Consecrations in Eastern Christianity can refer to either the Sacred Mystery (Sacrament) of Cheirotonea (Ordination through laying on of hands) of a bishop, or the sanctification and solemn dedication of a church building. It can also (more rarely) be used to describe the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Divine Liturgy. The Chrism used at Chrismation and the Antimension placed on the Holy Table are also said to be consecrated.
Consecration of bishops
Eastern Christians believe their bishops to be in apostolic succession, and that at their ordination they receive the fullness of the Divine Grace of the Priesthood (priests and deacons function as the "hands" of the Bishop and are thus an extension of his ministry). The office of bishop is the highest rank in the Church. In their priesthood and bestowed Divine Grace all bishops are equal, and although certain bishops may receive titles such as Patriarch, Metropolitan, or Archbishop, such titles constitute marks of dignity and honor, but not any higher order in the Church or greater measure of grace. At his Ordination, a bishop receives grace to perform all the Sacred Mysteries, including Ordination of others.
The Scriptural foundation for electing and consecration by laying on of hands is found in the Acts of the Apostles (; ) and the Epistles to Timothy (; 2 Timothy 1:6). Just as in Acts there were two stages involved: (a) election and (b) the prayerful laying on of hands, so the Ordination of a bishop in the Eastern Church takes place in two stages: Election—In the Early Church, bishops were elected by the entire local church over which they were to preside. Bishops in neighboring dioceses would assemble the local clergy and laity, and all together would elect the new bishop. It should not be thought, however, that such elections were merely democratic—the emphasis was upon consensus rather than majority rule—and election by acclamation was not unheard of. In time, with the danger of so sacred an undertaking descending into base electoral politics, it became the custom for episcopal nominations to be performed by a Synod of bishops. In the Early Church a bishop could be married, but the danger arose of episcopal dynasties forming. So with the rise of monasticism in the 4th century, it became customary to choose bishops from among the monks. Episcopal celibacy became a canon of the Church at the Sixth Ecumenical Council, but subsequently the requirement became not merely celibacy, but specifically being a monk, and so when a non-monastic is elected to the episcopate, he is tonsured a monk before consecration. One who is not a priest, or in Holy Orders at all, may be elected a bishop, but if so, he must be ordained a deacon and then priest; also, he is typically elevated to the rank of archimandrite. The person elected to the episcopate must voluntarily accept his nomination before the consecration can proceed.
Cheirotonia—Because the Acts of the Apostles describes the Cheirotonia being accomplished with prayer, the Consecration is always performed in the context of the Divine Liturgy. Normally, this occurs on a Sunday or Feast Day which has an All-Night Vigil. During the Vigil (or before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy), the bishop-elect must make a formal and public Profession of Faith to ensure the orthodoxy of his belief (see the article on orlets for a more detailed description of this procedure). During the Divine Liturgy, after the Trisagion the bishop-elect kneels before the Holy Table, touching his forehead to the Holy Table, and the Gospel Book is opened and laid, with the writing down, upon his neck. All of the consecrating bishops place their hands on the Gospel and say the Prayer of Consecration, during which the Holy Spirit is believed to descend upon the new bishop and imparts the grace of the episcopate upon him. The bishop is then clothed in the vestments of a bishop and presented to the people. The ancient participation of the laity in the election of bishops is retained in their triple acclamation of Axios ("He is worthy") at the time the Omophorion is placed on the new bishop's shoulders. According to the Canon I of the Apostolic Canons, a bishop must be consecrated by at least two or three bishops. Typically, there are three or more consecrating bishops.
Consecration of a church
The Greek words meaning ‘dedicate’ and ‘dedication’ are not easy to translate into English, since they also have the connotation of ‘newness’, ‘renewal’. The opening Stichera for Vespers, for example, make frequent play on the ideas of ‘new’ and ‘old’. David, in , asks God to ‘renew a right Spirit within me’, rather than ‘dedicate a right Spirit’.