In Orthodoxy, there is a distinction between white clergy (priests who did not take monastic vows) and black clergy (monasticism)

The ranks of the white clergy:
:

Altar boy is the name given to a male layman who helps the clergy at the altar. The term is not used in canonical and liturgical texts, but became generally accepted in this meaning by the end of the 20th century. in many European dioceses in the Russian Orthodox Church the name “altar boy” is not generally accepted. In the Siberian dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church it is not used; instead, in this meaning, the more traditional term sexton, as well as novice, is usually used. The sacrament of priesthood is not performed over the altar boy; he only receives a blessing from the rector of the temple to serve at the altar.
the duties of the altar server include monitoring the timely and correct lighting of candles, lamps and other lamps in the altar and in front of the iconostasis; preparation of vestments for priests and deacons; bringing prosphora, wine, water, incense to the altar; lighting the coal and preparing the censer; giving a fee for wiping the lips during Communion; assistance to the priest in performing the sacraments and requirements; cleaning the altar; if necessary, reading during the service and performing the duties of a bell ringer. The altar server is prohibited from touching the altar and its accessories, as well as moving from one side of the altar to the other between the altar and the Royal Doors. The altar server wears a surplice over secular clothing.

Reader (psalm-reader; earlier, before late XIX- sexton, lat. lector) - in Christianity - the lowest rank of clergy, not elevated to the degree of priesthood, reading texts during public worship Holy Scripture and prayers. In addition, according to ancient tradition, the readers not only read in Christian churches, but also explained the meaning of difficult-to-understand texts, translated them into the languages ​​of their area, preached sermons, taught converts and children, sang various hymns (chants), engaged in charity work, and had other church obediences. IN Orthodox Church Readers are ordained by bishops through a special rite - hirotesia, otherwise called “ordination”. This is the first ordination of a layman, only after which can he be ordained as a subdeacon, and then ordained as a deacon, then as a priest and, higher, as a bishop (bishop). The reader has the right to wear a cassock, belt and skufia. During tonsure, a small veil is first put on him, which is then removed and a surplice is put on.

Subdeacon (Greek Υποδιάκονος; in common parlance (obsolete) subdeacon from the Greek ὑπο - “under”, “below” + Greek διάκονος - minister) - a clergyman in the Orthodox Church, serving mainly under the bishop during his sacred actions, wearing in front In the indicated cases, the trikiriy, dikiriy and ripida, laying the eagle, washes his hands, clothes him and performs some other actions. IN modern Church the subdeacon does not have a sacred degree, although he wears a surplice and has one of the accessories of the deaconate - an orarion, which is worn crosswise over both shoulders and symbolizes angelic wings. Being the most senior clergyman, the subdeacon is an intermediate link between clergy and clergy. Therefore, the subdeacon, with the blessing of the serving bishop, can touch the throne and the altar during divine services and at certain moments enter the altar through the Royal Doors.

Deacon (lit. form; colloquial deacon; ancient Greek διάκονος - minister) - a person passing church service at the first, lowest degree of priesthood.
In the Orthodox East and in Russia, deacons still occupy the same hierarchical position as in ancient times. Their job and significance is to be assistants during worship. They themselves cannot perform public worship and be representatives of the Christian community. Due to the fact that a priest can perform all services and services without a deacon, deacons cannot be considered absolutely necessary. On this basis, it is possible to reduce the number of deacons in churches and parishes. We resorted to such reductions to increase the salary of priests.

Protodeacon or protodeacon is the title of the white clergy, the chief deacon in the diocese under cathedral. The title of protodeacon was complained of in the form of a reward for special merits, as well as to deacons of the court department. The insignia of a protodeacon is the protodeacon's orarion with the words “Holy, holy, holy.” Currently, the title of protodeacon is usually given to deacons after 20 years of service in the priesthood. Protodeacons are often famous for their voice, being one of the main decorations of the divine service.

Priest (Greek Ἱερεύς) is a term that passed from the Greek language, where it originally meant “priest,” into Christian church usage; literally translated into Russian - priest. In the Russian Church it is used as a junior title for a white priest. He receives from the bishop the authority to teach people the faith of Christ, to perform all the Sacraments, except the Sacrament of Ordination of the Priesthood, and all church services, except for the consecration of antimensions.

Archpriest (Greek πρωτοιερεύς - “high priest”, from πρώτος “first” + ἱερεύς “priest”) is a title given to a member of the white clergy as a reward in the Orthodox Church. The archpriest is usually the rector of the temple. Ordination to the archpriest occurs through consecration. During divine services (except for the liturgy), priests (priests, archpriests, hieromonks) wear a phelonion (chasuble) and stole over their cassock and cassock.

Protopresbyter is the highest rank for a member of the white clergy in the Russian Church and in some other local churches. After 1917, it is assigned in isolated cases to priests of the priesthood as a reward; not a separate grade B modern Russian Orthodox Church Awarding the rank of protopresbyter is carried out “in exceptional cases, for special church merits, on the initiative and decision of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Black clergy:

Hierodeacon (hierodeacon) (from the Greek ἱερο- - sacred and διάκονος - minister; Old Russian “black deacon”) - a monk in the rank of deacon. The senior hierodeacon is called the archdeacon.

Hieromonk (Greek: Ἱερομόναχος) - in the Orthodox Church, a monk who has the rank of priest (that is, the right to perform the sacraments). Monks become hieromonks through ordination or white priests through monastic tonsure.

Hegumen (Greek ἡγούμενος - “leading”, female abbess) is the abbot of an Orthodox monastery.

Archimandrite (Greek αρχιμανδρίτης; from Greek αρχι - chief, senior + Greek μάνδρα - corral, sheepfold, fence meaning monastery) - one of the highest monastic ranks in the Orthodox Church (below bishop), corresponds to mitered (awarded with a miter) archpriest and protopresbyter in the white clergy.

Bishop (Greek ἐπίσκοπος - “supervisor”, “supervisor”) in the modern Church is a person who has the third, highest degree of priesthood, otherwise a bishop.

Metropolitan (Greek: μητροπολίτης) is the first episcopal title in the Church in antiquity.

Patriarch (Greek Πατριάρχης, from Greek πατήρ - “father” and ἀρχή - “domination, beginning, power”) - the title of the representative of the autocephalous Orthodox Church in a number Local Churches; also the title of senior bishop; historically, before the Great Schism, it was assigned to the five bishops of the Universal Church (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), who had the rights of the highest church-governmental jurisdiction. The Patriarch is elected by the Local Council.

Chapter:
CHURCH PROTOCOL
3rd page

HIERARCHY OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Spiritual guidance for those truly established in the holy Orthodox faith:
- questions of believers and answers of holy righteous people.

The Russian Orthodox Church, as part of the Universal Church, has the same three-degree hierarchy that arose at the dawn of Christianity.

The clergy are divided into deacons, presbyters and bishops.

Persons in the first two sacred degrees can belong to either the monastic (black) or the white (married) clergy.

Since the 19th century, our Church has had the institution of celibacy, borrowed from the Catholic West, but in practice it is extremely rare. In this case clergyman remains celibate, but does not take monastic vows and does not take monastic vows. Clergymen can only marry before taking holy orders.

[In Latin “celibate” (caelibalis, caelibaris, celibatus) - an unmarried (single) person; in classical Latin, the word caelebs meant “one without a spouse” (and virgin, divorced, and widower), but in late antiquity folk etymology associated it with caelum (sky), and so it came to be understood in medieval Christian writing, where it was used in speech about angels, containing an analogy between virgin life and angelic life; according to the Gospel, in heaven they do not marry or be given in marriage (Matt. 22:30; Luke 20:35).]

In schematic form, the priestly hierarchy can be represented as follows:

A monk (Greek μονος - solitary) is a person who has dedicated himself to serving God and has taken vows (promises) of obedience, non-covetousness and celibacy. Monasticism has three degrees.

The ordeal (its duration, as a rule, is three years), or the degree of novice, serves as an entrance into monastic life, so that those who wish for it first test their strength and only after that pronounce irrevocable vows.

The novice (otherwise known as the novice) does not wear the full robe of a monk, but only a cassock and kamilavka, and therefore this degree is also called a ryassophore, i.e. wearing a cassock, so that while waiting to take monastic vows the novice is confirmed on his chosen path.

The cassock is the clothing of repentance (Greek ρασον - worn, dilapidated clothing, sackcloth).

Monasticism itself is divided into two degrees: the small angelic image and the great angelic image, or schema. Dedication of oneself to monastic vows is called tonsure.

A cleric can only be tonsured by a bishop, a layman can also be tonsured by a hieromonk, abbot or archimandrite (but in any case, monastic tonsure is performed only with the permission of the diocesan bishop).

In the Greek monasteries of Holy Mount Athos, tonsure is performed immediately on the Great Schema.

When tonsured into the small schema (Greek το μικρον σχημα - small image), the ryasophore monk becomes robed: he receives a new name (its choice depends on the tonsure, for it is given as a sign that the monk who renounces the world completely submits to the will of the abbot) and puts on a mantle that marks the “betrothal of a great and angelic image”: it has no sleeves, reminding the monk that he should not do the works of the old man; the robe fluttering freely as he walks is likened to the wings of an Angel, in accordance with the monastic image. The monk also puts on the “helmet of salvation” (Isa. 59:17; Eph. 6:17; 1 Thess. 5:8) - a hood: like a warrior covers himself with a helmet, When going to battle, a monk puts on a hood as a sign that he strives to avert his eyes and close his ears so as not to see or hear the vanity of the world.

More strict vows of complete renunciation of the world are pronounced when accepting the great angelic image (Greek: το μεγα αγγελικον σχημα). When tonsured into the great schema, the monk is once again given a new name. The clothes in which the Great Schema monk dresses are partly the same as those worn by the monks of the Lesser Schema: a cassock, a mantle, but instead of a hood, the Great Schema monk puts on a doll: a pointed cap that covers the head and shoulders all around and is decorated with five crosses located on the forehead, on the chest, on both shoulders and on the back. A hieromonk who has accepted the great schema can perform divine services.

A bishop who has been tonsured into the great schema must renounce episcopal power and administration and remain a schema-monk (schema-bishop) until the end of his days.

A deacon (Greek διακονος - minister) does not have the right to independently perform divine services and church sacraments, he is an assistant to the priest and bishop. A deacon can be elevated to the rank of protodeacon or archdeacon.

The rank of archdeacon is extremely rare. It is owned by a deacon who constantly serves His Holiness the Patriarch, as well as deacons of some stauropegic monasteries.

A deacon-monk is called a hierodeacon.

There are also subdeacons, who are assistants to bishops, but are not among the clergy (they belong to the lower degrees of the clergy along with readers and singers).

Presbyter (from the Greek πρεσβυτερος - senior) is a clergyman who has the right to perform church sacraments, with the exception of the sacrament of the Priesthood (ordination), i.e. elevation to holy orders another person.

In the white clergy it is a priest, in monasticism it is a hieromonk. A priest can be elevated to the rank of archpriest and protopresbyter, a hieromonk - to the rank of abbot and archimandrite.

Bishops, also called bishops (from the Greek prefix αρχι - senior, chief), are diocesan and vicar.

The diocesan bishop, by succession of power from the holy Apostles, is the head of the local Church - the diocese, canonically governing it with the conciliar assistance of the clergy and laity. He is elected Holy Synod. Bishops bear a title that usually includes the name of the two cathedral cities of the diocese.

As needed, the Holy Synod appoints suffragan bishops to assist the diocesan bishop, whose title includes the name of only one of the major cities of the diocese.

A bishop may be elevated to the rank of archbishop or metropolitan.

After the establishment of the Patriarchate in Rus', only bishops of some ancient and large dioceses could be metropolitans and archbishops.

Now the rank of metropolitan, just like the rank of archbishop, is only a reward for the bishop, which makes possible appearance even titular metropolitans.

Bishops, as a distinctive sign of their dignity, have a mantle - a long cape fastened at the neck, reminiscent of a monastic robe. In front, on its two front sides, top and bottom, tablets are sewn - rectangular panels made of fabric. The upper tablets usually contain images of evangelists, crosses, and seraphim; on the lower tablet on the right side are the letters: e, a, m or P, meaning the rank of bishop - bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, patriarch; on the left is the first letter of his name.

Only in the Russian Church does the Patriarch wear a green robe, the Metropolitan - blue, archbishops, bishops - purple or dark red.

During Great Lent, members of the episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church wear a black robe. The tradition of using colored bishop's robes in Rus' is quite ancient; an image of the first Russian Patriarch Job in a blue metropolitan robe has been preserved.

Archimandrites have a black mantle with tablets, but without sacred images and letters denoting rank and name. The tablets of archimandrite's robes usually have a smooth red field surrounded by gold braid.

During worship, all bishops use a richly decorated staff, called a rod, which is a symbol of spiritual authority over the flock.

Only the Patriarch has the right to enter the altar of the temple with a staff. The remaining bishops in front of the royal doors give the rod to the subdeacon-co-worker standing behind the service to the right of the royal doors.

According to the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted in 2000 by the Jubilee Council of Bishops, a man of the Orthodox confession at the age of at least 30 years old from among the monastics or unmarried members of the white clergy with mandatory tonsure as a monk can become a bishop.

The tradition of electing bishops from among the monastic ranks developed in Rus' already in the pre-Mongol period. This canonical norm has been preserved in the Russian Orthodox Church to this day, although in a number of Local Orthodox Churches, for example in the Georgian Church, monasticism is not considered a mandatory condition for ordination. bishop's ministry. In the Church of Constantinople, on the contrary, a person who has accepted monasticism cannot become a bishop: there is a provision according to which a person who has renounced the world and taken a vow of obedience cannot lead other people.

All hierarchs of the Church of Constantinople are not robed, but robed monks.

Widowed or divorced persons who have become monastics can also become bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. The elected candidate must correspond to the high rank of bishop according to moral qualities and have a theological education.

The diocesan bishop is entrusted with a wide range of responsibilities. He ordains and appoints clergy to their place of service, appoints employees of diocesan institutions and blesses monastic tonsures. Without his consent, not a single decision of the diocesan administration bodies can be implemented.

In his activities, the bishop is accountable to His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The ruling bishops at the local level are authorized representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church before the authorities state power and management.

The first bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church is its Primate, who bears the title - His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and all Rus'. The Patriarch is accountable to the Local and Bishops' Councils. His name is exalted during divine services in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church according to the following formula: “On the Great Lord and Our Father (name), His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.”

A candidate for Patriarch must be a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, have a higher theological education, sufficient experience in diocesan administration, be distinguished by his commitment to canonical law and order, enjoy a good reputation and trust of the hierarchs, clergy and people, “have a good testimony from outsiders” (1 Tim. 3, 7), be at least 40 years old.

The rank of Patriarch is for life. The Patriarch is entrusted with a wide range of responsibilities related to the care of the internal and external welfare of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch and diocesan bishops have a stamp and a round seal with their name and title.

According to paragraph 1U.9 of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' is the diocesan bishop of the Moscow diocese, consisting of the city of Moscow and the Moscow region. In the administration of this diocese, His Holiness the Patriarch is assisted by the Patriarchal Vicar with the rights of a diocesan bishop, with the title of Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna. The territorial boundaries of the administration carried out by the Patriarchal Viceroy are determined by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (currently the Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna manages the churches and monasteries of the Moscow region, minus the stauropegial ones).

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' is also the Holy Archimandrite of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, a number of other monasteries with special historical meaning, and governs all church stauropegia (the word stauropegia is derived from the Greek σταυρος - cross and πηγνυμι - to erect: the cross installed by the Patriarch at the founding of a temple or monastery in any diocese means their inclusion in the Patriarchal jurisdiction).

[Therefore, His Holiness the Patriarch is called the Higumen of stauropegial monasteries (for example, Valaam). Ruling bishops, in relation to their diocesan monasteries, can also be called Holy Archimandrites and Holy Abbots.
In general, it should be noted that the prefix “sacred-” is sometimes added to the name of the rank of clergy (holy archimandrite, holy abbot, holy deacon, holy monk); however, this prefix should not be attached to all words without exception that denote a spiritual title, in particular, to words that are already compound (protodeacon, archpriest).]

His Holiness the Patriarch, in accordance with worldly ideas, is often called the head of the Church. However, according to Orthodox doctrine, the Head of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ; The Patriarch is the Primate of the Church, that is, a bishop who prayerfully stands before God for his entire flock. Often the Patriarch is also called the First Hierarch or High Hierarch, since he is the first in honor among other hierarchs equal to him in grace.

What an Orthodox Christian should know:

THE MOST NEEDED ABOUT THE ORTHODOX FAITH IN CHRIST
Anyone who calls himself a Christian owes everyone Christian spirit accept it completely and without any doubt Symbol of faith and truth.
Accordingly, he must know them firmly, because one cannot accept or not accept what one does not know.
Out of laziness, ignorance or unbelief, one who tramples and rejects the proper knowledge of Orthodox truths cannot be a Christian.

Symbol of faith

The Creed is a brief and precise statement of all the truths of the Christian faith, compiled and approved on the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils. And whoever does not accept these truths can no longer be an Orthodox Christian.
The entire Creed consists of twelve members, and each of them contains a special truth, or, as they also call it, dogma Orthodox faith.

The Creed reads like this:

“Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you;" ()

Sim By Your Word Christ gave people a way to verify the truth of the Christian faith of everyone who calls himself a believing Christian.

If this Word of Christ or otherwise stated in Holy Scripture, you question or try to interpret allegorically - you have not yet accepted truth The Holy Scriptures and you are not yet a Christian.
If, according to your word, the mountains do not move, you have not yet believed enough, and there is not even true Christian faith in your soul. with a mustard seed. With very little faith, you can try to move with your word something much smaller than a mountain - a small hillock or a pile of sand. If this fails, you must make many, many efforts to acquire the faith of Christ, which is still absent in your soul.

Therefore true Word of Christ check Christian faith his priest, so that he does not turn out to be a deceiving servant of the insidious Satan, who does not have the faith of Christ at all and is falsely dressed in the Orthodox cassock.

Christ Himself warned people about many lying church deceivers:

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Beware that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many.” (

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

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

Most high rank in the Church have bishops, receiving highest degree grace. They are also called bishops - heads of priests (that is, priests). Bishops have the right to administer all Sacraments and church services without exception. It is bishops who have the right not only to perform ordinary Divine services, but also to ordain (or ordain) other Orthodox Christians as clergy. Also, bishops, unlike other priests, can consecrate chrism and antimensions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sexton must call the faithful to worship through bell ringing. In addition, they are required to light candles in the temple, assist psalm-readers during singing and reading, serve the censer, and so on.

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

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

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

I. Bishops (bishops) - the highest sacred rank

Bishop - supervising bishop

Archbishop - the most honored bishop

Metropolitan - bishop, head of the metropolis

Vicar - assistant to another bishop or his vicar

The Patriarch is the chief bishop in the Local Church

II. Priests- second sacred rank

The word “priest” has several Greek synonyms:

For white priesthood:

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

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

For black priesthood:

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

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

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

III. Deacon - the lowest sacred rank

For the white priesthood:

1. deacon
2. protodeacon

For the black priesthood:

1. hierodeacon
2. archdeacon

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

Appeal to clergy:

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