Yes, you should. But not because the priest is special or holy on his own. You’re kissing what his hand represents.
When you kiss a priest’s hand, you’re venerating Christ himself. The priest’s hand touches the Body and Blood of Christ at every Liturgy. It makes the sign of the cross over you in blessing. It anoints with holy oil, baptizes, and holds the chalice. That hand has been consecrated through ordination in an unbroken line back to the apostles. So when you kiss it, you’re not honoring Father John or Father Michael as a person. You’re honoring the office, the priesthood, the reality that Christ works through that hand.
St. John Chrysostom put it bluntly. He said we should honor the priest’s hand even above an angel’s, because that hand handles the Eucharist. It’s a startling claim. But it shows how seriously the early Church took this.
The practice is simple. When you greet a priest, you say “Father, bless.” You place your right hand over your left, palms up. The priest makes the sign of the cross over your hands and places his right hand in yours. You kiss it. That’s it. You can do this when you arrive at church, when you leave, when you receive blessed bread after Liturgy, or really anytime you’re asking for a blessing. Don’t do it during Communion itself though, too easy to jostle the chalice.
Some folks coming from Baptist or non-denominational backgrounds find this strange at first. I get it. We don’t shake hands with the pastor after the service and tell him “good sermon.” The relationship is different. The priest isn’t a motivational speaker or a CEO of a religious organization. He’s an icon of Christ, and that changes everything about how we approach him.
It’s a lot like kissing an icon. You wouldn’t kiss a picture of your grandmother the same way you kiss an icon of the Theotokos, right? The icon is a window into heaven, a point of contact with the person depicted. Same with the priest’s hand. You’re not kissing skin. You’re venerating what that hand does and who it represents.
Now, if you’re visiting for the first time or you’re an inquirer, nobody expects you to know this. You won’t offend anyone if you don’t do it. But if you want to, go ahead. Just watch what others do and follow along. The priest won’t be surprised either way. We get visitors from all kinds of backgrounds here in Beaumont, and priests know that.
One thing that helps: remember the priest is a sinner just like you. He goes to confession. He struggles. He’s not some untouchable holy man. When he pulls his hand back or acts embarrassed about the custom, he’s usually trying to show humility, but the tradition is bigger than his personal comfort. There’s a story about Czar Nicholas II trying to refuse this honor, and his spiritual father had to remind him that false humility gets in the way of what God wants to do through the priesthood.
The practice also fits into how Orthodoxy understands hierarchy. That word makes Americans nervous, but it doesn’t mean what we think it means. It’s not about power or control. It’s about order, about how grace flows through the Church. The bishop ordains the priest. The priest serves the people. The people pray for the priest. It’s circular, not top-down. Kissing the priest’s hand is part of that dance of mutual love and respect.
If you’ve been coming to St. Michael for a few weeks and you’re ready to start doing this, just try it once. It’ll feel awkward. That’s fine. Most things worth doing feel awkward at first. By the tenth time it’ll be second nature, and you’ll realize you’re not thinking about the gesture anymore. You’re thinking about the blessing.
