The priests are the ministers of the Church who are dressed in the holy dignity. In the Orthodox Christian tradition, there are three degrees of priesthood.
All Orthodox clergy can be divided into three groups according to the degree of worship. The first rite of worship is deaconess, the second is the priesthood, and the third is the bishopric.
Deaconess is the lowest level in the Orthodox clergy. However, do not assume that this determines the unnecessary deacons in the Church. Deacons are the priest's chief assistants in the performance of the sacraments. Decorate with their participation church services. Most of the exclamations in the service are assigned to deacons.
The priesthood is perhaps the largest group of Orthodox clergy. Unlike deacons, priests have the right to perform all the sacraments themselves, except ordination to the priesthood. Priests are otherwise called priests. They are considered the shepherds of the people; they have the duty to preach Christian truths and the foundations of the doctrine.
The highest level of the Orthodox clergy is the bishopric. The bishop is the head of the earthly Church. The patriarch himself is the first bishop among equals. Bishops manage the church areas (districts) entrusted to them by the patriarch. The latter in the Christian tradition are called dioceses. Therefore, bishops can be otherwise called diocesan bishops.
Bishops have the right not only to perform the sacraments, but also to ordain priests and deacons to the priesthood. It should be noted that only those priests who have monastic tonsure are ordained to the rank of bishop.
