Women do not wear slacks or shorts, only dresses or skirts and many often cover their heads. Men remove their hats. Musical instruments are never used in the church, only human voices in an a cappella choir singing hymns and responses to the chanting of the priest. People make the sign of the cross with the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand joined at the tips with the third and fourth fingers closed at the palm, as a symbol of the Trinity, by touching the brow, the breast, the right shoulder and the left shoulder, meaning that every power of mind, heart, soul and strength are dedicated to the service of God. The faithful receive communion from the chalice with a spoon.
Communion is in the form of a small piece of prosfir, or blessed bread, soaked in wine.
Confession must precede communion, either before the liturgy or the night before, and the communicant must have fasted since midnight. Children receive chrismation at baptism and may receive communion without confession or fasting until the age of reason. Priests may marry before ordination. If widowed, a priest may not remarry. A bishop is either a widower or has never married.