An Ecclesiastial award is an official award

Award

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...

, honor or privilege

Privilege

A privilege is a special entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. It can be revoked in certain circumstances. In modern democratic states, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth...

 presented by ecclesiastical authority. In the Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 certain official awards and honours may be bestowed upon members of the clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 and laity

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...

. Such awards are bestowed either by the ruling bishop under whose jurisdiction the recipient resides, or—in the case of higher awards— by a synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

 of bishops.

When a bishop wishes to confer an ecclesiastical award or honor on a deacon or priest under his jurisdiction, this will normally be accomplished at the Little Entrance of the Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...

. At the end of the Third Antiphon

Antiphon

An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....

 (normally the Beatitudes

Beatitudes

In Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....

), the procession

Procession

A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...

 with the Gospel Book

Gospel Book

The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...

 will halt at the bishop's cathedra

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 (episcopal throne). The clergyman who is to receive the award will be presented to the bishop, the protodeacon

Protodeacon

Protodeacon derives from the Greek proto- meaning 'first' and diakonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man," "minister" or "messenger." The word in English may refer to various clergymen, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.-Eastern...

 will remove the bishop's mitre

Mitre

The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...

, the bishop will lay his hand

Laying on of hands

The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....

 upon the head of the clergyman and say the prayer proper to that particular award. He will then confer the award and the people will exclaim, "Axios! Axios! Axios!" as an expression of their acknowledgment of the clergyman's worthiness for the award, similar to applause at a secular awards ceremony.

Awards differ according to the rank of the individual honored, and will vary among the ecclesiastical jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

s. Awards granted to bishops and the higher awards to priests are often reserved to begin conferred by a synod of bishops.

Bishops

• Second panagia
  Panagia
  Panagia , also transliterated Panayia or Panaghia, is one of the titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used especially in Orthodox Christianity....
  
   (every bishop wears one)
• Mitre
  Mitre
  The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
  
   with cross (in the Russian tradition, only an archbishop
  Archbishop
  An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
  
   or above would have a cross on top of his mitre, unless he was awarded the privilege by the synod)

Priests

• mitre
• Pectoral cross
  Pectoral cross
  A pectoral cross or pectorale is a cross, usually relatively large, suspended from the neck by a cord or chain that reaches well down the chest. It is worn by the clergy as an indication of their position, and is different from the small crosses worn on necklaces by many Christians, which have no...
  
  :
  • Jewelled cross
  • Gold cross
  • Silver cross
• Epigonation
  Epigonation
  The epigonation , or palitza , is a vestment used in some Eastern Christian churches.-Description and usage:...
  
  
• Nabedrennik
  Nabedrennik
  A Nabedrennik is a vestment worn by some Orthodox priests. It is a square or rectangular cloth worn at the right hip, suspended from a strap attached to the two upper corners of the vestment and drawn over the left shoulder....
  
  
• Purple kamilavka
  Kamilavka
  A Kalimavkion , or kalymmavchi , or kamilavka , is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic monks or awarded to clergy ....
  
  
• Purple skufia
  Skufia
  A skufia is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic monastics or awarded to clergy as a mark of honor...
  
  

Deacons

• Doubled orarion
  Orarion
  The Orarion is the distinguishing vestment of the deacon and subdeacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. It is a narrow stole, usually four to five inches wide and of various lengths, made of brocade, often decorated with crosses embroidered or appliquéd along its...
  
  
• Purple or Red kamiavka

Laity

• Chivalric order
  Chivalric order
  Chivalric orders are societies and fellowships of knights that have been created by European monarchs in imitation of the military orders of the Crusades...
  
   or medal
  Medal
  A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
  
  
• Gramota (official letter of recognition)

Some of these awards have their origin in the Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 court

Royal court

Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...

, others developed later. During the reign of Catherine the Great these awards came to be tied to the stipend

Stipend

A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...

which was paid to clergymen.