Protodeacon

In the Russian Orthodox Church it is an honorary title given to married deacons, as a mark of which, the clergyman is entitled to wear a burgundy-colored skufia.

In the Greek usage, the chief deacon who is attached to the person of a bishop is called an archdeacon.

In the Slavic usage a protodeacon or archdeacon wears a distinctive orarion (deacon's stole).

[citation needed] In the Archieratikon (Slavonic: Chinovnik), the liturgical book containing the services as celebrated by a bishop, the term Protodeacon is used to refer to the senior-ranking deacon who is serving, regardless of whether or not he has actually had that rank bestowed upon him.

However, in 1978 Pope John Paul I chose not to be crowned and opted for a simpler papal inauguration ceremony, and his successors have followed that example.