At least 16 Years Old

80% Attendance in Weekly Services: Liturgy, Vespers, Midnight Praises

Regularly receiving the Mysteries: Confession and the Eucharist

Not under the sway of bad habits (smoking, vaping, alcohol, etc.)

Having completed the FSL program and started service

Has not actively sought or requested promotion in the ranks of the diaconate

Hymns:

• The Liturgy of St. Basil
• The Sunday Midnight Praises
• Vespers & Matins

Other:

• The Coptic Months
• The order of the books of the Bible
• The Major and Minor Feasts of the Lord
• The Fasts
• How to properly read

Hymns:

• Annual Psalm
• Joyful Psalm
• The Singari
• Mournful Psalm
• Kiahk Psalm
• The Joyful and Annual Antiphonary
• The Pauline, Catholic, and Praxis readings.

Other:

• How to use the Katamaros
• The Midnight watches

We ask and beseech You, Lord God, the Pantocrator, accept this Your holy Church; instruct him in Your commandments; give him understanding of Your justifications; and grant to him that with fear he may show obedience to You, rendering him worthy to be a chosen vessel and an honorable reader before You, that he may also find Your mercy with those who through the ages have pleased You; for You are God who wills mercy and kindness; and to You is due glory, honor, and adoration from all, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Great God, rich in His gifts, who have granted orders to Your Church and established grades of ministry to it, and poured out Your gifts on Your servants: Sanctify this Your servant also, and appoint him as reader, and make him worthy with all wisdom and understanding to perform the meditation and reading of divine words; and fill him with Your gift, while he is preserved in blameless conduct; by the mercies of Your only-begotten Son, through whom and with whom glory, honor, and dominion are due to You, with Your good, life-giving, and consubstantial most-holy Spirit.

Great and loving God, in whose hands all things are held, and by whose command all things are controlled, who are near to all, and stand by all: look upon this Your servant, who is presented by us to be a proclaimer of Your holy words of the Old and New Testament, that he may expound to the people Your holy words and Your right precepts, and proclaim Your divine and salutary doctrines, which You have appointed for the help and salvation of our souls.

O God, instruct him on Your commandments and make him understand Your justifications, and illuminate the eyes of his mind to the light of the knowledge of Your commandments; and grand to him that with purity of heart and unfeigned faith he may perform their meditations and readings for the upbuilding of those who hear; to the praise and glory of Your kingdom, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Our Master and Lord, God Almighty, who knew from the first the number of His elect in the whole world and who called them from the first, who chose Esdras Your servant. You gave him wisdom that he might read Your law to Your people. You have now chosen Your servant, who is designated a reader. Give him wisdom and a spirit of prophecy that he may perform the practice of Your holy words of Your people with blameless conduct, in the grace and compassion of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and our God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

My son, this is the first rank of the priesthood to which you have been admitted. It is necessary for you to learn each one of the readings of the holy scriptures, the breath of God, which have been entrusted to you to instruct the people thereby. For this is a great work. The one who is assigned to it must be like a lamp shining on the lampstand, lest you fill the ears of those who hear you with what you read, but yourself be rejected. Instead, remember at all times the words of the Lord which said, "let him who reads understand," so that, through your good progress and your advancement in this rank, your worth might therefore be seen and you might be given approval to be advanced to the higher rank. Therefore, this is so that those who have brought you into the midst might have a boast that they did will to give you approval in the proper time and order, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dear Blessed, Christian, Benevolent, Orthodox, Astute Son, Know that this blossoming branch from this pure root in whom are found all expected, anchored virtues has been blesses by God, both you and him with His most supreme blessings. God, to whom is all glory always now and forever, has graciously and bountifully bestowed upon your son a whole free gift through the Holy Spirit.

Through the acceptance of this gift, he has deserved to enroll regularly in the rank of deaconship along with other participants in their service and be honored with reciting to the congregation the meanings of the apostolic books, readings of the Holy Bible, and chanting in the Lord's houses, as well as offering glorification and worship at the alters.

Strive my son, dear blessed parent, to reach the ultimate aim behind this gift, which is to raise your son well in order to gain clearance of conscience. While your son is. young, give him a good education as a circumspective, wise, and experienced parent. Start his education at an early age so that he may walk in a way that conforms to this service to which he has been promoted. Encourage him and settle in his heart the desire to learn the spiritual and scientific books of this order of deaconship and the meanings of its legal laws. When he becomes mature enough, tell him about the value of the grace he has received in this order, which enlightens his mind and instincts, and establishes in him all spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Anchor in him the thought that this grace which he has recieved surpasses all friendships and values. Make sure that he offers God a pure and steadfast service. When he is grown up, train him in good reputable deeds, and teach him to fast the Wednesdays and Fridays and all the other fasts observed by the rest of the congregation. Insist on his attending the Liturgies so that he may obtain the blessings of sharing in the spiritual fellowship of the prayers, communion, and the offerings.

When he reaches adulthood, if he chooses the married life, he is to marry once to someone from pious parents so that she may assist him in managing his household correctly and uprightly. This will remain a witness of his proper management of the house of Jesus Christ. Should he choose celibacy and hold on fast to virginity and abstinence, do not force him into the married life or the yoke of its wordly burdens.

Rebuke him if he has double tongues in his words and conduct. Be careful with what he does in the light and in the dark and do not neglect him for you will give an account of his sins. You are his teacher and Baylor before God, and you are in charge of his affairs end of what is beneficial for him. Do not allow him to drink much alcohol because in it there is a lot of evil and it is the freely chosen madness that drugs away from the kingdom of God. Make every effort to train him into the habits of virtuous people and the most sublime virtues. Supervise all his affairs yourself and follow him until he reaches his optimal perfection.

Do not rely on anyone for your son's benefits, for eye evidence is not like word by mouth so you may be released from prostrations you made on his behalf and be absolved from and bailed out of this duty. May the Lord assist you, your son, and all those present, with his mighty power to act according to the commands that you have heard and all the other Church commandments. May God raise him with a good and acceptable upbringing, fortify him with every spiritual knowledge, and make no one to him the support of the Holy Spirit and the multiplied power. May he make the most obedient, servant and deacon and bring him up step-by-step onto the priesthood with the sons of peace. May God situate him with the noble, faithful witness, Stephen and the Protomartyr and the seven honorable deacons, and assist you in fulfilling and applying what you have heard and pledged to do, through the intercession of our intercessor, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all those who have pleased the Lord with their good deeds now and forever. Amen!