In Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, an entrance is a procession during which the clergy enter into the sanctuary through the Holy Doors. The origin of these entrances goes back to the early church, when the liturgical books and sacred vessels were kept in special storage rooms for safe keeping and the procession was necessary to bring these objects into the church when needed. Over the centuries, these processions have grown more elaborate, and nowadays are accompanied by incense, candles and liturgical fans. In the liturgical theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the angels are believed to enter with the clergy into the sanctuary, as evidenced by the prayers which accompany the various entrances.
Orthodox subdeacon and priest making the Great Entrance during the Divine Liturgy.
The Little Entrance during the Divine Liturgy (Church of the Protection of the Theotokos, Düsseldorf, Germany).
Orthodox priest and deacons praying the Cherubic Hymn at the beginning of the Great Entrance.
Great Entrance at an outdoor hierarchical Divine Liturgy. In the center the protodeacon with the diskos is kneeling in front of the bishop.
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the terms used for individual clergy are clergyman, clergywoman, clergyperson, churchman,
cleric, ecclesiastic, and vicegerent while clerk in holy orders has a long history but is rarely used.
14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso in 2007
Bishop Maurício Andrade, primate of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, gives a crosier to Bishop Saulo Barros
Sir George Fleming, 2nd Baronet, British churchman.
Charles Wesley Leffingwell, Episcopal priest