On positions in the Assyrian Church of the East

After posting on the elevation to the episcopate of His Grace Mar Awa yesterday I was asked about the various ranks of the Assyrian Church of the East. Here is the response I received. I have added expository links and images where I could. Additionally, there is a news article with excellent photos available here.

Josephus,

Thank you for your questions.

These are the steps and ranks that someone has to go through an Assyrian Church of the East. Very few get selected to serve as our bishops and it is a major sacrifice on their end as well.

The ranks are as follows:

1. Sub-deacon
2. Deacon
3. Priest
4. Cor-Bishop
5. Archdeacon
6. Bishop
7. Metropolitan
8. Patriarch

This is not an "Assyrian" terminology! This is how the structure within the Assyrian Church of the East works.

As for the new power or responsibility of a new bishop, there are many. Specifically His Grace Mar Awa was consecrated Bishop of all of California so he will oversee all of California.

Another question that you raised was "why was His Grace Mar Awa still being called an Archdeacon prior to his consecration as a bishop. Well, on November 23, 2008 he was consecrated as an Archdeacon; this is a week before his consecration as a bishop. If you refer back to the 8 ranks above, you will see that they have to become an Archdeacon before they can be consecrated as a bishop.


Also, there are many books out there for those who are interested to learn further about our church. One of my recommendations is a book by Christoph Baumer (Author), H.H. Mar Dinkha (Preface). It is called, "The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity".

I hope that I have answered your questions. Feel free to post more questions in needed.