In the modern Christian tradition, there are many terms, many completely unfamiliar. One of these concepts is intronization - an important ceremony for both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church, which we will discuss in this article.
Origin of the word
This Greek word consists of two parts, which in translation means the preposition "on" and "throne, throne." Thus, the word "intronization" has a Russian analogue, which is an exact tracing-paper of the original version - "laying down".
What it is?
Intronization is a public worship service during which a newly-made bishop is raised to his pulpit (or throne). The celebration is traditionally performed during the liturgy, the bishop is dressed in clothes corresponding to the dignity.
Another meaning of the word is the solemn ceremony of the ascension of a certain monarch to the throne, which is still used in the English royal house.
Orthodox worship
In the Orthodox tradition, intronization is a worship service that can elevate not only the patriarch, but also the upcoming local or autonomous churches. Most often, the primates are in the rank of archbishop or metropolitan (with rare exceptions).
This ceremony has been held since the very first Russian metropolitans, and is inherited from Byzantium. Metropolitan Hilarion in his book "Confession" writes about himself as "laid down."
Modern worship in the Russian Orthodox Church takes place after the patriarch is vested with the robe in due status, and a paraman is placed on him (which indicates the patriarch’s belonging to the minor schema). Then the patriarch is thrown three times in a row on the throne - the so-called "high place". At the same time, the corresponding prayers are read, in response to which those in the temple repeat the last word of prayer - “axios”. At the end of the service, the patriarch is brought new attributes of his church authority (omophorion, panagia, etc.), and then a rod and a white cockle - the main sign of the patriarchal dignity.
Giving is always an important and very beautiful event. The intronization of Patriarch Kirill, for example, took place on February 9, 2009 in the central church of the country - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
In the Byzantine tradition, which was inherited by the Orthodox Church, worship was the seventh, but not the last stage in the process of becoming the patriarch on the throne. The rite was not lost even after the fall of Byzantium in the middle of the XV century.
Papal intronization
In the Catholic Church, worship is exclusively for popes. In another way, this process is called the "papal intronization mass." It also takes place during the liturgy, which is performed according to the Latin model, but with some elements of the Byzantine rite. Once the popes were forbidden to take office without solemn intronization, which, however, is now not considered mandatory for such a high representative of church authority. After the split of the Western and Eastern Christian churches, one of the popes recognized this ceremony as optional, and now clergy in Catholicism have no legal force.
Even in the second half of the twentieth century. one of the popes, Paul VI, refused to use the tiara in the ceremony, and the next pope decided to simplify the ceremony of intronization as much as possible. This entailed interesting consequences. Since 1996, each pope has the right to decide for himself which form of the ceremony he will use.
Unlike the Orthodox version, Catholic intronization is a mass that takes place outside the walls of the cathedral, most often in the square in front of it. During the rite, the pope receives slightly different attributes of power than the patriarch: in addition to the tiara, it is pallium and a fisherman’s ring.