On Sunday, September 14, His Excellency Peter Rusnák, Bishop of Bratislava in Slovakia, celebrated a hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross for the titular feast, and conferred the tonsure and the orders of Acolyte, Lector and Subdeacon on Dr Andrej Skoviera. The
website of the Eparchy of Bratislava has posted two large photogalleries of the event, which you can see
here and
here. (The automatic translator on the Chrome web-browser seems to do reasonably well with Slovakian.) Our congratulations to Dr Skoviera and the Eparchy of Bratislava - многаѧ и благаѧ лѣта!!
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| In the Byzantine tradition, the three orders of Acolyte, Lector and Subdeacon are often conferred at the same ceremony. Here the bishop gives the ordinand a candle as part of the rite of ordaining an Acolyte. |
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| The newly made Lector sings a lesson as part of the Ordination ritual, apart from that of the Divine Liturgy. |
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| Tonsure |
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| Byzantine Subdeacons wear a stole crossed over the back on top of the sticharion, the garment common to all those who serve a Divine Liturgy, as seen here. |
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| The Entrance with the Gospel book |
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| At a subdiaconal ordination, the subdeacon wears the towel for drying the bishop’s hands at the Lavabo on his head for a good portion of the ceremony. |
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| The singing of the Gospel |
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| Ministering the hot water which is mixed into the Sacred Chalice before Communion |
