Russian Orthodox Liturgical Resources

Liturgical Handbook
of the Practices of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
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Handbook of Liturgical Practice of the Russian Church Abroad
Liturgical Question:
How is the Bishop’s zhezl (crosier) to be carried by the server appointed for the task?
Handbook Category: Hierarchical Services (index)

Photograph in which the zhezl-bearer can be seen.

The Bishop’s zhezl (crosier) is appointed to be held, carried, and in some cases processed with by a server, rather than the Bishop Himself. In such cases, the server appointed for this tasks always holds the zhezl with both hands (never one), directly in front of him, and slightly elevated so that it is not actually resting on the ground (only the Bishop actually leans upon / walks with the zhezl as a staff; servers carry it).

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.

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