depose him and decide on his retirement.

In cases where the patriarchal see is vacant, the Holy Synod elects a locum tenens from among its permanent members to perform the functions of the patriarch until his legal election.

Church workers who do not have the Grace of God

Having mentioned all the church titles in ascending order and returning to the very base of the hierarchical ladder, it should be noted that in the church, in addition to the clergy, that is, clergy who have passed the sacrament of ordination and have been honored to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit, there is also a lower category - clergy. These include subdeacons, psalm-readers and sextons. Despite their church service, they are not priests and are accepted into vacant positions without ordination, but only with the blessing of the bishop or archpriest - the rector of the parish.

The duties of the psalmist include reading and singing during church services and when the priest performs the requirement. The sexton is entrusted with calling parishioners to the church by ringing bells for the beginning of services, ensuring that the candles in the church are lit, if necessary, helping the psalm-reader and handing the censer to the priest or deacon.

Subdeacons also take part in divine services, but only together with bishops. Their duties are to help the bishop put on his vestments before the start of the service and, if necessary, change his vestments during the service. In addition, the subdeacon gives the bishop lamps - dikiri and trikiri - for blessing those praying in the temple.

Heritage of the Holy Apostles

We looked at all church ranks in ascending order. In Russia and among other Orthodox nations, these ranks bear the blessing of the holy apostles - the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. It was they who, having become the founders of the earthly Church, established the existing order of the church hierarchy, taking as a model the example of Old Testament times.