Subdeacons

[katherineofdixie]

They are utterly useless.  done.   

We're the bishop's flunkies I was told. 

My husband refers to himself as a liturgical potted plant, or Chief Censer Holder.

[Alpo]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

How recent that custom is?

[podkarpatska]

They are utterly useless.  done.  

We're the bishop's flunkies I was told.  

My husband refers to himself as a liturgical potted plant, or Chief Censer Holder.

My late father used to refer to sub-deacons as 'glorified (he didn't mean elevated to Sainthood either! lol) altar boys.' He would always chuckle at the memory of a headline in the Buffalo, NY paper following a huge pan-Orthodox liturgy during world war two which was attended by several thousand at the local concert hall during which several Greek altar boys were made sub-deacons by the then Archbishop Athenagoras. My dad was a newly ordained priest at the time and he remembered it well. The service was long, it was a hot summer Sunday and two of the about to be newly minted sub-deacons passed out at the critical moment. The headline ran: "Would-be Clerics Faint during Lengthy Service." Oh well....

[Joseph Hazen]

I'm just a Reader (which I too refer to as "a glorified altar boy"  ) but I pretty regularly set up the altar for feasts, ironing the altar linens and putting them on the altar and preparation tables, changing out the candles, etc. My priest told me he gave me an 'official' blessing to do so. I still, though, have to use only the Deacon doors. I just judge the straightness of the altar table cloth as best I can from the sides.

[Michał Kalina]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

How recent that custom is?

No idea.

[Punch]

I'm just a Reader (which I too refer to as "a glorified altar boy"  ) but I pretty regularly set up the altar for feasts, ironing the altar linens and putting them on the altar and preparation tables, changing out the candles, etc. My priest told me he gave me an 'official' blessing to do so. I still, though, have to use only the Deacon doors. I just judge the straightness of the altar table cloth as best I can from the sides.

Same here.  My priest tried to get me ordained as a Sub-deacon because I was doing all this anyway.  The Bishop tonsured me a Reader and did not seem to express any objection to me continuing what I was doing with the Priest's blessing.

[username!]

I'm just a Reader (which I too refer to as "a glorified altar boy"  ) but I pretty regularly set up the altar for feasts, ironing the altar linens and putting them on the altar and preparation tables, changing out the candles, etc. My priest told me he gave me an 'official' blessing to do so. I still, though, have to use only the Deacon doors. I just judge the straightness of the altar table cloth as best I can from the sides.

your priest may have "gave you his blessing" but try it in front of the bishop.  Just sayin' not everything priests let altar helpers do is exactly what the bishop would do.  And for priests its easy to get away with because the bishop doesn't come around that often to many parishes.

[username!]

I'm just a Reader (which I too refer to as "a glorified altar boy"  ) but I pretty regularly set up the altar for feasts, ironing the altar linens and putting them on the altar and preparation tables, changing out the candles, etc. My priest told me he gave me an 'official' blessing to do so. I still, though, have to use only the Deacon doors. I just judge the straightness of the altar table cloth as best I can from the sides.

Same here.  My priest tried to get me ordained as a Sub-deacon because I was doing all this anyway.  The Bishop tonsured me a Reader and did not seem to express any objection to me continuing what I was doing with the Priest's blessing.

In my experience the bishop may have been cool that time but have him pop in and catch ya doing it. If you have spent time with a rule bending priest who makes up his own liturgics and introduces latin bits and pieces on purpose during certain feasts and makes up his own words when reading the gospel, singles out people not-so-subtly in his homilies, screams at congregants, talks down to them and then hides in the altar and on and on then you would understand my dislike for "rule bending".  I wish the bishop would stop by for a weekend.  One hasn't visited in my estimation since 1996.

[Antonis]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

Same here. I refill the oil in the lamps, place/remove icons from under the altar, etc.

[Alpo]

They are utterly useless.  done.  

No, they aren't. Subdeaconhood can be included in Facebook and OC.net usernames and profiles. That makes posts a lot more convincing.

[Cyrillic]

They are utterly useless.  done.  

No, they aren't. Subdeaconhood can be included in Facebook and OC.net usernames and profiles. That makes posts a lot more convincing.

 

[Michał Kalina]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

Same here. I refill the oil in the lamps, place/remove icons from under the altar, etc.

It looks like I meant table of preparation...

[Marc1152]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

Same here. I refill the oil in the lamps, place/remove icons from under the altar, etc.

It looks like I meant table of preparation...

Right..In Rocor we can fill lamps and putter around the table of preparation but can not touch the Altar Table

[Antonis]

You can't;
touch the altar or proskomedia table

In this part of the world altar servers can touch sacrifice table.

Same here. I refill the oil in the lamps, place/remove icons from under the altar, etc.

It looks like I meant table of preparation...

Ah! I'm sorry! That as well, though the only real reason I've had to touch it was to place the zeon there.

[Thomas]

I am a subdeacon and have served in both ROCOR and Antiochian parishes as I moved around the country.

A Subdeacon's primary role is to serve as an assistant to the Bishop when he visits a parish, to assist him in robing and disrobing, provide him the symbols of his office and assist him by  holding the Dikirion (Greek: δικήριον or δίκηρον) and trikirion (τρικήριον or τρίκηρον) or liturgical candlesticks, used by a bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Churches to bless the clergy and faithful. Our placement is so  the bishop need only hold out his hands and the candles are there for his use and  our hands are there to received them and return them to the altar. We also position and remove the orlet  or eagle carpet that the bishop stands on when he blesses the people or gives his sermon. Inside the altar the subdeacon is basically at the bishops beckon and call for what ever the bishop wishes to be done. After the service I usually follow the bishop and assist him during the visit by getting his food, holding down the flood of those seeking to crush him as they seek his blessing etc. In ROCOR , I was assigned a retired bishop to assist  at Liturgies that he was present in but not serving. As many  Bishops are elderly, often the subdeacon assists them up and down stairs by offering them a steady arm or a hand and assures that they do not trip or fall injuring themselves.

When the bishop is not present I serve as a senior altar service, train new altar boys, monitor  the behavior of the boys behind the altar to assure respect and humble behavior is exhibited during the liturgical services. After wards I assist in the clean up of the Holy place assuring dust and candle spills are taken care of properly. At the end of the service I lead the prayers after communion for the congregation (a pious practice peculiar to my current parish). I also am the Catechumen Director in my parish and assist the inquirers and catechumen in meeting requirements that will lead to their baptism/chrismation.

[serb1389]

They are utterly useless.  done.  

No, they aren't. Subdeaconhood can be included in Facebook and OC.net usernames and profiles. That makes posts a lot more convincing.

whatever helps you sleep at night.   

[Dominika]

Altar serves wearing subdeacon's vestment And he's so little guy...

[podkarpatska]

^ Ha ha...I've written about the boys fainting in 1944 at a pan-Orthodox Liturgy my dad participated in at Buffalo, NY. The headline read ' Would be Clerics Faint during four hour service.'   

[Michał Kalina]

LOL.

[Mor Ephrem]

Altar serves wearing subdeacon's vestment And he's so little guy...

I'm more curious about the chain the deacon is wearing over his vestments...

[Michał Kalina]

I'm more curious about the chain the deacon is wearing over his vestments...

LOL

Panagia?

[frjohnmorris]

From how I understand it, traditionally there isn't an altar boy role. Rather, altar boys are assumed to be readers/subdeacons in training.

I know in the Antiochian parish I visit every so often, their altar boys are all dressed as subdeacons. However, their Bishop ordains some of them and allows them to get married after.

Yet in the OCA, or at least under our Bishop, and traditionally, you must be married prior to being made a subdeacon.

If there is just one subdeacon among several altar servers, he may act as sacristan.

The only difference between the vestments of an altar server and a sub-deacon is that the sub-deacon crosses his orarion over his chest. An altar server wears is straight, so what you thought were sub-deacons were probably altar servers. However, they are still blessed by the Bishop to the minor order of candle bearer.

[frjohnmorris]

They are utterly useless.  done.   

We may be the only Orthodox who do it, but a sub-deacon can chant the Great Litany and the two Little Litanies during the Divine Liturgy. It is always a very good idea to have a sub-deacon or other adult in the Altar to watch the Altar Boys and make them behave.

[Michał Kalina]

The only difference between the vestments of an altar server and a sub-deacon is that the sub-deacon crosses his orarion over his chest. An altar server wears is straight, so what you thought were sub-deacons were probably altar servers. However, they are still blessed by the Bishop to the minor order of candle bearer.

Russian tradition does not use orarions for servers.

[Alpo]

Altar serves wearing subdeacon's vestment And he's so little guy...

I'm more curious about the chain the deacon is wearing over his vestments...

I'm even more curious about moustache of the hierarch. That kind of moustache should be obligatory for every clergyman.

[frjohnmorris]

The only difference between the vestments of an altar server and a sub-deacon is that the sub-deacon crosses his orarion over his chest. An altar server wears is straight, so what you thought were sub-deacons were probably altar servers. However, they are still blessed by the Bishop to the minor order of candle bearer.

Russian tradition does not use orarions for servers.

Actually, I don't either because the boys get them all tangled up or they fall off, but it is part of the Antiochian tradition.

Fr. John

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