by Brent Kostyniuk
Each time we participate in the Divine Liturgy, we pray the Nicene Creed, the profession of our Faith, our faith in the Triune God, our faith in the Church and our faith in the next world. Among the articles we profess are the marks or signs of the Church—one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. By apostolic, we mean there is a direct succession from the Apostles to the clergy who serve. Of those clerics, we are most familiar with the major orders: deacon, priest, and bishop. Along with these, however, are the lesser known minor orders.
According to paragraph 498 of Christ Our Pascha,
Besides the hierarchical ministry, the Church also established other ministries. The established ranks of these are: candle-bearer, lector or singer (cantor), and subdeacon. These individuals are all called ministers of the Church. Those who have received ordination to a lower order and have attained perfection in that ministry may be ordained into a higher order. Each of the orders is an expression of the variety of gifts of the Holy Spirit for service in the Church.
Both major and minor orders are conferred by ordination, that process which ensures apostolic succession. Christ Our Pascha explains this more fully in article 295:
In the Church, the successors of the apostles are the bishops. Through them is handed on the apostolic inheritance – saving grace and the true faith. It is accomplished through the hierarchical imposition of hands (in Greek, cheirotonia). “The apostles … according to the successions of the bishops … have handed down the Church.” The role, and indeed the existence, of minor orders in the sui iuris Eastern Churches is governed by each Church’s own particular law.
In the Latin Catholic Church, the traditional four minor orders were acolyte, exorcist, lector, and porter, in descending sequence. Following reforms of Vatican II, since 1972 the minor orders have been referred to as ministries. This change reflects the fact that these are no longer conferred through ordination but by a blessing. Of the original four orders, only those of lector and acolyte are now in common use.
In 1996, the Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches was put forth by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches. The Instruction provides guidance for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, as well as the Holy Mysteries and sacramentals. It also refers to the role of the minor orders:
The minor Orders and the diaconate are not mere formalities in preparation for presbyterial ordination. They provide a specific service in the Church, and as such are to be effectively exercised in a definitive way by those who do not intend to enter the presbyterate, and in a sufficiently ample way by those who are to be ordained presbyters. This is especially valid for the diaconate. In this sense, misgivings should not be had toward conferring minor Orders and even the diaconate on those who comport themselves well, are suitable and appropriately prepared for the responsibility they assume, and declare themselves available for the service of the Church… (Section 75)
The Instruction stresses that the ancient practice of minor Orders is to be maintained, and where it has been lost, it is to be revived to “greater significance and vitality.” For example, the subdeacon serves as servant to the bishop during hierarchical services performing such duties as vesting him and looking after and presenting the trikeri and dikeri—the triple and double candles of the bishop. Outside of hierarchical services, the subdeacon serves at the altar as any other server.
In the matter of distribution of the Eucharist, the Instruction refers back to the Canons of the Particular Law of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which states:
Can. 709 § 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches establishes that it is the responsibility of the priest to distribute the Eucharist, or also the deacon if the particular law of the Church sui iuris so disposes. The subsequent paragraph grants the right to the Synod of Bishops of the patriarchal Church, or to the Council of Hierarchs, to establish norms by which other Christian faithful can also distribute the Eucharist.
Protodeacon David Kennedy has commented on this section o the Instruction:
Only the Synod of Bishops in the UGCC has the authority to grant a faculty to subdeacons, readers, or the laity to distribute the Divine Eucharist. The Synod of Bishops in the UGCC has not granted such a faculty to subdeacons and therefore, it is illicit and a liturgical abuse for subdeacons to distribute the Divine Eucharist in the UGCC.
However, prior to publication of the Instruction a development took place which saw minor Orders distributing the Eucharist in St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic parish in Edmonton. At the time, it was not uncommon for upwards of 400 communicants to present themselves at a single Divine Liturgy. The situation made it virtually impossible for the available priests to perform their duties. Clearly, some additional help was required. The question was what form would that assistance take? How could help be provided in a timely manner? Finally, what form could this ministry take which would maintain a standard of dignity for distribution of the Eucharist?
The solution came March 1987 when Bishop Demetrius Greschuk ordained 12 men of the parish as lectors. Prior to ordination, these men took weekly classes in theology and church history. They were also schooled in their future liturgical functions. Their main duties were to read the Epistle and distribute the Eucharist. As well, they would assist the priest during Divine Liturgy as required. The new lectors were vested in cassocks and stikharia, similar to the vestments of the young altar servers. The choice of vestments was made so the laity would understand the lectors had, in fact, been ordained to a minor Order, yet could not be in any way confused with a priest. In the years to follow, more lectors were ordained at St. Basil and in Ukrainian Catholic parishes across Canada. It was hoped that the lectors would continue their studies and eventually be ordained as subdeacons or deacons. To date that has not happened, although one lector has been ordained to the priesthood.
Although only a small step towards the revival of minor Orders in the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada, lectors continue to serve their original role and, perhaps, help clergy and laity appreciate the richness of our Byzantine liturgical tradition.
