Russian Orthodox Liturgical Resources

Handbook of Liturgical Practice of the Russian Church Abroad

Liturgical Question:

Here the liturgical custom of the Church Abroad differs from what is found in other parts of the Russian Orthodox world. There are two forms of what takes place, depending on whether the service includes a serving Deacon or not:

The customary form, when the Bishop is served by both a Priest and a Deacon: While in many other places the senior Priest audibly pronounces a commemoration of the serving Bishop, in our pratice the Senior Priest silently says this while the Bishop is making his commemoration of the broader Hierarchy; and after the Bishop has concluded (‘…rightly to define the word of Thy truth’), the senior Priest approaches him without making any audible exclamation, and quietly says to the Bishop, privately, ‘The Lord God remember thine episcopacy…’, while kissing the Bishop’s hand, the icon of the Theotokos on his mitre, and then his hand a second time. He then returns to his place. It is the Deacon who makes the audible commemoration of the serving Bishop in his extended prayer that takes place at precisely this point.

The form used when the Bishop is served by a Priest alone, without a Deacon: The only time that a Priest audibly pronounces the commemoration of the Bishop at this location, is if he serves with a Bishop but without a Deacon. In this case, as soon as the Bishop has finished his exclamation (‘…rightly to define the word of Thy truth’), before the choir responds, the senior Priest pronounces aloud the commemoration (‘Remember, O Lord, His Grace, our Bishop, N., granting him for Thy holy Church in peace, safety, honor, health, and length of days, rightly to define the word of Thy truth’); and then, as the choir responds, he approaches the Bishop, kisses his hand, the icon of the Theotokos on his mitre, and then his hand a second time. He then returns to his place.