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Dear Fr. mark,

Of course, the choriepiskopi (country bishops) were permitted to tonsure and ordain up through subdeacon, according to the sacred canons. So, one must be interpreting the archpriest to serve the same role. That's logical enough. It seems especially fitting for abbots to have that authority and responsibility, but I'm not altogether comfortable with giving it in general to most archpriests. Perhaps those who are mitred or are protopresbyters or chancellors of a diocese?

I also like antiphonal male/female choirs, but I find them ever so rarely. The closest that one may find in parishes in Philadelphia may be Byzantine Choral music where the women sing the melody and the men carry the eison.

I have to agree that the authority to assign readings for a service always falls to the celebrant, whether or not tonsured readers are present. I have always been obedient to that authority, even when I felt it had been excercised most nonjudiciously. (Yes, you guessed corectly, I am a tenor!)

However, in my practical experience, by default, for good or for bad, the decision often falls to the tonsured reader or psalti.

In Christ,
Andrew

Dear C4C I am a subdeacon. I know that the Eparchy of Toronto (Ukrainian Catholic) has a minor order formation program for those who heed the call to a minor order and not the diaconate. The Instruction from Rome for applying the liturgical prescriptions of the Eastern Code of Canons encourages the restoration of minor orders in all Eastern Catholic churches.

In current practice readers are not tonsured in most Greek Catholic parishes nor in many Orthodox parishes. I think it is a wonderful part of the Byzantine tradition to be set aside through chierotesia to minor orders. I think many of the current Greek Catholic hierarchs would be happy to tonsure readers with the recommendation of the pastor. You never know unless you ask.

Although the particular Code of Cannons for the Eastern Churches and the recommendations of the Oriental Congregation for the Eastern Churches publications on the issues of minor orders, our Ruthenian hierarchs appear retiscent to restore the minor orders in the parishes. The undertone of clericalism in our churches seems to permiate into the idea of restoration of the minor orders. The idea that minor orders initiates individuals in the the "ranks of the clergy" begs the question of "formation" in the more formal sense. This may be viewed as a necessary uniformity that our churches seem to be leaning toward. The minor orders traditionally received their formation at the parish level because their service was to that parish. This however, does not appear to be being considered as an option. Therefor, I submit that our bishops are NOT open to ordaining men to the minor orders at this time.

At St. Georges in Birmingham we do have Readers who are set aside with the minor orders.

Rose

Athanasius, have you asked any bishops about minor orders lately in person? Since there is at least one Greek Catholic subdiaconate/minor order program (Toronto) one would think at least a few bishops are amenable.

Abbots would only ordain their own monks to the minor orders and not members of the laity. This is still the practice in the Latin church today. Of course since Vastican II they are no longer called Minor orders but Ministeries. So I suppose it is OK for a Bishop to delegate to an Archpriest if there is a need and he cant possibly be there to do the service himself.

Paul Power, Melbourne, Australia