Thanks. Having never knowingly been to a Divine Liturgy with ordained subdeacons, I had no idea who is truly responsible for what. I thought you were implying that the items I mentioned were neither required or desired.
Actually the Ordo Celebrationis recognizes and allows there will be non-cleric servers, allows them to enter the altar, and expects them to be vested in sticharion. It is true that it assumes they are positioned outside the iconostas to the left or right but directs that for entrances or when the priest needs the censer or the teplota they enter via the deacon's doors. It remands the opening and closing of Royal Doors and curtains to the priest.
In actual practice I have never seen a Byzantine parish, Catholic or Orthodox that made the servers stand outside the iconostas.
My parish in Phoenix is constucted so that there is a space next to the iconostasis where the altar servers stand. It is not in the altar area or sanctuary. Really, it is a part of the church proper. There is a clear indication because of architechture (designed this way purposely) where the sanctuary starts from this room. We don't enter unless necessary. In truth, most temples I have been in are not constructed with a place for the servers to stand, so they usually are in the sanctuary. I have seen this in both Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, but I wonder if this (whether practice or not) is the 'tradition'.
As for the censor and zeon, it is true that it is handled more than likely by an altar server however, the abundance of subdeacons would altogether end this practice.
If you find that disturbing, I suggest that you take a look at this video, I have to say though, that the Eastern priests did not seem to participate actively:
Notice also the mixing of liturgical vestments of different rites.
Oh, dear! If you look carefully you'll see that they didn't participate, they were just present - they were immensely bored, yawning. Could it be that they went on an anthropological field-research?
As an altar server, I am shocked that they have allowed this. Yet, I know of a Melkite mission in Seattle where this happened. I pray that it is not still happening.
It's not.
I do tend to think that resistance to female servers is a bit overdone, but I'm all for maintaining such traditions when it proves healthy to do so.
That's good to hear. I did see Abouna at the convention. I hope to make it out to the Seattle mission sometime. The 2010 or 2011 Melkite convention is going to be hosted, God-Willing, by the Seattle mission.
As for female altar servers and the resistance being overdone, I don't have to tell you that there are so many things that people can be doing for the Church. The laity has so many responsibilites that they should take care of. Being an altar server or reading the epistle is not really a pressing need. The Church can always find someone. However, they aren't that necessary. What we do need from a clerical position is more men beiong ordained to serve the Church. What we need from the Laity is to show up and to take care of the numerous other non-ordained functions. We need catechists, cleaners, people who feed the poor, members on the parish council, men and women who support the church, people to run the festivals and agape meals, ect. There is so many more important things.
That's good to hear. I did see Abouna at the convention. I hope to make it out to the Seattle mission sometime. The 2010 or 2011 Melkite convention is going to be hosted, God-Willing, by the Seattle mission.
As for female altar servers and the resistance being overdone, I don't have to tell you that there are so many things that people can be doing for the Church. The laity has so many responsibilites that they should take care of. Being an altar server or reading the epistle is not really a pressing need. The Church can always find someone. However, they aren't that necessary. What we do need from a clerical position is more men beiong ordained to serve the Church. What we need from the Laity is to show up and to take care of the numerous other non-ordained functions. We need catechists, cleaners, people who feed the poor, members on the parish council, men and women who support the church, people to run the festivals and agape meals, ect. There is so many more important things.
I agree completely that there are more important things. It has nothing to do with the importance of the role, but the disproportionate uproar that occurs over a few women/girls serving in the role.
I agree completely that there are more important things. It has nothing to do with the importance of the role, but the disproportionate uproar that occurs over a few women/girls that insist on or are "pushed" into serving in the role.
Everything is important within its own contextual sphere.
That said, the unbroken Apostolic Tradition that reserves service at the altar to males alone must be maintained in the face of modernist reinterpretations of the Church's liturgical tradition.
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