An Ecclesiastial award is an official award, honor or

privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...

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 vi ...

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 t ...

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 layperson ...

. Such awards are bestowed either by the

ruling bishop An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

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 ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

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 of C ...

. At the end of the Third Antiphon (normally the Beatitudes), 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 Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usag ...

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 t ...

, 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. Ju ...

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 (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 t ...

with cross (in the Russian tradition, only an archbishop 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 * Nabedrennik *Purple kamilavka *Purple skufia :Deacons *Doubled orarion *Purple or Red kamiavka * Dmitry Medvedev receives the Saint Sava award from Serbian Orthodox Church

Dmitry Medvedev receives the Saint Sava award from Serbian Orthodox Church

:Laity * Chivalric order or medal *''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 Constantin ...

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

, others developed later. During the reign of Catherine the Great these awards came to be tied to the stipend which was paid to clergymen.

See also