Russian Catholic Ordinations

Attached are some photos of the Services of Placing-of-Hands (ordinations) to reader, subdeacon and deacon and Divine Liturgy from last Sunday, 16 December 2012, the festival day of Holy Prophet Zephanias, in case these are of interest to NLM readership.

The ordinations were served at Holy Trinity-St Nicholas Russian Catholic Church in St Kilda East, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

The ordaining hierarch was the Most Reverend Robert (Rabbat), Melkite Eparch of Australia and New Zealand, who ordained under dimissorial letters issued by the Most Reverend Denis Hart, Metropolitan of Melbourne (who currently has hierarchical care of Russian Greek-Catholics in Melbourne).

Of perhaps more particular liturgical interest: one photo shows the felonets (short phelonion) that is worn by readers briefly during their ordination (the only other use of the vestment being by altar-servers in the Old Believer churches - visible also in the video last Thursday). Another shows the blessing of the deacon to wear the ryasa (outer cassock).

Before the vesting of the hierarch

Ordination of Reader

Before Ordination to the Subdiaconate

New subdeacon holds ewer and basin at beginning of the Divine Liturgy

Diaconal ordination

Bishop blesses ryasa for deacon
Photo credits: Shaun Harper