Russian Orthodox Liturgical Resources

Liturgical Handbook
of the Practices of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
Return to Handbook IndexРусская версия
Handbook of Liturgical Practice of the Russian Church Abroad
Liturgical Question:
During the Little Entrance of a Hierarchical Liturgy, do the clergy and servers destined to stand on the right side of the Bishop cross in front of him, or behind?
Handbook Category: Hierarchical Services (index)

While it has become commonplace in some other traditions for the procession of the Little Entrance to divide, with some walking out of the Altar and standing in a column to the Bishop’s left and others breaking away and crossing in front of the Bishop to form a column on his right, this practice is a novelty and wholly foreign to the practices of the Church Abroad.

During the Little Entrance, all clergy and servers exit the Altar by the north door, and process towards the cathedra. Those who will stand on the Bishop’s left stop once they reach their place; those for the right continue to process around the cathedra, behind the Bishop, and take up their places on his right. Once all are in place on both sides, all ranks bow to the East, cross themselves, bow to the Bishop, and then face each other in their ranks.

Back to Handbook Main

This is an entry from our Liturgical Handbook of the practices of the Church Abroad. Please see the full handbook for more than 100 entries on other topics.

Ask a Question

Do you have a liturgical question that isn’t covered in the Handbook? You can submit your liturgical question here, for a reply from the Diocese.

Liturgical Resources

Full resoures on the liturgical heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad

Visit

Altar Servers

'To Serve in My Father's House': a primer on the spiritual nature of service in the Altar

Read