Almost every married Orthodox clergyman does not wear wedding rings. This does not show disrespect for the chosen one, with whom he decided to live his whole life in love and unity, but the usual church practice finds embodiment. The fact that the clergyman (deacon or priest) removes the ring after the ordination symbolizes a service to one single God.
The priest is one of those who combines Christ not only in the sacrament of holy baptism, but is also a direct servant of God. The engagement ring, symbolizing the relationship between two people, is removed in a sign that the priest is primarily connected directly with God. In addition, the clergyman is not only a direct servant of the Lord, but also a people who want to find their way to God. At the same time, the wife of the clergyman has every right to wear the ring, since she did not take the priesthood.
In addition, there is a practical reason. The priest is the performer of the sacrament of the Eucharist (communion). It is during the priest's prayer that the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on pre-prepared bread and wine. This divine grace also contributes to the fact that bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. At the same time, in the process of preparing the substance for the sacrament, the priest must ensure that not a single crumb of bread, and then the Body of Christ, disappears. In order to avoid situations when a particle of the Lord’s Body can fall under the ring, the engagement symbol is removed. Not a single crumb of consecrated holy gifts should be lost. This reveals the reverence of the clergyman before the greatest shrine of Orthodoxy.
Thus, it turns out that the priests are not engaging in rings as a sign of full dedication to God, as well as for reverence for the shrine of the Body and Blood of Christ.
