§ 109. The Honors to Which a Bishop is Entitled

According to his position and significance in the Church, the bishop is entitled to certain honors which cannot belong to anyone else in the diocese. These honors are as follows:

1. In his diocese all priests are bound, at every church service and in all the prayers pertaining to it, to commemorate his name.[1]

2. All, whether clergy or laity, are bound, when they come before the bishop, to bow low and to kiss his hand.[2]

3. In ordinary address the bishop is addressed as ‘Your Grace, Master’ (ἱερότατος δεσπότης), and in church he is greeted with: εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη, δέσποτα (‘for many years, Master’), and at the appointed time the many-years (πολυχρόνιον) is sung to him.

4. Within the sanctuary a special elevated throne (καθέδρα ἐφ’ ὕψους)[3] is set up for the bishop; likewise, in those places where it is customary for the bishop to stand outside the sanctuary during a service celebrated by a priest, an elevated throne is likewise placed for him on the right side of the church, near the sanctuary.

5. The bishop has the right, in distinction from presbyters, to vestments of his own at the divine service, namely: the sakkos, the epigonation, the omophorion, the enkolpion or panagia, the pectoral cross, the mitre (μίτρα), the pastoral staff (ῥάβδος ποιμαντική or πατερίσσα), the mantle (μανδύας), and the three-branched and two-branched candlesticks (τρικήριον καὶ δικήριον).[4]

Besides these ecclesiastical honors, in the respective states bishops are also accorded certain civil honors.[5]