The Sanctuary ( Church-Slav. Svitіl ; ancient-Greek ἀρχιερε -) - the bishop [1] .
The word "prelate" in the sense of "bishop" is used in liturgical texts, for example:
 | Today, faith, rejoice, / in psalms and songs of the Lord singing / and the sacred canopy of Togo, / animated Kivot, the incompatible Word containing: / given by the Lord, / more than the children of the flesh, / and the great hierarch Zachariah accepts Rejoicing, / as God's House [2] |  |
(1st stichera of “Lord vozvvah” on Great Vespers , the feast of the Introduction to the temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary )
Σήμερον πιστοὶ χορεύσωμεν, ἐν ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις, τῷ Κυρίῳ ᾄδοντες, τιμῶντες καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ, ἡγιασμένην σκηνήν, τὴν ἔμψυχον κιβωτόν, τὴν τὸν ἀχώρητον Λόγον χωρήσασαν · προσφέρεται γὰρ Θεῷ, ὑπερφυῶς τῇ σαρκὶ νηπιάζουσα, καὶ Ἀρχιερεὺς ὁ μέγας, Ζαχαρίας δέχεται, εὐφραινόμενος ταύτην , ὡς Θεοῦ κατοικητήριον.
In addition, in the Orthodox Church, the name “saints” was adopted for the saints from the episcopal rite, revered by the church as the primates of individual church communities, who with their holy life and righteous shepherding carried out God 's providence about the Church in its movement to the Kingdom of Heaven . The memory of the supreme saints is celebrated on the day of the Council of the three saints .
History
Initially, the worship of bishops was concentrated in local churches, each local community honored and celebrated the memory of all its leaders (bishops) since its foundation (except, of course, who fell into heresy or otherwise found unworthy). The names of the bishops were entered in the diptychs and regularly recalled during the divine service .
Sozomen in his Church history (V cent.) Speaks of the annual celebration of the memory of the saints as an established practice; as with the martyrs , their memory was celebrated on the days of their repose. As the general church cult of certain saints was established, the veneration of saints outgrew the framework of their dioceses and became general church. This was facilitated by the formation of the hierarchical structure of ecclesiastical jurisdiction (the patriarchate , the archdiocese , the metropolis ), when the primates of the senior churches were venerated by the entire church area. Thus, among the saints are revered all the popes of the first centuries of Christianity, almost all patriarchs of Constantinople , beginning with Mitrofan (315–325 years of government) and up to Eustache (1019–1025 years of government), except those who fell into heresy, who left the chair or led an unworthy life .
Subsequently, substantial selectivity appears in the canonization of the hierarchs, and this indicates a definite change in the concept of holy holiness: the emphasis is shifted from the righteous pastor to the personal asceticism of the bishop and his role in the organization of church life. This change of concept was apparently due to the spread of general readability to the face of the hierarchs, when only a few local honored bishops are among the saints honored by the whole church (which suggests selectivity).
There is a novel by the emperor Leo the Wise (886–911 years of government), which prescribes that, along with apostles and martyrs, throughout the entire Greek church, the memory of the seven most famous saints: Athanasius of Alexandria , St. Basil the Great , St. Gregory the Theologian , St. Gregory of Nyssa , John Zlatoust , Cyril of Alexandria and Epiphany of Cyprus . It is necessary to think that this decree reinforced the already established practice, and this shows that selectivity was already inherent in it.
In the Russian Church, selectivity in veneration of saints takes place from the very beginning. The first Russian saint to whom worship is established is St. Leonty , the third bishop of Rostov (died about 1077). The celebration of his memory is first celebrated in Rostov in 1190 on the day of his relics (May 23); it is characteristic that at the same time the relics of his successor Isaiah were acquired , but the reverence of his memory was not established; selectivity in this case was due to the miracles performed at the tomb of St. Leonty. Among the most early canonized saints, the veneration of which occurs shortly after their death, includes Moscow metropolitans Peter , Alexis and Ion , of sv. Stefan Perm .
In honor of the saints, the fourth particle is taken out of the nine-root prosphora . At the same time, in the Russian rank of the proskomedia they commemorate: “ Who are our holy fathers, the saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom; Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, Nicholas of Mirlikiya, Michael of Kiev, Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes of Moscow, Nikita of Novgorod, Leonty of Rostov, and all the holy saints . "
Greek rank stops on the name of St. Nicholas, in the Jerusalem servants to the list of saints is added to St. John the Merciful (Patriarch of Alexandria) .