Orthodox Christianity Forum

The priestly vestments. I thought it might be interesting in the next several weeks to do a bit of an exploration on the stuff clergy wear - an explanation if you will, of why we wear what we do. The first item that goes on over the cassock is called a sticharion, usually a white garment, but in the Russian practice we use all the liturgical colors as well - you’ll see me in all gold or red some days, depending on the season. This is also the name of the vestment worn by readers, subdeacons, and deacons, though theirs are almost always in the liturgical color of the day. The next item to go on is the epitrachelion, which literally means “around the neck,” and symbolizes the priesthood - we wear them whenever we’re serving as a priest, with the cuffs as in Vespers and Matins, but more frequently with the other vestments in the Divine Liturgy; we also put this on if we’re not serving but plan to partake in Holy Communion. The zone or belt represents girding oneself with truth and chastity, as well as the towel Christ used to wash the feet of the Disciples. The cuffs, called the epimanikia, “upon the sleeves,'' go on next, right then left, representing Christ’s binding through His passion, and that the priest works not through his own merit, but God’s grace. Next is the nabedrennik “thigh shield,” which looks sort of like a liturgical mudflap and is the first award given to priests to mark long and dedicated service to the Church - it’s unique to our Russian tradition, as the Greeks don’t wear them. The palitsa “club”/ epigonation “over the knee” is the diamond-shaped award that Fr. Iggy hasn’t been given yet - when it’s awarded, it goes on the right, and the nabedrennik switches over to the left. The phelonion/ phelon is the outermost vestment - a sort of a cape that indicates a major liturgical function. Finally, the pectoral cross (from the Latin pectoralis - “of the chest”) marks the priest as apart from deacons and unordained monastics; in the Russian practice, all priests wear this, whereas in the Greek tradition it is an award for faithful service. The back of the cross has St. Paul’s reminder to Timothy “Be thou an example to the believers in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (4:12).” So there you have it - please feel free to ask about the vestments, and listen to the vesting prayers!

I mentioned the week before last (and then forgot to follow up on it) the classification of feasts in the Church, so we’ll cover that now. In Orthodoxy, we rank our liturgical celebrations throughout the year according to a hierarchy of classifications, numbered first through fifth. So first and foremost, Pascha ranks higher than any other commemoration, being in a class of its own as the single most important day of our year. Feasts of the Lord (there are 7) are what are called First Class Feasts, and we focus all our attention on the Lord, suppressing both the patronal troparion of the temple as well as other commemorations for that day (even on a Sunday). Fasts are usually relaxed on these days to permit fish, wine, and oil (unless it’s the Elevation of the Holy Cross, where fasting is maintained). With the exception of Palm Sunday which has neither, most of these feasts have both forefeasts and leavetakings, except for Ascension and Pentecost, which have the latter, but not the former (still with me?). Second Class Feasts are those of the Theotokos (there are 5), and together with the 7 of the Lord, these comprise the 12 Great Feasts of the Church. The patronal troparion of the temple is suppressed for these as well, and the fasting is relaxed to permit fish, wine, and oil if it falls on a fast day. But because we are Orthodox and nothing can be too easy, we make an exception if the Annunciation falls during Holy Week - then wine and oil are okay, but not fish, but if it falls on Great and Holy Friday or Saturday, then wine is okay, but not oil or fish! Now it gets a bit tricky - Third Class Feasts are those for which the Menaion (literally “of the month”) includes a complete akolouthia (“to follow”) - a full cycle of daily liturgical services (even though we don’t do all of them most of the time) - Vespers, the Midnight Office, Matins, the Little Hours, and Compline, as well as the Divine Liturgy (or Typika). We are privileged at St. Andrew’s to have a complete set of the Menaion - check it out at the kliros sometime to see just how much richness we’ve developed in the past nearly 2k years! With a few exceptions (St. Demetrious, the Nativity of the Forerunner, Sts. Peter & Paul, and the Beheading of the Forerunner), 3rd Class Feasts usually don’t have a forefeast or leavetaking - the exceptions have the latter, but not the former. As you might expect, fasting is relaxed to allow wine and oil for most of these, and on patronal feast days, fish is allowed also. Fourth and Fifth Class Feasts, included with the Third as the “lesser classes,” commemorate the lives of the Saints, holy events (e.g., the appearance of an especially famous icon), or holy objects (e.g., the Theotokos’ belt).

A good one this week that surprisingly I haven’t been asked before: Why should we want Holy Communion? Featured in all four canonical Gospels, the Lord’s Supper is the central focus of the Divine Liturgy in which we hear that Christ blessed bread, broke it, said it was His Body, and the Apostles partook of it. Christ told them what was about to happen to Him before it took place in order that they might believe. If we go all the way back to the Prophet Malachi (not to be confused with the kid from Children of the Corn), we find in 1:10-11 a reference to “a pure offering” that many consider an establishment of the practice of Holy Communion, written just after the Babylonian captivity. Christ Himself is the Passover Lamb (1st Corinthians 5:7), and St. John (6:58) informs us that Whosoever feeds upon His Body and drinks His Blood will receive eternal life. So back to the original question - why should we want Holy Communion? There is a tremendous weight to taking part in the Mysteries of God’s Church - Christ died on the Cross for our sins and we ought to be reminded frequently of His sacrifice, as it is the basis for the entire Christian paradigm. When we approach the Chalice (with fear and trembling) we are setting ourselves apart, i.e., consecrated, to Christ. We are also connected through the Chalice to the wider body of Orthodox believers, both past and present, who have sought salvation in the Church. When the priest communes himself in the Altar, he says, “Behold this (the Chalice) hath touched my lips, and taketh away my iniquities, and purgeth my sins.” When you are communed by the priest he says to you, “the servant (or handmaiden) partake of the precious and Holy Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ unto the remission of sins and life everlasting.” This is heavy - this is a LOT - this is something we ought to want for ourselves. So I guess that’s why.