Minor Orders in the Byzantine Rite

[Aramis]

malphono:

The discussion of male altar servers, i.e, those not formally ordained to Minors, prompts me to ask about the Byzantine custom(s), both EC and EO, in that area. Peter? Diak? Anyone?

Lay servers are the norm in the local OCA and AO parishes, and in the Ruthenian Church.
Lay cantors are also extremely common in the above. Women are often permitted to serve as lay cantors.
Lay readers are not uncommon; women are permitted to serve as lay readers, especially in missions.

Lay servers might be in street attire or in sticharion, with a preference for sticharion.
Lay cantors are seldom vested. Choir robes are sometimes seen. if vested, a server’s sticharion is typical from what I’ve seen.

Working up the ordained ranks

Taper-bearer/Candle-bearer: first of the minor orders. Vests in sticharion. May also be permitted the cassock, in which case, it’s worn under the sticharion. Note that the sticharion is usually stitched closed on the sides.

Doorkeeper - no longer used.

Cantor/psalmist/chanter: not present in all jurisdictions. specifically, ordained to chant the psalms. Might not be vested, might not be in cassock. Still used by Old Believers, and they do vest them from what I’ve seen locally.

Reader/Lector: chants the lections, leads the hymns. Buttoned sides on the sticharion, and the cassock is worn when vested. In practice, often given immediately prior to being ordained a subdeacon

Subdeacon. Vests in button-sided cassock, sticharion, and orarion (crossed front and back).

Have a link to Orthodox Wiki:
orthodoxwiki.org/Minor_orders

 

[Nine_Two]

Doorkeeper - no longer used.

Although no longer an official position, many parishes use “Doorkeeper” as the title for what would otherwise be called a Greeter. So one might still encounter the title even though you are correct that the position, as it was, no longer exists.

 

[MonkMoses]

Although no longer an official position, many parishes use “Doorkeeper” as the title for what would otherwise be called a Greeter. So one might still encounter the title even though you are correct that the position, as it was, no longer exists.

The doorkeepers job was to be sure all the catechumens and penitents had left the church, and to bar the doors before the anaphora.

 

[Aramis]

The doorkeepers job was to be sure all the catechumens and penitents had left the church, and to bar the doors before the anaphora.

In the persecution era, it was as much to admit only the faithful and catechumens in the first place. To ensure that those present were not Roman spies. It was a hugely important job for an underground church.

It’s not so important now that anyone may observe the liturgy.

 

[MonkMoses]

In the persecution era, it was as much to admit only the faithful and catechumens in the first place. To ensure that those present were not Roman spies. It was a hugely important job for an underground church.

It’s not so important now that anyone may observe the liturgy.

I’ve been to a Greek Old Calender parish where everyone who was not an Orthodox Christian was asked to leave at the dismissal of the catechumens.