Almost every married Orthodox priest does not wear wedding rings. This does not show disrespect for the chosen one, with whom he decided to live his whole life in love and unity, but the usual church practice finds embodiment. The fact that a clergyman (deacon or priest) removes the ring after ordination symbolizes the service to one single God.
The priest is one of those who are united to Christ not only in the sacrament of holy baptism, but also is a direct servant of God. The wedding ring, symbolizing the bond between two people, is removed as a sign that the priest is, first of all, connected directly with God. In addition, the clergyman is not only a direct servant of the Lord, but also of the people who want to find their way to God. At the same time, the spouse of a clergyman has every right to wear a ring, since she did not take priestly orders.
There is also a practical reason. The priest is the performer of the sacrament of the Eucharist (communion). It is during the prayer of the priest that the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the bread and wine prepared in advance. This divine grace also contributes to the fact that bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. At the same time, in the process of preparing the substance for the sacrament, the priest must ensure that not a single crumb of bread, and then the Body of Christ, disappears anywhere. In order to avoid situations when a particle of the Lord's Body can fall under the ring, the wedding symbol is removed. Not a single crumb of consecrated holy gifts should be lost. This reveals the reverence of the clergyman for the greatest shrine of Orthodoxy.
Thus, it turns out that the priests are not wedding rings as a sign of complete dedication to God, and also for the sake of reverence for the shrine of the Body and Blood of Christ.
