MINOR ORDERS

MINOR ORDERS – Minor Orders in the Orthodox Church refers to those set aside for service other than the major orders. These commonly include subdeacons and readers, and in some traditions, cantors. The minor orders are conferred through the form of ordination known as cheirothesia.

In the Eastern church, there were other orders which have fallen into disuse: doorkeepers, exorcists, and acolytes, although the service that tonsures a reader will first bless him as a taper-bearer.