Questions

Question first appeared on September 7, 2003
When a bishop presides over the service, should we stand and sit when he does or follow our usual custom?

Once again, if we didn=t have pews this question would never be asked. That being said, there is one Arule of thumb:@ Keep an eye on the bishop. This is especially true during Vespers and Matins when the bishop is not serving but presiding from the throne. It is also true during a Divine Liturgy in which a bishop chooses not to serve but to preside.

All bishops are not created equally! By that I mean that they each have their preferences when presiding at a service. They are the leaders and they will direct the service. They will give instruction to the chanters who are near them, and they will expect the serving clergy, priest and deacon alike, to know what, where and when to do their parts.

For the laity, their part is easy. Remember the Arule of thumb.@ Bishops have very few Aofficial@ parts in any service over which they preside. Aside from the Ablessings@ (APeace be to all!@) and the Adismissal,@ they have little to do. When they stand or sit, the laity may do the same.

Some bishops prefer to stand the entire service. They enjoy chanting and will share the hymns with the chanters. When Archbishop Spyridon of Zahleh was with us recently, he even did the reader=s part reciting the psalms from memory during Matins. Normally, a bishop doesn=t do that preferring to sit while the psalms are being read.

Whatever the bishop does, the laity should follow. He may signal you to sit with his hand, while he chooses to remain standing. Or, he may not. Just keep an eye on the bishop.