The Use of Oraria for Altar Servers in the Orthodox Church

Historically, the orarion is one of three garments that are “garments of office’, meaning they serve as the principal badge or symbol of the ecclesiastical order of the person wearing them.  These three garments are the omophorion worn by the bishop, the epitrachelion worn by the priest, and the orarion worn by the deacon.  In recent history, in some local Orthodox jurisdictions, altar servers have begun to wear the orarion.  However, this is not necessarily a beneficial practice for a variety of reasons and so there is an increase in the number of churches returning to the historical practice of having their altar servers wear robes without oraria.  

The first reason is theological:  when an altar server wears an orarion, it misrepresents his status.  Oraria are worn by deacons and as such proclaim their status of ordination (subdeacons also wear oraria, but only after they have been blessed to the subdiaconate and even then, they wear their orarion in a different fashion than a deacon so that it is easy to distinguish them from deacons).  Often, in modern practice, boys will be  “tonsured’ or “blessed’ to wear the orarion, but this is not something that would have been done historically and many feel that it is unwise to place this life-long spiritual responsibility on a child too young to bear this kind of commitment.  Serving in the Altar during Liturgy is its own blessing.

The second reason is practical:  Oraria are long and rather unwieldy to wear.  We have all seen the rather comical thin-shouldered little boy trying for dear life to keep his orarion in place during Liturgy.  It slips off, he gets it back in place only to have it slip off again.  Ultimately, this presents a distraction from the Liturgy.  If the altar server wears only the robe, he is free to serve without the encumbrance of the orarion.

The third reason is financial:  High-quality orarion are very expensive to produce.  They require a specialty canvas interfacing, are fully lined, and use almost as much galloon (trim) as an entire robe.  For an order of 10 robes, the price of the oraria alone can exceed $1000.  

Lastly, it is helpful to consider historical practice when deciding whether or not to use oraria.  In monasteries on Mt. Athos, even on the greatest feastdays, there are just one or two monks who act as altar servers and they are usually vested simply in their rassa (outer cassocks).  This allows them to move quietly and discreetly throughout the Liturgy, performing their tasks in an almost invisible manner.

So the next time you see an altar server in your parish wearing a robe without an orarion, know that your parish is returning to an older, more historical, Orthodox practice.