HOW-TO: Addressing the Clergy, Clergy Wives, and Monastics in Person, by Phone, via Written Correspondence, et al.

[Диакон Николай Станошек]

HOW-TO: Addressing Orthodox Clergy and Monastics
Adapted from Priest David Cownie and Presbytera Juliana Cownie's "A Guide to Orthodox Life".

The following is a guide for properly addressing Orthodox clergy. While the titles may not exactly correspond to the terms used in Greek, Russian, or the other native languages of the national Orthodox Churches, they have been widely accepted as the traditional English usages.

Greeting Clergy in Person

When we address Deacons or Priests, we should use the title "Father." When we approach an Orthodox Presbyter or Bishop (if a monastic: first make a bow by reaching down and touching the floor with our right hand) place your right hand over the left (palms upward), and say: "Father, Bless" ("Master, Bless", "Vladyka [Vlá—dee—ka], Bless" or "Bless, Despota [Thés—po—ta]" for a bishop). The Clergyman then answers, "May the Lord bless you," blesses us with the Sign of the Cross, and places his right hand in our hands. We kiss then his hand.

We should understand that when the Priest or Bishop blesses us, he forms his fingers to represent the Christogram "ICXC" a traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for "Jesus Christ" ( i.e., the first and last letters of each of the words "IHCOYC XRICTOC"). Thus, the Priest's blessing is in the Name of Christ, as he emphasizes in his response to the believer's request for a blessing. We should also note that the reason that a layperson kisses the hand of a Priest or Bishop is to show respect to his Apostolic office. More importantly, however, since both hold the Holy Mysteries in their hands during the Divine Liturgy, we show respect to the Holy Eucharist when we kiss their hands. In fact, Saint John Chrysostomos once said that if one were to meet an Orthodox Priest walking along with an Angel, that he should greet the Priest first and kiss his hand, since that hand has touched the Body and Blood of our Lord. While a Deacon in the Orthodox Church holds the first level of the Priesthood (Deacon -> Presbyter -> Bishop); his service does not entail blessing the Mysteries. [1] For this latter reason, many do not normally kiss the hand of a Deacon. When we take leave of a Priest or Bishop, we should again ask for a blessing, just as we did when we first greeted him.

Greeting Clergy Wives

In the case of married clergy, the wife of a Priest or Deacon is also informally addressed with a title. Since the Mystery of Marriage binds a Priest and his wife together as "one flesh," [2] the wife shares in a sense her husband's Priesthood. This does not, of course, mean that she has the very Grace of the Priesthood nor its office, but the dignity of her husband's service certainly accrues to her. [3] The various titles used by the national Churches are listed below:

• Greek: Presbytera [Pres—vee—té—ra]
• Russian: Matushka [Má—toosh—ka]
• Serbian: Papadiya [Pa—pá—dee—ya]
• Ukrainian: Panimat(ush)ka [Pa—nee—mát(—toosh)—ka]
• Syrian: Khouria [Hou-ree-ya]

The wife of a Deacon is called "Diakonissa [Thee—a—kó—nees—sa]" in Greek. The Slavic Churches commonly use the same title for the wife of a Deacon as they do for the wife of a Priest ( i.e. Matushka). In any case, the wife of a Deacon or Priest should normally be addressed with both her title and her Baptismal name in informal situations (e.g., "Presbytera Ioanna," "Matushka Maria," "Diakonissa Helena," etc.).

Greeting Clergy on the Telephone

Whenever you speak to Orthodox clergy of the rank of priest or higher, you should always begin your conversation by asking for a blessing: "Father, bless." When speaking with a Bishop, you should say "Bless, Despota [Thés—po—ta]" (or "Vladyka [Vlá—dee—ka], Bless" in Slavonic, "Master, Bless" in English. It is also appropriate to say, "Bless, Your Grace" (or "Your Eminence", etc.). Though all Bishops are equal in the Orthodox Church, they do have different administrative duties and honors that accrue to their rank in this sense. Thus, "Your Eminence" is the proper title for Bishops with suffragans or assistant Bishops, Metropolitans, and most Archbishops (among the exceptions to this rule is the Archbishop of Athens and some First-Hierarchs of Slavic Churches, who are addressed as "Your Beatitude"). You should end your conversation by asking for a blessing again.

Addressing Clergy in a Letter

When we write to a clergyman, we should open our letter with the greeting, "Father, Bless" At the end of the letter, it is customary to close with the following line: "Kissing your right hand," It is not appropriate to invoke a blessing on a clergyman, such as: "May God bless you." Not only does this show a certain spiritual arrogance before the image of the cleric, but laymen do not have the Grace of the Priesthood and the prerogative to bless in their stead. Even a Priest properly introduces his letters with the words, "The blessing of the Lord" or "May God bless you," rather than offering his own blessing. Though he can do the latter, humility prevails in his behavior, too. Needless to say, when a clergyman writes to his ecclesiastical superior, he should ask for a blessing and not bestow one. Clergymen of the same office (Deacon, Presbyter, Bishop) greet one another with "Christ is in our midst!" and respond to this greeting with, "He is and ever shall be!".

Formal Letter Address

Deacons in the Orthodox Church are addressed in formal letters as "The Reverend Deacon," if they are not monastic Deacons. If they are Deacons who are also monks, they are addressed as "The Reverend Hierodeacon." If a Deacon holds the honor of Archdeacon or Protodeacon, he is addressed as "The Very Reverend Archdeacon/Protodeacon." Deacons hold a rank in the Priesthood and are, therefore, not laymen as subdeacons and readers are. As members of the Priesthood, Deacons should be addressed, as noted above, as "Father".

Orthodox Priests are addressed in formal letters as "The Reverend Priest," if they are not monastics. If they are Hieromonks (monks who are also Priests), they are addressed as "The Reverend Hieromonk." Priests with special honors are addressed in this manner: an Archimandrite (the highest monastic rank below that of Bishop), "The Very Reverend Archimandrite" (or, in some Slavic jurisdictions, "The Right Reverend Archimandrite"); and Archpriests or Protopresbyters, "The Very Reverend Archpriest/Protopresbyter." In personal address, as we noted above, all Deacons and Priests are called "Father," usually followed by their Baptismal/Monastic names ( e.g., "Father Anastasios").

Bishops in the Orthodox Church are addressed in formal letters as "The Right Reverend Bishop," followed by their first name in all caps ( e.g., "The Right Reverend Bishop JOHN"). Archbishops and Metropolitans are addressed as "The Most Reverend Archbishop/Metropolitan". All ranks of Archpastors (Bishops, Archbishops, Metropolitans), because they are also monastics, are addressed by their first name or first name and sees ( e.g., "Bishop JOHN of Chicago"). It is not correct to use the last name of a Bishop — or any monastic for that matter. Though many monastics and Bishops use their family names, even in Orthodox countries like Russia and Greece, this is absolutely improper and a violation of an ancient Church custom.

Addressing a Monastic in a Formal Letter

All male monastics in the Orthodox Church are called "Father," whether they hold the Priesthood or not, and are formally addressed in formal letters as "The Reverend Monk (name)," if they do not have a Priestly rank. If they are of Priestly rank, they are formally addressed as "The Reverend Hieromonk/Hierodeacon". Monastics are sometimes formally addressed according to their monastic rank; for example, " The Reverend Rasophore-monk," " The Reverend Stavrophore-monk," or " The Reverend Schemamonk." The Abbot of a monastery is addressed as "The Very Reverend Abbot," whether he holds Priestly rank or not and whether or not he is an Archimandrite by rank. The term "Brother" is used in Orthodox monasteries in one instance only: to designate novices who are given a blessing, in the strictest tradition, to wear only the inner cassock and a monastic cap.

Again, as we noted above, a monk never uses his last name. This reflects the Orthodox understanding of monasticism, in which the monastic dies to his former self and abandons all that identified him in the world. Lay people are also called to respect a monk's death to his past. (In Greek practice, a monk sometimes forms a new last name from the name of his monastery. Thus a monk from the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery [Mone Agiou Gregoriou Palama, in Greek] might take the name Agiogregorites.)

The titles used for male monastics also apply to female monastics. In fact, a community of female monastics is often called a "monastery" rather than a convent. Women monastics are addressed in formal letters as "The Reverend Nun" or " The Reverend Rasophore—nun," etc., and the Abbess of a convent is addressed as "The Very Reverend Abbess." Though traditions for informal address vary, in most places, Rasophore nuns, and in all places, novices, are called "Sister," while any monastic above the rank of Rasophore and the abbess is always called "Mother. When greeting an Abbess, a layperson should, just as we do with an Abbot, ask for a blessing, saying, "Mother, Bless" rather than "Father, Bless". Abbots and Abbesses can often be indentified by their wearing of a pectoral cross.

There are, as noted, some differences in the way that Orthodox religious are addressed. What is given above corresponds to a reasonably standardized vocabulary, as one would find it in more traditional English-language Orthodox writings and among English-speaking Orthodox monastics.

Endnotes

[1] It is permissible to kiss the hand of a Deacon, just as we do that of an Abbot (even if not a Priest) or Abbess of a monastery out of respect or as a sign of dedication. In the Greek  tradition, Deacons' hands are often kissed because the deacon takes the Body of Christ in exactly the same way as a priest does — in the palm of his right hand. He, like an Abbess, however does not bless with the Christogram.

[2] Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:8.

[3] See Presbytera Juliana Cownie's, "A Share in the Priesthood" in Orthodox Tradition, Vol. 13, No. 1 (1996).