An Ecclesiastial award is an official award, honor or privilege presented by ecclesiastical authority. In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

certain official awards and honours may be bestowed upon members of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...

. Such awards are bestowed either by the ruling bishop under whose jurisdiction the recipient resides, or—in the case of higher awards— by a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

of bishops. When a bishop wishes to confer an ecclesiastical award or honor on a deacon or priest under his jurisdiction, this will normally be accomplished at the Little Entrance of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ...

. At the end of the Third Antiphon (normally the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mir ...

), the procession with the Gospel Book will halt at the bishop's cathedra (episcopal throne). The clergyman who is to receive the award will be presented to the bishop, the protodeacon will remove the bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

, the bishop will lay his hand upon the head of the clergyman and say the prayer proper to that particular award. He will then confer the award and the people will exclaim, " Axios! Axios! Axios!" as an expression of their acknowledgment of the clergyman's worthiness for the award, similar to applause at a secular awards ceremony. Awards differ according to the rank of the individual honored, and will vary among the ecclesiastical

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

s. Awards granted to bishops and the higher awards to priests are often reserved to begin conferred by a synod of bishops. :Bishops *Second

panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

(every bishop wears one) *

Mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

with cross (in the Russian tradition, only an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

or above would have a cross on top of his mitre, unless he was awarded the privilege by the synod) :Priests *mitre * Pectoral cross: **Jewelled cross **Gold cross **Silver cross *

Epigonation The epigonation (Greek: , literally meaning "over the knee"), or palitza (Russian: , "club"), is a vestment used in some Eastern Christian churches. Description and usage In Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzant ...

Nabedrennik A nabedrennik (Church Slavonic: набедренникъ, "on the thigh") is a vestment worn by some Russian Orthodox priests. It is a square or rectangular cloth. Like the epigonation, it is worn at the right hip, suspended from a strap attach ...

*Purple

kamilavka A kalimavkion ( el, καλυμμαύχιον), kalymmavchi (καλυμμαύχι), or, by metathesis of the word's internal syllables, kamilavka (russian: камилавка), is a clerical headdress worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catho ...

*Purple

skufia A (also , or ; el, σκούφια or ) is an item of clerical clothing, a cap, worn by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monastics (in which case it is black) or awarded to clergy as a mark of honor (in which case it is usually red or pur ...

:Deacons *Doubled

orarion The Orarion (Greek: ; Slavonic: орарь, ''orar'') is the distinguishing vestment of the deacon and subdeacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches. It is a narrow stole, usually four t ...

*Purple or Red kamiavka * Dmitry Medvedev receives the Saint Sava award from Serbian Orthodox Church

:Laity *

Chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval conc ...

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

*''Gramota'' (official letter of recognition) Some of these awards have their origin in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

, others developed later. During the reign of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

these awards came to be tied to the stipend which was paid to clergymen.

See also