Clergy can be distinguished by their ranks and ranks during worship by their liturgical robes, special headdresses, and pectoral crosses.

Clergy and monastics in everyday use wear headdresses called skufii. This is a soft figured folding cap, sewn so that its folds over the head form the sign of the cross.

From the end of the 18th century, kamilavkas were introduced into church use as awards for the white clergy. This is a solid headdress, which is a cylinder, slightly expanded upwards. The everyday headdress of bishops and monks, in which they can perform some divine services, is a klobuk. This is a kamilavka, covered with black crepe, descending to the back and having a completion in the form of three long ends, called cukul. Metropolitans have the right to wear white hoods. And the hoods of the patriarchs retained the ancient form of a spherical cap covered with white kukul. Two of their ends descend on the chest, the third - behind the back. At the top of the patriarchal klobuk is a cross. During divine services, the headdress of bishops is a miter, richly decorated with brocade embroidery and precious stones a cap.

Pectoral crosses for priests in the Russian Orthodox Church appeared relatively recently. Until the 18th century, only bishops had the right to wear pectoral crosses. Since the clothes of priests practically do not differ from the clothes of deacons and monks, the cross becomes the difference between priests and other clergy. Priests wear crosses over their robes for worship, but they can also be worn in everyday situations over a cassock.

The distinctive breastplate of a bishop is a panagia. Panagia is an image of the Mother of God, most often round or oval, with various decorations. In everyday situations, bishops wear only a panagia, and during divine services, a panagia and a cross. These are signs of the highest authority in the church.

§ 81. The Orthodox clergy have their own insignia, according to which they can be distinguished by rank and rank.

1. Bishops (bishops). Panagia, staff.

Patriarch - white cockle, panagia.

Metropolitan - a white klobuk with a cross.

Archbishop - klobuk with a cross.

Bishop - klobuk without a cross.

2. Priests. Pectoral cross.

Archimandrite - cross with decorations, miter.

Archpriest (abbot) - a cross gilded or with decorations.

Priest (hieromonk) - a silver or gilded cross.

3. Deacons - kamilavki, purple skufii. There is no pectoral cross.

Protodeacon (archdeacon) - a double orarion (a long cloth strip with crosses sewn on it, descending from the front and back almost to the floor).

Deacon (hierodeacon) - orarion.

Liturgical vestments of the clergy.

Since ancient times, a person has been wearing clothes that correspond to his social status (professional, material, etc.) and spiritual state (joy, sadness, etc.). In the Orthodox Church, for the performance of Divine services, the Charter prescribes that each of the rank of clergymen and clergy be dressed in special clothes. These clothes, firstly, are necessary in order to distinguish sacred and church ministers from other people. Secondly, they adorn the service. And thirdly, they have a deep spiritual meaning.

Each degree of clergy and clergy has its own vestments. At the same time, the vestments of the lower ranks are always included in the vestments of the higher ranks of the clergy. The deacon, in addition to the clothes that actually belong to him, puts on the clothes of an altar boy; the priest, in addition to priestly ones, also has diaconal robes; the bishop, except for the clothes belonging to his rank, has all the priestly clothes.

The order observed when dressing is as follows: first, clothes belonging to the lower rank are put on. For example, a priest, before putting on a priestly vestment, puts on deacon robes; the bishop puts on first the deacon's vestments, then the priest's, and only after all the bishop's.

History of liturgical vestments.

In Old Testament times, the high priest, priests and Levites had special vestments made according to the direct command of God, given through the great prophet Moses: “Call to you from among the children of Israel your brother Aaron and his sons to become My priests - Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Elazar and Itamar. Make sacred clothes for your brother Aaron - for majesty and beauty. Let them make a breastplate, an ephod, a chasuble, a patterned shirt, a turban and a belt ... Let them take for this gold, blue, purple and crimson yarn and linen ... "(Ex. 28:1-2). These robes, made for the glory and magnificence of Divine services, represented the robes of the Orthodox clergy.

Sacred garments were intended only for worship. They cannot be worn and used in everyday life. Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord commands the Old Testament priests, leaving the temple to the outer courtyard to the people, to take off their liturgical vestments and lay them in the barriers of the saints, putting on other clothes (Ezek. 44:19). In the Orthodox Church, at the end of the Divine Service, the vestments are also removed and remain in the temple.

In the Holy Scriptures, clothing often has a symbolic meaning and means the spiritual state of its wearer. So, for example, in the parable of the wedding feast, which figuratively tells about the Kingdom of God, it is said that it is inadmissible to enter it without wearing wedding clothes (Matt. 22:11-14). Or in the Revelation of John it says: “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: … you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and will walk with Me in white garments, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will be clothed in white robes; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”(Rev. 3:4.5); “And it was given to her to the wife of the Lamb(symbol of the people of God - A.Z.) put on fine linen, clean and bright; the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints"(Rev. 19:8).

The famous Russian theologian priest Pavel Florensky says that in general, a person’s clothes are mysteriously connected with his spiritual being: “Clothes are part of the body. In everyday life, this is an external continuation of the body ... clothes partly grow into the body. In the visual-artistic order, clothing is a phenomenon of the body, and by itself, with its lines and surfaces, it reveals the structure of the body.

Clothing, according to Father Paul, not only covers the body, it certainly reflects even more than the body, the main thing in a person is his spiritual essence and therefore has a deeply spiritual meaning.

In the Christian Church, special liturgical vestments did not appear immediately. Christ celebrated the Last Supper in ordinary clothes, and the apostles used everyday clothes when celebrating the Eucharist. However, it is known that the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, the first Jerusalem bishop, dressed like a Jewish priest, and the Apostle John the Theologian also wore a golden bandage on his head, as a sign of the high priest. According to legend, the Theotokos made with her own hands an omophorion for Lazarus, raised by Christ from the dead (John 11:1-44) and then the bishop of Cyprus. Thus, the apostles already began to use some of the liturgical vestments. Subsequently, the everyday clothes of Jesus and the apostles began to be treated as sacred and, even when they fell out of everyday use, were preserved in church use. In addition, there were robes specially designed for worship. And already in the 4th century, the blessed Jerome says: “It is unacceptable to enter the altar and perform divine services in common and simply used clothes”. In basic terms, the canon of liturgical vestments took shape in the 6th century.

Clothes of an altar boy (reader, sexton).

One of the most ancient elements of liturgical clothing is surplice (Greek [sticharion] from [stichos] - verse, line, straight line) - straight, long, wide-sleeved clothing covering the entire body.

In ancient times, such clothing was known under various names: alba, tunic, chiton. All these names meant the usual underwear worn by men and women in ancient times. The Christian Church accepted these clothes as sacred, because the Savior and the apostles, also Old Testament priests, wore such clothes. The surplice was in common use in all the Ancient Churches. In ancient times, the surplice was made of linen and was exclusively white, as indicated by one of its names - alba(lat. alba - white clothes).

The surplice symbolizes the purity of the soul and spiritual joy. His light color and with a magnificent appearance, the surplice reminds those who put it on of the angelic purity, to which one who has dedicated himself, like an angel, to the service of God should strive.

The priest's surplice is called - underdress . Its name comes from the fact that over it the priest puts on another riza (phelonion). The bishop's surplice is usually called - sakkosnik (or the episcopal vestment), because over it the bishop puts on a sakkos. The vest and the sakkosnik have the same symbolic meaning as the surplice.

Deacons, as well as clergymen, in order to put on a surplice, ask for the blessing of a priest or bishop.

When putting on the surplice, the deacon, priest and bishop say a prayer: “My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; clothe me with a robe of salvation, and clothe me with a garment of joy…”.

Deacon robes.

orarion (Greek [orarion], from Lat. orare - to pray) - a narrow long ribbon with crosses sewn on it, which the deacon wears over the surplice on his left shoulder during the Divine service. According to the interpretation of St. Simeon of Thessalonica, the orarion symbolizes angel wings. And the deacons themselves in the Church represent the image of angelic ministry. Therefore, sometimes the words of an angelic song are embroidered on the orar: "Holy, Holy, Holy."

The orarion has been an integral part of the deacon's vestments since ancient times: it is mentioned already in the 22nd and 25th canons of the Council of Laodicea (364). On Byzantine frescoes, in surplice with an orarion thrown over the left shoulder, the First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen and other holy deacons are depicted. So, the orarion is the main vestment of the deacon, with which he gives a sign to the beginning of any church action, raising the people to prayer, the singers to singing, the priest to the priesthood, himself to angelic speed and readiness in service. Historians of liturgical vestments believe that in the New Testament Church the orarion arose from an ubruʹ (towel), which in Old Testament synagogues from an elevated place was given a sign to proclaim “Amen” when reading Scripture.

When a deacon girds himself (his chest and back) with a cruciform horar during the Liturgy, he expresses his readiness (as if folding his wings) to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

Orarion is also worn by subdeacons, but unlike deacons, they always wear it cruciformly girded - because they are also the image of Angels, but do not have the grace-filled gifts of a clergyman.

Protodeacons and archdeacons, unlike other deacons, wear an orarion, covering the body from the left shoulder under the right arm. Such an orarion is called double.

When placing an orarion on himself, the deacon does not say any special prayer.

Handrails (Greek [epimanikia]) - small short sleeves with crosses. They are used during the Divine Service in order to pull together the edges of the sleeves of the lower garment (underdress or cassock) and thereby give the hands of the clergy greater freedom.

There were no handrails in the Ancient Church. Handrails first appeared as an item of clothing for Byzantine kings. Wishing to honor the patriarchs of their capital throne of Constantinople with a special honor, the emperors began to grant them items of royal vestments. Byzantine kings granted the patriarchs wands, the right to depict a double-headed eagle on shoes and carpets. In the 11th-12th centuries, the hierarchs of Constantinople received from the kings the sakkos (which replaced the phelonion of the bishops) and handrails; then the instructions passed to the primates of other Orthodox Churches, to the most prominent eastern metropolitans and bishops. Somewhat later, the orders passed to the priests. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica (12th century), writes about commissions as a necessary accessory for priestly and episcopal vestments. In the 14th-15th centuries, ensigns as a reward first appeared for some archdeacons, and then for all deacons.

The instructions symbolize that it is not the human hands of the clergy, but the Lord Himself who performs the Sacraments through them. As Saint Theophan the Recluse says: “Priests only have a mouth that pronounces a sanctifying prayer, and a hand that blesses gifts ... The active power comes from the Lord”. When believers kiss the handrails, by doing so they honor God acting through the clergy. Prayer when putting on handrails: “Thy right hand, Lord, be glorified in the fortress, Your right hand, Lord, crush the enemies and with the multitude of Your glory erased this adversary”; as well as the Russian name for this vestment - entrust, from instruct, entrust - remind the clergyman that he should not rely on his own strength, but on the strength and help of God. The priest during the service entrusts (entrusts) himself to Jesus Christ.

The ropes with which the handrails are pulled together mean the bonds with which Jesus Christ was bound during the suffering.

vestments of presbyters.

The vestments of the priest include: a vestment, an epitrachelion, a belt, handrails and a phelonion or chasuble.

Undershirt (see surplice).

Stole (Greek [epitrachilion] - what is around the neck; from [epi] - on; [trachilos] - neck) - a long ribbon that goes around the neck and descends to the chest with both ends. Epitrachelion is the same deacon's orarion, only wrapped around the neck. In ancient times, when a deacon was ordained to the presbyter, the bishop, instead of placing an epitrachelion on the consecrated person, as is done now with us, only transferred the back end of the orarion from the back to the chest so that both ends hung in front. Subsequently (since the 16th century), both ends of the stole were fastened in front with buttons, and the part that covers the neck was made curly and narrow so that it was comfortable to wear. The epitrachelion formed from the orarion means the union of two priestly positions - the priestly and the deacon. In other glory, the priest, without losing the grace of the diaconal rank, acquires a double, in comparison with the deacon, special grace, which gives him the right and duty to be not only a minister, but also a performer of the Sacraments of the Church and the whole work of the priesthood. This is not only a double grace, but also a double yoke.

When putting on an epitrachelion (at the Liturgy), the priest pronounces the words of Psalm 132: “Blessed be God, pouring out Your grace on Your Priests, like myrrh on the head, descending on the beard, Aaron’s beard, descending on the quilt of his clothes”(Ps. 133:2).

Epitrachelion is the main vestment of the priest, it symbolizes the grace of the priesthood resting on the clergy. Without an epitrachelion, a priest cannot perform a single service. If it is necessary to perform any service, or prayer, or baptism, but there is no stole, then the performance of the Sacrament should not stop because of this, but the priest takes a belt, or a scarf, or a piece of rope, or some kind of cloth, and blessing , puts on like an epitrachelion and performs the service.

As a standard, three pairs of crosses are sewn on the front of the stole on both halves. Sometimes this is interpreted as a symbol that a priest can perform six Church Sacraments, the seventh cross is sewn on that part of the stole that is on the neck, this symbolizes that the priest accepted his priesthood from the bishop and is subject to him, as well as what he carries the burden of serving Christ.

Belt (Greek [zoni]) has the form of a ribbon with which the priest is girded over the undershirt and stole for greater freedom of movement during Divine services. From ancient times to the present day, a tightly tightened belt, a necessary item of attire for workers and warriors: a person girds himself, preparing for the road, getting down to business, also to battle or battle. Hence the symbolic meaning of the belt is the readiness to serve the Lord and the Divine power that strengthens the clergyman. Prayer when putting on a belt: “Blessed be God, gird me with strength, and lay my path undefiled, make my feet like deer, and set me on high”(Ps. 17:33-34). The appearance of the belt among the sacred vestments is associated with the towel with which the Savior girded himself at the Last Supper when washing the feet of the Apostles (by this Christ gave the image of His service to people).

phelonion - long and wide clothes without sleeves, with a hole for the head. The phelonion is also called a riza (the word “riza” has several meanings: 1 - beautiful outerwear; 2 - phelonion; 3 - a cover on lecterns, a throne and an altar; 4 - a metal sheathing (salary) on an icon). The phelonion is worn over other garments and covers them. In ancient times, the phelonion was exclusively white, round in shape in the form of a bell, with a hole in the middle for the head. Over time, in the Orthodox Church, the phelonion had a cutout in front for the most convenient celebration of Divine services, and in the Russian Orthodox Church, the upper shoulders of the phelonion began to be made firm and high.

- symbolizes the all-covering truth (i.e. fidelity) of God;

- marks the purple robe, in which the suffering Savior was denounced (John 19: 2-5), and the ribbons sewn on it depict the streams of blood that flowed over the clothes of Christ;

- recalls those times when the preachers of the Word of God wandered from community to community.

The fact is that the very word "phelonion" (Greek [felonis]) is translated - a marching cloak ( "When you go, bring a phelonion(i.e. cloak) which I left in Troas with Carp"- 2 Tim. 4:13) - this was the main clothing of the travelers. During the earthly life of Jesus, noble people walked in similar clothes, only from good material. Such clothes were called dalmatic. Dalmatic, red, richly decorated, richly decorated with short sleeves was part of the attire of emperors. It was in such a scarlet, similar to the royal attire, that they dressed Christ when they were mocked (Mt. 27:28-29; Mk. 15:17-18). The prayer that a priest is supposed to read when putting on a phelonion sounds like this: “Your priests, O Lord, will be clothed in righteousness, and Your saints will rejoice with joy.”(Ps. 131:9).

Thus, the priest, putting on a phelonion, should remember the humiliation and humility of Jesus Christ. And remember that in the Divine Service he portrays the Lord, who sacrificed Himself for the justification of all people; therefore, a priest must be clothed with righteousness in all his deeds and rejoice in the Lord.

In the vestments of a bishop, the phelonion corresponds to sakkos.

Gaiter - an oblong rectangle (board), in the center of which is a cross. Symbolizes "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"(Eph. 6:17). The rectangular shape of the legguard points to the book - the Gospel. And he rushes where the warriors carry the sword. Those. the priest must be armed with the word of God which is contained in the Gospel.

The gaiter appeared in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 16th century and is its unique hierarchical award, which is not found in other Orthodox Churches. The legguard is given to a priest (priest and hieromonk) for zealous service to the Church as the first reward (usually 3 years after ordination).

Mace - a diamond-shaped board with an image of a cross or an icon in the middle, attached to a ribbon at one angle, is worn on the right side (in this case, the gaiter is hung on the left side). In ancient times, the club was an integral part of only episcopal vestments, then in the Greek and Russian Churches it was adopted by both archimandrites and protopresbyters (since the 16th century). Since the 18th century, the abbot and archpriest can receive it as a reward.

The club has the same symbolic meaning as the legguard, but in addition it also symbolizes the edge of the towel with which Jesus Christ wiped the feet of the disciples.

A few words should be said about the colors of liturgical vestments . In the Russian Church, vestments of seven colors are used: gold, white, light blue (blue), red, burgundy (violet), green and black. It is customary to serve in golden vestments Sundays throughout the year, with the exception of the Sundays of Great Lent, as well as Christmas and some other holidays. In white vestments they serve on Theophany, Great Saturday and Easter, on the Ascension, in the days of memory of the incorporeal Heavenly Forces. The blue vestment is worn on all the feasts of the Theotokos. The green vestment is used at the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, at Pentecost, on the days of remembrance of the saints. Red vestments, according to Russian tradition, are worn throughout the entire Easter period, as well as on the days of the memory of the martyrs. On the Sundays of Great Lent and on the days dedicated to the remembrance of the Cross of Christ, it is customary to serve in purple (burgundy) vestments. Finally, black vestments are usually worn on the weekdays of Lent. Twice a year it is customary to change clothes during worship: on Great Saturday from black vestments to white, during the night Easter service - from white to red.

It should be noted that this kind color symbolism is a fairly new phenomenon for the Russian Church, and besides, it is not quite well-established. So, for example, at Christmas in some churches it is customary to wear gold, in others white vestments. In the Russian Church Abroad, which inherited the liturgical traditions of the synodal era, they serve in white vestments during the entire Easter period, while in the Moscow Patriarchate in the post-revolutionary period a tradition has developed to serve in red vestments.

In the Local Orthodox Churches there are different traditions the use of vestments of various colors during Divine services. In the Greek Church, it is generally not accepted to link the color of vestments with certain holidays. In the Georgian Church, the color of the vestments may vary depending on the rank of the clergy. So, for example, a patriarch may wear a white vestment, the priests who serve him red, the deacons green, and the subdeacons and readers yellow.

Cross . At baptism, a cross is placed on every Christian as a sign that he has become a follower of Christ. This cross is usually worn under clothing. The clergy, on the other hand, wear a special cross over their clothes as a constant reminder that they must not only carry the Lord in their hearts, but also confess Him before everyone.

In the Ancient Church, priests did not wear pectoral crosses. In the Russian Orthodox Church, a four-pointed gold-colored pectoral cross as an award for honored priests was legalized by decree of Emperor Paul I of December 18, 1797. By a decree of the Holy Synod of February 24, 1820, priests serving abroad were given the right to wear a cross “from His Majesty’s study” (such crosses were called “cabinet crosses”). In the 19th century, honored priests were also awarded crosses with decorations, and some archimandrites even received the right to wear a panagia. Finally, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II of May 14, 1896, a silver eight-pointed cross was introduced as a distinction for each priest. At present, such a cross is given to every priest during consecration, and the “pectoral cross” (the so-called cross of the sample of 1797) and a cross with decorations are given as a reward for special merits or for length of service.

In the Local Orthodox Churches, there are different rules regarding the wearing of crosses by priests. In the Churches of the Greek tradition, most priests do not wear a cross: only archimandrites and honored archpriests (protosingels) have the right to wear a cross. In the Churches of the Slavic tradition, there is a practice of wearing crosses by all priests, borrowed from the Russian Church of the synodal period. In the Romanian Church, crosses are worn not only by all priests, but also by archdeacons: during divine services they put on a cross over the surplice.

Out-of-service clothing of the Orthodox clergy consists of cassock And cassocks.

cassock (from the Greek [rason], “worn, worn, lint-free clothes”) - this is an upper long to toe clothing, spacious, with wide sleeves, usually dark color. The monks also wear her faces of a spiritual rank.

Clothing of this cut was common in the East and is the traditional national clothing of many peoples to this day. Such clothing was common in Judea at the beginning of our era. And Jesus Himself wore similar clothes, as evidenced by church tradition and ancient images.

The name "cassock" comes from the fact that such clothes, but only old and shabby, were worn by monks in the Ancient Church.

At present, in the Russian Orthodox Church, cassocks are of Russian, Greek, semi-Russian and semi-Greek cut. For use in the Russian Church, there are cassocks, which are demi-season and winter coat.

cassock or semi-caftan long, toe-length clothing with long narrow (unlike a cassock) sleeves - the lower vestment of sacred and church ministers, as well as monks. It is used not only during worship, but also outside of it. During Divine services in the temple and at official receptions, the cassock should be black, and at rest, at home and at household obediences, cassocks of any color are allowed.

The cassock in pre-Petrine Rus' was ordinary, everyday "worldly" clothing, just like the cassock in the East.

Bishop's vestments.

Mantle (Greek [mandis] - “woolen cloak”) - in Orthodoxy, the outerwear of bishops, archimandrites, abbots and just monks.

It is a long, sleeveless cape, to the ground, with a clasp at the collar, covering the entire body, except for the head. It originated as a monastic vestment in the 4th-5th centuries. Subsequently, when the practice was established to elect bishops from the monastic clergy, the mantle also became a bishop's vestment.

The mantle symbolizes the detachment of the monks from the world, as well as the all-covering power of God.

The mantle of the archimandrites is black, like that of all other monastics. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Moscow Patriarch has green, the metropolitan has blue or blue, the archbishop and bishop have purple. During Great Lent, the same mantle is put on, only black (regardless of the hierarchal rank). In the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgian, Romanian, Cypriot, Greek and Albanian Orthodox Churches, all hierarchal robes are scarlet or magenta, regardless of the title of the bishop (whether he is a patriarch, archbishop, metropolitan or bishop).

In addition, in all Orthodox Churches, the mantle of the bishop, like the mantle of the archimandrite, has the so-called tablets. The tablets are quadrangular plates located on the upper and lower edges of the mantle with the image of crosses or seraphim on the upper and with the initials of the bishop or archimandrite on the lower.

The upper tablets depict the Old and New Testaments, from which the clergy should draw their teachings.

White and red ribbons from another fabric are sewn onto the bishop’s mantle from above in three rows - the so-called “sources” or “streams”. White and red ribbons sewn along the mantle are called sources or streams; they are symbolic of the doctrine flowing from the Old and New Testaments, which it is the duty of the bishop to preach.

omophorion (from the Greek [omos] - shoulder and [foros] - bearing), naramnik, naramnik (from the old Slavic ramo, the dual number of ramen - shoulder, shoulders) - belonging to the liturgical vestments of the bishop.

Distinguish between great and small omophorion:

Great omophorion- a long wide ribbon with images of crosses, bending around the neck, descends with one end to the chest, the other - to the back.

Small omophorion- a wide ribbon with images of crosses, descends at both ends to the chest, sewn or fastened with buttons in front.

In ancient times, omophorions were made of woolen white matter, decorated with crosses. The omophorion is put on over the sakkos (before the 11th-12th centuries, the phelonion) and symbolizes the sheep, lost and brought by the good shepherd on his shoulders into the house (Luke 15:4-7), that is, the salvation of the human race by Jesus Christ. And the bishop dressed in it marks the Good Shepherd, who took the lost sheep on his shoulders and carried it to the unforgotten (that is, angels) in the house of the Heavenly Father. The omophorion also marks the blessed gifts of the bishop as a clergyman, therefore, without the omophorion, as well as without the stole, the bishop cannot serve as a priest.

According to legend, the Theotokos made with her own hands an omophorion for Saint Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Christ and later became Bishop of Cyprus.

In a figurative sense, "to be under the omophorion" means to be in someone's church jurisdiction, in the care or under the patronage.

Sakkos (from Heb. [sakk] - rags) in Byzantium was part of the imperial costume. It was a sleeveless robe worn over the head and fastened at the sides. In the 11th-12th centuries, emperors began to grant sakkos to the Patriarchs of Constantinople, who, however, wore them only at Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. In the XIV-XV centuries, some archbishops began to wear sakkos, but the phelonion still remains the traditional episcopal clothing. By this time, the sakkos has short sleeves. Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, is depicted on icons wearing an omophorion and short-sleeved sakkos. In the 16th century, many Greek bishops began to wear sakkos instead of phelonion; by this time, the sleeves of the sakkos had lengthened, although they remained shorter than the sleeves of the surplice.

It is difficult to establish the exact time of the appearance of the bells on the sakkos, but it is obvious that they serve as a reminder of the “vertebrae” that Aaron wore, so that a sound could be heard from him when he enters the sanctuary before the face of the Lord and when he leaves (Ex. 28: 35). Bells make a ringing sound at the time when the bishop moves around the temple.

In Rus', sakkos appeared no later than the 14th century - first as a liturgical vestment of the metropolitans of Moscow. After the establishment of the patriarchate in 1589, the sakkos became the vestment of the Moscow Patriarchs. In the 17th century, metropolitans and some archbishops wore sakkos. Since 1705, it was established that all bishops of the Russian Church wore sakkos.

Panagia . The term "panagia" (Greek παναγία - all-holy) in the Russian Church is used to refer to an object that the Greeks call encolpion("bib", "nadrennik"). This word in Byzantium denoted arks, in which they carried a particle of the relics of a saint on their chests or carried spare Holy Gifts. In Byzantium, until the 15th century, the encolpion was not perceived as an indispensable attribute of the bishop. As such, the encolpion was first mentioned by Simeon of Thessalonica. Byzantine encolpions had a variety of shapes (oval, round, rectangular, cruciform); the front side depicted the Mother of God or one of the saints. Encolpions could be decorated with precious stones. In the post-Byzantine era, encolpions ceased to be used as arks and acquired the significance of a distinctive badge of a bishop. In this capacity, the encolpions under the name "Panagius" passed to Rus'.

From the middle of the 18th century, bishops began to put two encolpions on their chests during consecration - one cruciform, the other with the image of the Virgin. The Moscow Council of 1674 allowed the metropolitans to wear “egcolpia and a cross” over the sakkos, but only within their diocese. The Metropolitan of Novgorod could wear an encolpion and a cross in the presence of the patriarch. From the middle of the 17th century, the Moscow patriarchs and Kyiv metropolitans began to wear two encolpions and a cross. At present, all the heads of the Local Orthodox Churches have the right to wear two panagias and a cross. Other bishops wear a panagia and a cross as liturgical vestments, but in everyday life only a panagia. The bishop, as Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko wrote, is entitled to such an image “as a reminder of your duty to carry the Lord Jesus in your heart and place your hope in the intercession of His Most Pure Mother”.

wand . The bishop's baton is a symbol of church authority and at the same time a symbol of a wandering way of life. All bishops, as well as some archimandrites who have been awarded this right, and abbots (vicars) of monasteries have the right to carry a baton during Divine services. The wand is a kind of staff used by the bishops of the Ancient Church during their travels. In modern practice, bishops carry a staff outside of Divine Services, and a baton during Divine Services. The staff is a chest-high wooden stick with a rounded knob. The wand is usually higher - up to the shoulder of the bishop - and is crowned with a cross on the pommel in the form of an arc or in the form of a two-headed snake with heads facing the cross located between them. The two-headed snake is a symbol of the wisdom and teaching power of the bishop.

In the Russian tradition, it is hung on a rod sulok- a brocade cloth covering the hand of the bishop holding the baton. Sulok is a purely Russian invention. Initially, it was intended to protect the bishop's hand from frost when the liturgical procession outside the church takes place in winter (for example, the procession "to the Jordan" on the feast of Theophany). Later, the sulok became an accessory of the bishop's baton at Divine services and inside the temple.

doll, skufya, kamilavka (headdresses of the clergy). Kukol and skufiya arose on the basis of kufiya (Arabic [kufiya], Hebrew [kefie]), a headdress that existed in Palestine, made of a square scarf folded into a triangle and fastened with a woolen bandage or hoop. At first, the keffiyeh took on the form of a hood and became known as a cockle, and then it also turned into a rounded cap - a skuf. When it was made from camel hair, it was called kamilavka(from Hebrew [kamel] or Greek [kamilos] - camel). The solid form of the kamilavka appeared in Greece during the era of Turkish rule, when fez became popular. The monks in Greece and Russia for a long time retained the "kefey" type of headdress - cockle. Now in the Russian Church only the patriarch wears a cockle.

Mitra , the prototype of which was a turban (kidar), are worn by bishops, as well as archimandrites and honored archpriests. In its original form, the turban survived only in the Ancient Eastern Churches. The miter adorns the clergyman, since he depicts the King Christ during the Divine service, and at the same time reminds of the crown of thorns with which the Savior was crowned. In the Orthodox Church, when putting on a miter on a bishop, a prayer is read: “Put, O Lord, on your head a crown and from other stones…” as in the sacrament of marriage. For this reason, the miter is also understood as an image of golden crowns with which the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven are crowned at the wedding feast of the union of Jesus Christ with the Church.

Types of sacred vestments.

If for worldly affairs, on important solemn occasions, they dress not in ordinary everyday clothes, but in the best, then it is all the more natural that when serving the Lord God, clergy and clergymen put on special clothes, the purpose of which is to distract the mind and heart from everything earthly and lift them up to God. Special liturgical clothes were introduced for clergy back in the Old Testament. It was strictly forbidden to enter the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple for service without special robes, which, after the service, had to be removed when leaving the temple. And at the present time, sacred - church ministers during the performance of church services put on special sacred clothes, which, according to the three degrees of the church hierarchy, are divided into deacon, priest and episcopal. According to the teaching of the Church, each highest degree of the church hierarchy contains grace, and at the same time the rights and privileges of the lower degrees. This is clearly expressed by the fact that the sacred garments characteristic of the lower degrees belong to the higher ones. Therefore, the order in vestments is as follows: first they put on clothes belonging to the lower rank, and then to the highest. So the bishop dresses first in the clothes of a deacon, then in the clothes of a priest, and then already in those that belong to him as a bishop. The priest, too, first puts on the clothes of the deacon, and then the priest's.

Clothes of a reader or singer.

This is a short phelonion (the upper vestment of priests for worship in the form of a brocade, sleeveless robe woven with gold or silver), which at the present time is put on the reader only at his initiation. It has the appearance of a priestly phelonion, but differs from it in that it is very short, barely covering the shoulders. It is worn as a sign of dedication to the service of God. Now the reader performs his service in clothes, which are called surplice.

Surplice

- This is a long straight dress with wide sleeves. Since priests and bishops wear a surplice under other robes, their surplice is slightly changed in shape and is called a vestment. The surplice is made mainly of white or light matter to remind the wearer of the purity of life that is required of him. The surplice also marks the “robe of salvation and the garment of joy,” that is, a calm conscience and the spiritual joy that comes from this.

The orarion is also attached to the clothes of the subdeacon and deacon. This is a long wide ribbon, with which the subdeacon girds himself crosswise, and the deacon wears it on his left shoulder. Girdling with an orarion serves as a sign that the subdeacon, with humility and purity of heart, should serve God and people. When consecrating a subdeacon to the deacon, the bishop places the orarion on his left shoulder. Only at the Liturgy, after the prayer "Our Father", the deacon girds himself with the orarion cross-shaped, thereby preparing himself for the communion of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Usually, when proclaiming litanies and other exclamations, he raises the end of the orarion, holding it with three fingers of his right hand. In ancient times, the deacon wiped the lips of those who took communion with an orarion. The word "orarion" comes from the Latin "th" - I ask, or I pray. Orarion marks the wings of angels, because the deacon's ministry symbolizes the ministry of angels at the Throne of God. Therefore, an angelic song is sometimes embroidered on the orar: "Holy, Holy, Holy." When placing an orarion on himself, the deacon does not read any prayer.

Handrails, or "sleeves" belong to the clothes of the deacon. They are used in order to pull the edges of the sleeves of the underwear - as if to strengthen the hands, to make them more capable of performing the sacrament. The instructions remind the clergyman that he should rely not on his own strength, but on the strength and help of the Lord. The handrails are reminiscent of the ties with which the most pure hands of the Savior were bound.

The clothes of the priest include: a vestment (surplice), epitrachelion, handrails, a belt and a phelonion. There are also two more accessories that are not included in the number of obligatory clothes for a priest - this is a cuisse and a club. They are the awards that the bishops bestow on honored priests.

Stole

- this is nothing more than a deacon's orarion wrapped around the neck so that both ends of it go down in front. In ancient times, when consecrating a deacon to the priesthood, the bishop, instead of placing an epitrachelion on him, transferred only the back end of the orarion to the right shoulder so that both ends hung down in front. This is also indicated by the very form of the epitrachili, representing, as it were, a double-folded orarion. Epitrachelion signifies the special grace of the priesthood given to the priest. A priest without a stole, like a deacon without an orarion, does not perform a single service. He performs less solemn services in one stole.

Belt

- a ribbon with which the priest girds himself up the vestibule and stole in order to make it more convenient to perform the ritual. The belt recalls the girdling of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Last Supper and symbolizes the power of God and at the same time readiness for priestly service.

Gaiter and Mace

- these are the clothes that the priest receives as a reward, and the gaiter is the first priestly award, and the club already belongs to the bishop's clothes. It is also given to some archpriests, archimandrites and abbots. The gaiter is a quadrangular oblong plat, worn on the thigh of a clergyman on a long ribbon thrown over the shoulder, and the club is a quadrangular equilateral plat, made in the form of a rhombus. The gaiter and club symbolize the spiritual sword, the spiritual weapon, which is the Word of God. The gaiter is an award introduced in the Russian Church. In the East, only the club is known. The gaiter is put on the right thigh, and when a club is given, the gaiter is hung on the left thigh, and the club is placed on the right.

Phelon (riza)

- means "all-covering clothes." This is a long, wide, sleeveless garment covering the whole body with a hole for the head. The phelonion is worn over other garments and covers them. The phelonion, decorated with many crosses, was also called "polistavrion" - "crossed riza". The phelonion symbolizes the clothes in which the soldiers who scolded Him clothed the Lord, and reminds the priest that in the service he depicts the Lord, who sacrificed Himself for the justification of people. The priest wears a phelonion during more solemn services. At the same time, according to the Rule, the priest dresses several times during the service and undresses again, which is now by no means always observed in parish churches due to various abbreviations introduced into the service.

Monastics wear special headdresses - klobuk, kamilavka and skufiya - black, and the priests of the white clergy are given in the form of distinctions or awards skufi, and then purple kamilavka. The name "skufia" comes from the word "skyphos" - a bowl, because its shape resembles a bowl. "Kamilavka" comes from the name of the material from which it was previously made in the East and which was made from the camel's neck wool.

Bishops, in addition to priestly robes (epitracilius, vestry, belts and handrails), also have clothes characteristic of their rank: sakkos, omophorion, miter and a cross with a panagia.

Sakkos

- "clothes of sadness, humility and repentance." This is the upper episcopal clothing, similar in shape to the surplice but shorter than it, somewhat wider in volume and decorated with bells. Sakkos has the same meaning as phelonion. In ancient times, only some bishops wore sakkos, basically everyone wore a phelonion. The bells at the sakkos symbolize the gospel of the Word of God coming from the lips of the bishop.

omophorion

- clothes worn by the bishop on the shoulders. This is a long and wide board, reminiscent of a deacon's orarion, but only wider and longer. The omophorion is placed on top of the sakkos, with one end descending forward on the chest, and with the other back, on the back of the bishop. Without an omophorion, a bishop does not perform a single service. The omophorion was previously made from a wave (wool), which signified a lost sheep, i.e. sinful human race. The bishop with the omophorion symbolizes the Good Shepherd - Christ the Savior carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders. As a result of this significance of the omophorion, it was taken off and put on again several times during the service of the Liturgy. In those moments when the bishop symbolizes Christ, he is in an omophorion; when he reads the Gospel, makes a great entrance and the passing of the Holy Gifts, the omophorion is removed from the bishop, for in the Gospel and the Holy Gifts Christ Himself appears to those who pray. Usually, after the first removal of the omophorion from the bishop, another omophorion, smaller in size, is put on it again, therefore it is called a small omophorion. The small omophorion falls with both ends in front on the bishop's chest, and it is significantly shorter than the first great omophorion.

Miter

- (from Greek - “I bind”), means “bandage”, “tiara”, “crown”. In liturgical books, a miter is called a cap. This royal adornment is given to a bishop because he depicts the King, Christ, in service. At the same time, the miter also serves as a sign of hierarchical authority. It should remind the bishop himself of the crown of thorns, which the soldiers placed on the head of Christ, as well as of the sovereign, with which His head was entwined during burial.

In the Russian Church, the miter is given to archimandrites and some archpriests. At certain moments of worship, the miter is removed. The bishop removes the miter during the great entrance, in front of the Creed, for the whole time, when the air is blowing over the Holy Gifts, from the words “Take, eat ...” - to the application of the Holy Gifts, during communion, and also when he himself reads the Gospel ( but not when listening to the reading). Archimandrites and archpriests take off their miter for the entire time when the Typicon instructs to stand with their heads uncovered.

Mantle

There is a monastic garment that covers the entire body, except for the head. It depicts the wings of angels, which is why it is called angelic clothing. Embracing the whole body, the mantle symbolizes the all-covering power of God, as well as the severity, reverence and humility of monastic life. Monastics must wear robes when performing divine services.

An ordinary monastic robe is black and does not have any decorations on it.

Bishop's mantle

- purple, the so-called tablets and sources are sewn on it. There are also tablets on the mantle of the archimandrite.

Tablets

- these are quadrangular boards, usually dark red (and green for archimandrites), which are sewn to the upper and lower edges of the mantle. They personify the Old and New Testament, from which the clergy should draw their teaching. Sometimes crosses or icons are sewn on the tablets, embroidered with gold or colored threads. Sources are tapes different colors, mostly white and red, which are sewn along the mantle and depict streams of teaching flowing from the lips of the bishop. On the mantle of the bishop there are also bells, as they were on the outer clothing of the Jewish high priest. According to the custom in some Local Churches, the highest bishops, for example, patriarchs and metropolitans, wear green and blue robes. All monastics, not excluding hierarchs, serve in robes in all those cases when it is not required by the Rule to put on full vestments.

Eaglets

- small round rugs with the image of an eagle flying over the city, symbolizing the area of ​​government entrusted to the bishop. The eagle marks the purity of teaching, radiance - the light of theological knowledge and grace-filled talent. Eaglets rely during worship under the feet of the bishop and remind him that he must, with his thoughts and deeds, be above all earthly things and strive for heaven like an eagle.

EVERYDAY GARMENTS

Everyday robes, which distinguish the servants of the Church from lay people and testify to their dignity and rank, once originated from the robes used in the world, and quickly, already in ancient times, acquired special features, so that the clergy and monasticism began to stand out outwardly from the secular environment. This deeply corresponded to the concept of the Church as a kingdom not of this world, which, although it goes through its journey and ministry in the world, is nevertheless profoundly different from it in its nature. In the minds of the ancients, the sacred dignity or monastic rank obliged the bearers of such to be always and everywhere what they are before God and the Church.

The main everyday attire of the clergy and monasticism of all degrees are cassock and cassock.

It is a long, to the toe, robe with narrow sleeves with a tightly buttoned collar. A cassock is an undergarment. For monastics, it should be black. The color of the white clergy cassocks is black, navy blue, brown, gray and white for summer. Material: cloth, wool, satin, linen, flax, less often silk fabrics.

- outer garment with long, below the palms, wide sleeves. The cassocks are predominantly black, but can be dark blue, brown, white, less often cream and gray. The materials for the cassocks are the same as for the cassocks. Both cassocks and cassocks can be lined.

For everyday life, there are cassocks, which are demi-season and winter coats. These are cassocks of the first kind, with a turn-down collar trimmed with black velvet or fur. Winter cassocks-coats are made on a warm lining.

All divine services, except for the Liturgy, are performed by the priest in a cassock and cassock, over which special liturgical robes are put on ( vestments). When serving the Liturgy, as well as in special cases when, according to the Rule, the priest must be in full liturgical vestments, the cassock is removed and a cassock and other vestments are put on over the cassock. The deacon serves in a cassock, over which he wears surplice.

The bishop performs all divine services in a cassock, on which special hierarchal robes are put on. The only exceptions are some prayer services, litias, cell and other clergy services of the bishop, when he can serve in a cassock or a cassock and a mantle, over which an epitrachelion is put on.

Thus, everyday robes of the clergy are an obligatory basis for liturgical vestments.

Long-sleeved clothing with narrow sleeves was widespread throughout the world among Eastern and Western peoples. Loose long clothes with wide sleeves - oriental origin. It was also widespread in the Jewish environment during the earthly life of the Savior, Who Himself wore such clothes, as evidenced by tradition and iconography. Therefore, the cassock and cassock are considered the garment of the Lord Jesus Christ. The antiquity of this type of clothing is indirectly confirmed by the fact that even today among many Eastern peoples as a traditional national clothes a wide long slit and unslit front robe with wide long sleeves, very similar to a cassock. The word "cassock" comes from the Greek adjective "to ráson", which means - scraped, worn, devoid of lint, worn. It was precisely such almost beggarly clothes that monastics were supposed to wear in the Ancient Church. From the monastic environment, the cassock came into use for all the clergy, which is confirmed by many testimonies.

In the Russian Church until the 17th century, cassocks were not required. In everyday situations, the clergy wore long single-rows of a special cut made of cloth and velvet of green, purple and crimson colors. The gates were also trimmed with velvet or fur. The uniforms of secular persons differed in many respects from the robes of the clergy, so that the clergy in Rus' from ancient times stood out for their appearance from the worldly environment. Even the wives of the white clergy necessarily wore such clothes in which one could immediately recognize their mothers in them. Expanding ties with the Orthodox East in the second half of the 17th century contributed to the penetration of the robes of the Greek clergy into the Russian church environment. The Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667 decided to bless for Russian clergymen and monks the spiritual robes adopted at that time in the Orthodox East. At the same time, a reservation was made that the Council does not force, but only blesses the wearing of such robes and strictly forbids condemning those who do not dare to wear them. So the first Greek cassock appeared in Russia. But a loose straight cassock, convenient for countries with a hot climate, seemed apparently unacceptable in our country also due to the fact that external conditions created the habit of wearing clothes that fit tightly to the body, moreover, spacious clothes with a slit in the middle, in front, were worn in that time the Turks. Therefore, Russian cassocks began to be wrapped up and sewn in at the waist, the sleeve was made from a straight line in the form of a bell. At the same time, two cuts of cassocks arose - Kiev and Moscow. The “Kiev” cassock is slightly sutured at the waist from the sides, and leaves the back straight, while the “Moscow” cassock is significantly sutured at the waist, so that it fits to the body both from the sides and from the back.

Since the 18th century, the secular clothes of the upper classes have taken on a look completely different from traditional Russian clothes. Gradually, all classes of society began to wear short clothes, often of the European type, so that the robes of the clergy turned out to be in a particularly sharp difference from the secular ones. At the same time, in the 18th century, the everyday clothes of the clergy acquired greater uniformity and stability of cut and color. The monastics began to wear mostly only black cassocks and cassocks of the first type, while in ancient times they often wore green uniforms, and the white clergy narrowed color scheme their clothes.

The general symbolic meaning of the cassock and cassock is evidence of detachment from worldly fuss, a symbol of spiritual peace. Peace and tranquility of the heart in its constant spiritual abiding with God is the highest goal of the efforts of any believer. But especially the clergy and monastics, as those who have devoted their entire lives to serving God, should have as a result of their spiritual activity this inner renunciation of worldly care and fuss, peace and tranquility of the heart. The outer attire of the clergy corresponds to this state, reminds of it, calls to it, helps to achieve it: being the image of the outer garment that the Lord Jesus Christ wore during earthly life, the cassock and cassock mean that the clergy and monastics imitate Jesus Christ, as He and commanded his disciples. The long robe of the clergy is a sign of God's grace, clothing His servants, covering their human infirmities; the cloth or woolen cassock of the monks, girded with a leather belt, is an image of the sackcloth and leather belt, which the preacher of repentance John the Baptist wore in the desert (Matt. 3, 4). The black color of the cassocks and cassocks is especially remarkable: black is, in essence, the absence of color, something that lies outside the light spectrum. When applied to the attire of the clergy and monastics, this means the color of perfect peace as the absence of movements of passion, as it were, spiritual death for sin and renunciation of everything vain, from external, carnal life and focus on invisible life, internal. The daily attire of the clergy is also important for the surrounding believers, as evidence of the spiritual state to which all who seek salvation in God should strive.

The special detachment of monks from the world is indicated by mantle, or paly, - a long, sleeveless, cape with a clasp only on the collar, descending to the ground and covering the cassock and cassock. In early Christian times, this was the clothing of all Christians who converted to the faith from paganism and renounced those titles and ranks that they had in a pagan environment. Such a long cape made of the simplest matter meant renunciation of idol service and humility. Subsequently, it became the property of some monastics. According to the interpretation of St. Herman, Patriarch of Constantinople, a loose, unbelted mantle is a sign of angelic wings, which is why it is called the “angelic image”. The mantle is only a monastic garment. In ancient times in Rus', the monks wore a mantle always and everywhere and did not have the right to leave their cells without it. For entering the city without a mantle, the monks were punished in the 17th century by exile in remote monasteries under strong supervision. Such severity was due to the fact that at that time the monks did not yet have cassocks as mandatory outerwear. They wore single rows with narrow sleeves, so that the mantle was the only outer garment. The monks' robes, like their cassocks and cassocks, are always black.

Clergy and monastics in everyday use have special headdresses. White clergy may wear skufii. In ancient times, skufiya was a small round cap, similar to a bowl without a stand. Since ancient times, in the Western Church and in Rus', clergymen covered the shaved part of the head with such a cap. After being ordained to the priesthood, the proteges immediately shaved their hair on their heads in the form of a circle, which in Rus' received the name gumentsó, which meant the sign of the crown of thorns. The shaved part was covered with a small cap, which received the Slavic name also gumenzo, or the Greek - skufiya.

In ancient times, priests and deacons constantly wore a skufi, even at home, taking it off only during worship and before going to bed.

By decree of Emperor Paul I of December 18, 1797, purple skufis and kamilavkas were introduced into church use as awards for white clergy. In the award skufi, the priest can also stay in the church, perform divine services, removing it in the cases provided for by the Charter. Priests can wear such a skufia on a daily basis.

The everyday headdress of bishops and monks, in which they can perform some divine services, is also cowl. This is a headdress consisting of a kamilavka and a cuckoo. Klobuk has been known in the Slavic environment since ancient times. Initially, it was a princely headdress, which was a cap trimmed with fur, with a small veil sewn to it, descending on the shoulders. Such caps with bedspreads were also used by other noble people in Rus', men and women. On ancient icons, Saints Boris and Gleb are often depicted wearing hoods. About hoods, as a princely headdress, there are references in the annals. When the klobuk became the headdress of Russian monks is unknown. In the church environment, he appeared a very long time ago and looked like a deep soft cap made of simple matter with a fur band. The etymology of the verb “to put on” (to put on, put on a headdress low on the forehead, on the ears) goes back to the root klobuk. The cap was covered with a black veil that fell over the shoulders. Such hoods were worn in Rus' by both monks and bishops, only among bishops were hoods made of expensive materials and sometimes decorated with precious stones. In the Orthodox East, monastic headdresses had a different look. There, only a veil worn over a hat was considered to be a monastic cukul. The lower part of that coverlet, descending on the back, began to be divided into three ends.

Some Russian saints of antiquity wore white klobuks. Iconography depicts the holy metropolitans Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip in such hoods. With the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia in 1589, Russian Patriarchs began to wear white klobuks. At the Council of 1666-1667, all metropolitans were given the right to wear white klobuks. But at the same time, the hoods of the metropolitans did not differ in shape from the monastic hoods of the new (Greek) model (with a solid cylindrical kamilavka), only their “basting” (kukol) became white. And the hoods of the Patriarchs retained the ancient form of a spherical cap, covered with white kukul, the ends of which also differed from the ends of the monastic basting. The three ends of the patriarchal hood begin almost from the cap, two of them descend from the front to the chest, the third to the back. At the top of the patriarchal hood (on the Makovets) a cross began to be supplied, the frontal side of the hood was decorated with icons, and cherubim or seraphim were depicted at the ends of the cukul with gold embroidery.

At present, the hood of the Moscow Patriarch on the frontal side and at the ends of the cockle has images of six-winged Seraphim, in all other respects it is similar to the hoods of the ancient Russian Patriarchs. The white color of the metropolitan and patriarchal hoods means a special purity of thoughts and enlightenment by Divine light, which corresponds to the highest degrees of the church hierarchy, which are called upon to reflect the highest degrees of the spiritual state. In this regard, the hood of the Patriarch with the images of Seraphim indicates that the Patriarch, as the head of the entire Russian Church and a prayer book for her, is likened to the highest angelic ranks closest to God. The shape of the patriarchal klobuk, resembling the dome of a temple with a cross on top, also fully corresponds to the position of the Patriarch as the head of the local Church.

From the end of the 18th - the beginning of the 19th centuries, the Russian Church established the custom that still exists today to wear diamond crosses for archbishops on black, and for metropolitans on white klobuks. The cross on the headdress is not new. In the ancient Russian and especially Ukrainian church environment, even ordinary priests wore crosses on everyday hats. For priests, this custom ceased at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century. Subsequently, diamond crosses on hoods became the insignia of archbishops and metropolitans (bishops wear the usual black monastic hood without a cross). A diamond cross can mean high spiritual perfection and a special firmness of faith and teaching, corresponding to the highest degrees of the church hierarchy.

The modern monastic klobuk is a solid kamilavka in the form of a cylinder, slightly widened upwards, covered with black crepe, descending to the back and ending in the form of three long ends. This crepe is commonly called a basting (or cukul). In the rank of monastic vows under the name klobuk, of course, only crepe, a veil with which a kamilavka is covered. This veil is sometimes called a kukul, just like the veil worn during tonsure into the great schema. In this sense, the klobuk is called the “helmet of the hope of salvation,” and the kukul of the great schema, according to the order of tonsure into the small and great schema, means “the helmet of saving hope.”

This symbolic meaning of monastic veils comes from the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: “But we, being sons of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:8), and in another place : “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod in readiness to preach the gospel of peace; above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17). Thus, everyday spiritual, especially monastic, clothes signify by external means those internal qualities that any Christian must possess, called a soldier of Christ at Baptism, since he will have to wage a relentless war against invisible spiritual enemies of salvation.

Monastics of all degrees wear a rosary. This is a prayer object used for frequent reading of the Jesus Prayer. Modern rosary is a closed thread, consisting of a hundred "grains", divided into dozens of intermediate "grains" of larger sizes than ordinary ones. Cell rosaries sometimes contain a thousand "seeds" with the same division. The rosary helps to count (hence their name) the number of prayers that a monk should include in the daily rule, without focusing on the count itself. The rosary has been known since ancient times. In Rus', in the old days they had the form of a closed ladder, consisting not of “grains”, but of wooden blocks sheathed in leather or fabric, and were called “ladder” or “lestovka” (ladder). Spiritually, they mean the ladder of salvation, the “spiritual sword”, they are an image of unceasing (eternal) prayer (a circular thread is a symbol of eternity).

Pectoral Cross

pectoral crosses for priests appeared in the Russian Orthodox Church relatively recently. Until the 18th century, only bishops had the right to wear pectoral crosses. The priest's cross testifies that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, who suffered for the sins of the world, must have Him in his heart and imitate Him. The two-pointed chain of the cross is a sign of the lost sheep, that is, pastoral care for the souls of the parishioners entrusted to the priest, and the cross that Christ carried on His back, as signs of exploits and suffering in earthly life. The cross and the chain are made silver-gilded.

At the beginning of the 19th century, priests began to be awarded crosses with decorations on special occasions. By decree of the Holy Synod of February 24, 1820, Russian priests serving abroad were blessed to wear special golden crosses there, issued from the emperor's office. Such crosses are called office crosses. Sometimes they were issued as a reward to some priests who did not leave Russia.

By a state decree of May 14, 1896, a cross was introduced into church use, which is the distinction of every priest and hieromonk. This cross, which has been laid since then during priestly consecration, is silver, eight-pointed in shape with a relief image of the crucified Savior on the front side and inscriptions in the upper part: “Where, King, Glory” (“The Lord is the King of Glory”); at the ends of the wide crossbar “IC, XC” (“Jesus Christ”), under the lower oblique crossbar - “Nika” ( Greek- victory). On the reverse side of the cross there is an inscription: “Be the image of a faithful word, life, love, spirit, faith, purity (1 Tim. 4, 12). Summer 1896, May 14 days. The cross is equipped with a silver chain of single elongated rings. A jumper in the middle of this circuit is also divided into two parts. The crosses of 1896 have become an indispensable insignia of the priests, which they wear during worship over the chasuble and can be worn in everyday situations over the cassock, and the crosses of 1797 have remained awards, traditionally also granted to all graduates of theological academies who have the dignity of priests.

In addition, in the 19th century, archpriests began to be rewarded with crosses with decorations, similar to bishops' pectoral crosses.

Panagia Bishop's badge.

The first mention of a panagia as an obligatory accessory for a bishop, which is given to him at consecration after the Liturgy, is contained in the writings of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica (15th century). The 17th-century writer Jacob Goar testifies that after the adoption of the omophorion, the bishops of the Greek Church received a precious cross with the relics of saints, called the encolpion, with the addition of the greeting with the word axios (worthy). The custom of placing an encolpion on a bishop at his consecration passed from the Orthodox East to the Russian Church. But in Rus' panagiaras were already in wide use in the form of rectangular reliquaries with images of the Lord Christ, the Mother of God, and saints. Often one reliquary with relics had images of the Holy Trinity, Christ the Almighty, the Mother of God, and saints. There were gilded icons only with images of the Mother of God. Such icons were worn by bishops and archimandrites in the 16th century. Therefore, during the episcopal consecration in Russia since the 17th century, they began to lay a cross. Since it was customary for Russian bishops to wear an icon of the Mother of God or an encolpion reliquary with relics over their robes, the Moscow Cathedral of 1674 allowed Russian metropolitans to wear an “encolpion and a cross” over the sakkos, but only within their diocese. An exception was made for the Metropolitan of Novgorod, who had the right to wear a cross and an encolpion in the presence of the Patriarch.

The Russian Patriarchs, as well as the Kyiv Metropolitans as exarchs, have been wearing two panagias and a cross since the middle of the 17th century.

Over time, the relics of saints ceased to be an obligatory accessory to panagias. Currently, the panagia is an image of the Mother of God, most often round or oval in shape, with various decorations, without relics. Bishops' crosses are now also available without relics. Since 1742, archimandrites of some monasteries have been awarded panagias. In order to distinguish bishops from archimandrites, from the middle of the 17th century, bishops began to put on consecrations of two vestments: a cross and a panagia. In everyday situations, bishops had to wear a panagia, and during worship, a panagia and a cross. This order continues to this day.

The episcopal cross and panagia are signs of the highest authority in the Church. These images spiritually mean the same thing as the altar Cross and the icon of the Mother of God, namely: the dispensation of the salvation of people in the Church is carried out by the grace-filled power of the feat of the Cross of the Son of God Jesus Christ and the intercession of the Mother of God as the Mother of the Church. The episcopal cross and panagia remind us that the bishop must constantly have in his heart the Lord and the Intercessor before Him - the Ever-Virgin Mary, that for this he must have a pure heart and a right spirit, and from an excess of heart purity and truth, his mouth must wear only one good. This is also noted in the prayers recited by the deacon when putting on the bishop the cross, and then the panagia. When putting the cross on the bishop, the deacon says: “But if anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself,” the Lord said, “and take up his cross and follow Me, always, now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.” When putting on the first panagia, the deacon says: “God will create a pure heart in you, and renew the right spirit in your womb, always, now, and forever, and forever and ever.” When putting on the second panagia, he says: “Let the heart burp your word good, speak your deeds Tsar, always, now, and forever, and forever and ever.

The episcopal cross and panagia with the image of the Mother of God, which were fully defined in their main features two hundred years ago, appeared, it would seem, by chance, but their symbolism is deeply consistent with the most ancient ideas of the Church about the participation of the Mother of God in the salvation of the world. Only Christ and the Theotokos are addressed with the words “Save us.” The rest of the saints are asked: "Pray to God for us."

The bishop's cross and panagia are worn on chains, which are separated by a jumper, so that the front half of the chain, embracing the neck, descends to the chest and converges on the upper part of the cross or panagia, and the back part descends to the back. It is impossible not to see in this a repetition of the symbolism of the bishop's omophorion, which also has front and rear ends, signifying the lost sheep, which the good shepherd took for ramen, and the cross that the Lord Christ carried to Golgotha. In the consciousness of the Church, the lost sheep is an image of the nature of fallen humanity, which the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself, incarnated in this nature and raised him to Heaven, reckoning him among the unforgotten - among the Angels. This is how Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople (VIII century), interprets the meaning of the omophorion, and Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, adds that the crosses on the omophorion are depicted for the sake of “as Christ, on His shoulders, bore His cross; thus, those who want to live in Christ on the shoulder accept their cross, that is, suffering. For the cross is the sign of suffering.” St. Isidore Pelusiot († c. 436-440) emphasizes the idea that “the bishop, in the form of Christ, does His work and shows everyone with his very clothes that he is an imitator of the good and great Shepherd, who took upon Himself the infirmities of the flock.”

The two ends of the chains of the episcopal cross and panagia mark the imitation of the bishop of Christ in pastoral care for the salvation of people - the sheep of the “verbal flock” and in the feat of bearing his cross. The two ends of the chains correspond to the dual nature of the ministry of the archpastor - God and people.

Chains or laces of pectoral crosses of ordinary laymen do not have a back end, since a layman does not have pastoral duties to other people.

In everyday life, bishops wear staves, different from those wands-staves that they use for worship. Bishops' everyday croziers are usually long wooden sticks with a rim and a thickening at the top of carved bone, wood, silver or other metal. Everyday staves have a much older origin than liturgical wands. The liturgical episcopal baton separated from the everyday everyday staff of bishops because, according to canonical rules, bishops and other clergymen are forbidden to adorn themselves with expensive and bright clothes and objects in everyday life. Only during the divine service, where the bishop should show people the image of the glory of the Heavenly King, he dresses in specially decorated robes and headdresses and takes a magnificent staff in his hands.

liturgical robes of a deacon and a priest

The liturgical robes of the clergy have a common name - chasubles and are divided into deacon's, priest's and bishop's robes. The priest has all the diaconal robes and, moreover, those inherent in his rank; the bishop has all the priestly robes and, moreover, those assigned to his episcopal rank.

The liturgical robes of the Orthodox clergy are foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the robes of Aaron and other priests, made by the direct command of God (Exodus 28:2; 31:10) and intended only for priestly service, for the glory and splendor of Divine services. They cannot be worn and used in everyday life. Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord commands the Old Testament priests, leaving the temple to the outer courtyard to the people, to take off their liturgical vestments and lay them in the barriers of the saints, putting on other clothes (Ezek. 44, 19). In the Orthodox Church, at the end of the service, the vestments are also removed and remain in the temple.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the parable of those called to the royal feast, which figuratively tells of the Kingdom of God, speaks of the inadmissibility of entering it without a wedding garment (Matt. 22:11-14). The parable depicts a wedding feast on the occasion of the marriage of the king's son. According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, marriage, which is often mentioned here and in other similar images in Holy Scripture, is the mysterious marriage of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ (the Lamb) with His beloved bride, the Church (Rev. 19:7-8). At the same time, the Apocalypse notes that “it was given to her (the wife of the Lamb) to put on linen clean and bright; but the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

Thus, the general symbolic meaning of church service vestments is the expression in visible material garments of spiritual garments of righteousness and purity, in which the souls of believers must be clothed in order to participate in the eternal joy of combining Christ with the Church of His chosen ones.

Historically, liturgical vestments did not appear immediately. In general terms, the canon of liturgical vestments took shape in the 6th century. It is known that until that time the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem, wore white linen long clothes of Jewish priests and headband. The Apostle John the Theologian also wore a golden headband as a sign of the high priest. Many believe that the phelonion left by the Apostle Paul at Carp in Troas (2 Tim. 4:13) was his liturgical attire. According to legend, the Theotokos made with her own hands an omophorion for Saint Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Christ and later became Bishop of Cyprus. Thus, the apostles already used some liturgical robes. Most likely, a tradition from them was preserved in the Church, expressed by the blessed Jerome (4th century), according to which it is by no means unacceptable to enter the altar and perform divine services in common and simply used clothes.

The common attire for all degrees of the priesthood is surplice, or undershirt. This is the most ancient attire in terms of time of origin. The surplice corresponds to the podir of the Old Testament high priests, but acquires a slightly different form and meaning in Christianity.

For deacons and lower clerics, the surplice is an upper liturgical robe with wide sleeves. For priests and bishops, a surplice is an undergarment over which other vestments are put on. Therefore, it has a special name - podraznik.

A surplice is a long garment without a cut in front and behind, with a hole for the head and with wide sleeves. A surplice is also required for subdeacons. The right to wear a surplice can be given to both psalm-readers and laity serving in the temple. The surplice marks the purity of the soul, which the persons of the holy dignity should have.

Priests and bishops is the lower liturgical garment. She is put on a cassock, and other robes are put on her. This vestment has some differences from the surplice. The undershirt is made with narrow sleeves, as they should be worn with handrails. The sleeves of the vest have slits at the ends. A braid or lace is sewn to one of the sides of the incision, so that when dressed with this lace, the lower edge of the undershirt sleeve is tightly pulled together at the wrist. These laces mark the fetters that tied the hands of the Savior, led to judgment. For this reason, there are no stripes on the sleeves of the vest. They are not on the shoulders of the vestment, because his shoulders are covered with outer liturgical clothing (phelonion or sakkos).

Only a cross is sewn on the back of the vest, and on the hem, since it protrudes from under the outer clothing and is visible to everyone, there is the same sewn strip as on the surplice, with the same symbolic meaning. On the sides of the vestment there are the same cuts as on the surplice. Undershirts are made of light fabric and, in accordance with the considered meaning, should be white. Distinctive feature The episcopal vestry can be the so-called gammata - sources, streams in the form of ribbons hanging in front. They mean both the blood flowing from the sores of Christ, and, according to the blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, the teaching grace of the hierarch, and various gifts given to him from above and through him poured out on everyone. The undershirt is worn only during the service of the Liturgy and on some special occasions.

On the left shoulder, over the surplice, the deacons have orarion- a long strip of brocade or other colored material, descending from the front and back almost to the floor. The orarion is reinforced with a loop on a button on the left shoulder of the surplice, so that its ends hang down freely. Taking the lower front end of the orarion in his right hand, the deacon raises it when pronouncing litanies (petitions), overshadows himself with this end with the sign of the cross, and in the prescribed cases indicates to the priest and bishop the order of liturgical actions. At the Liturgy on “Our Father”, preparing himself for the reception of the Holy Mysteries, the deacon girds himself with the orarion along the Persians (on the chest) so that the orarion first crosses the lower part of the chest, across, passes with two ends under the armpits on the back, crosses crosswise on the back , rising to both shoulders, through the shoulders, the ends of the orarion descend to the chest, intersect here also crosswise and pass under that part of the orarion that crossed across the lower part of the chest. Thus, the chest and back of the deacon are covered by the orarion crosswise. After communion, the deacon again ungirds the orarion and hangs it on his left shoulder.

Deacon is the first sacred degree. The orarion, which he almost always wears on one left shoulder, means precisely the grace of the holy order, but only of the first degree of priesthood, which gives the deacon the right to be a minister, but not a performer of the sacraments. However, even this grace of the holy diaconal rank is a yoke and a yoke of work for God and people, it is the bearing of the cross. The symbolic expression of these spiritual truths is contained in the deacon's orarion. On the other hand, the orarion reminds the deacon of the need to imitate the angels in his service and life, always ready for the quick fulfillment of the will of God, preserving integrity and purity, remaining in perfect chastity.

Even now, the words of the angelic chant “Holy, Holy, Holy” are sometimes written on oraries. Most often this inscription is found on the so-called double oraries of protodeacons and archdeacons. This orarion is much wider than the usual, deacon, and has the peculiarity that its middle part passes under the right hand so that one end of the orarion rises through the back to the left shoulder and goes down in front, and the other end passes from under the right hand through the chest up and down the same left shoulder down the back. Such an arrangement of the orarion marks the seniority of protodeacons and archdeacons within the same diaconal rank, which is an image of the seniority of some Angels over others.

On the sleeves of the cassock, and when fully vested - on the sleeves of the cassock, priests and bishops put on handrails, or oversleeves. The deacons put them on the sleeves of the cassock. The handrail is a slightly curved strip of dense material with the image of a cross in the middle, sheathed along the edges with a ribbon of a different shade than the handrail itself. Enclosing the hand in the wrist, the handrail is connected from the inside of the hand with the help of a cord threaded into metal loops on its side edges, and the cord is wrapped around the hand, so that the handrail tightly tightens the sleeve of the cassock or cassock and is firmly held on the hand. In this case, the sign of the cross is on the outside of the hand. The cuffs are worn on both sleeves and signify God's power, strength and wisdom, given to His clergy for the accomplishment of the Divine sacraments. By the sign of the cross, the ensigns mean that it is not the human hands of the clergy, but the Lord Himself who performs the sacraments through them with His Divine power. This meaning of handrails is reflected in the prayers when putting them on to serve the Liturgy. For the right hand it reads: “Thy right hand, Lord, be glorified in the fortress, Your right hand, Lord, crush the enemies and with the multitude of Your glory erased this adversary.” This prayer also contains the idea that the instructions, as a sign of the power of God, protect the clergyman from demonic wiles during the performance of the sacraments. For the left hand it reads: “Thy hands create me and create me, give me understanding and learn your commandment.”

The history of the origin of the handrails is as follows. There were no handrails in the original Church. Since ancient times, the narrow sleeves of the imitation (cassock) and cassock were decorated with a special trim in the form of two or three stripes that covered the edges of the sleeves. At the same time, a cross was sometimes depicted between these stripes. Church authors of antiquity do not find interpretations of this decoration. Handrails first appeared as an item of clothing for Byzantine kings. They decorated and tightened the sleeves of the underwear, protruding from under the wide sleeves of the sakkos - the upper royal vestments. Wishing to honor the patriarchs of their capital throne of Constantinople with a special honor, the emperors began to grant them items of royal vestments. Byzantine kings granted the patriarchs wands, the right to depict a double-headed eagle on shoes and carpets. In the 11th-12th centuries, the hierarchs of Constantinople received sakkos and hand-rails from the kings; then the instructions passed to the primates of other Orthodox Churches, to the most prominent eastern metropolitans and bishops. Somewhat later, the orders passed to the priests. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica (12th century), writes about commissions as a necessary accessory for priestly and episcopal vestments. In the 14th-15th centuries, ensigns as a reward first appeared for some archdeacons, and then for all deacons. Ancient handrails were often richly decorated with gold and silver embroidery, pearls, sometimes they depicted a deisis, an icon of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, John the Baptist, sometimes they did not have any images. In the future, the only image on the handrails becomes the cross - a sign of the power of the cross, communicated to the servant of the throne of God. The symbolism of the handrails thus reaches its completion in the 16th-17th centuries. With the advent of handrails on the sleeves of the cassock and cassock, stripes and crosses were no longer sewn on. The handguards, as an object external to the sleeves, clearly showed evidence that the power and wisdom in performing the sacraments and services does not belong to the clergyman himself, but is given to him from outside, from God. This is the dogmatic meaning of the change that has taken place in the symbolism of the sleeves. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, attaches to the orders, in addition to the sign of God's power and wisdom, the meaning of the image of the fetters with which the hands of the Savior, led to judgment, were bound. When the cuffs are put on a cassock or undershirt without cords on the sleeves, they really acquire this meaning as well. When they are put on a vestment, the sleeves of which are already pulled together with a cord-the image of the bonds of Christ, only their first meaning remains behind the instructions - the power and wisdom of God, performing the sacraments.

The surplice, orarion and handrails are the vestments of the deacon. Other liturgical robes belong to the robes of the priestly rank.

Starting from the 15th century, the bishop, consecrating a deacon to the priesthood, went around his neck with a deacon's orarion, so that both ends evenly descended down the chest down to the hem, and at the same time connected one with the other. It turned out stole- the garment of priests and bishops. (The word epitrachelion in Greek is masculine, but in Russian books it was used in the feminine gender.) Since the 15th century, hierarchs have done precisely this when consecrating a deacon to the priesthood. The epitrachelion formed from the orarion meant that the priest, without losing the grace of the diaconal rank, acquires double, in comparison with the deacon, special grace, giving him the right and duty to be not only a minister, but also a performer of the Sacraments of the Church and the whole work of the priesthood. This is not only a double grace, but also a double yoke, a yoke.

In later times (approximately from the 16th-17th centuries), stole was made not from deacon's orarion, but especially, for ease of wearing. In the part that covers the neck, the stole is curly and narrow, so that this part can comfortably fit the collar of the cassock or cassock. At the consecration of a deacon as a presbyter, the bishop no longer wraps the orarion around the neck of the initiate, but immediately places a ready-made epitrachelion on him. The separation of the stole from the orarion, however, does not abolish the meaning of the stole as an orarion connected in front. Therefore, at present, the stole is sewn in such a way that it consists of two separate strips in front, connected only in a few places where conditional buttons are placed, since there are no loops, the buttons are planted in those places where the stole halves are simply sewn to one another. But the epitrachelion is not sutured along the entire length, with rare exceptions. The deacon's orarion, as a rule, has seven crosses sewn on it to commemorate the fact that the deacon is the minister of all the seven Sacraments of the Church, and the priest performs six Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Consecration of the Unction. The Sacrament of the Priesthood has the right to perform only the bishop. When the orarion is bent around the neck, the cross in its middle part is on the back of the neck, and the other six are located opposite each other on both halves of the orarion connected in front. In the same way, the signs of the cross are also sewn onto the stole, so that in front it has three pairs of crosses on both of its halves, which indicates that the priest performs the six Sacraments of the Church. The seventh sign of the cross, located on the neck of the priest, means that he received his priesthood from the bishop and is subject to him, as well as that he bears the yoke (yoke) of service to Christ, who redeemed the human race by the feat on the cross.

The priest can perform all divine services and rites only in the stole, which is superimposed over the cassock, and when fully vested over the vestment, as always happens during the service of the Liturgy and in some special cases .

phelonion(in everyday life - a chasuble) is the upper liturgical attire of priests and, in some cases, bishops. In the plural, the word "chasuble" means all vestments in general, but the singular form implies a phelonion.

This garment is very ancient. The phelonion in ancient times was a cape made of a long rectangular piece of woolen fabric and served to protect against cold and bad weather. It was worn on both shoulders, with the front ends pulled together on the chest, and over one shoulder; sometimes a cutout for the head was made in the middle of this cloak, and a phelonion put on the shoulders covered the whole body of a person with its long ends in front and behind. At the same time, among the Jews, the edges of the phelonion were sometimes decorated with cassocks or omets - a trim made of sewn lace; and along the very edge of this decoration, so-called cracks were sewn - a blue cord with tassels or fringe as a sign of the constant remembrance of the commandments and the Law, which was led by God Himself (Num. 15, 37-40). The phelonion was worn by the Lord Jesus Christ in His earthly life. This is confirmed by ancient icons, where the Savior is almost always depicted in a cloak, sometimes worn on both shoulders, and sometimes over one shoulder. Perhaps it is the phelonion-cloak that the Evangelist means when he says that at the Last Supper, the Lord, about to wash the feet of the disciples, took off outerwear. The apostles also wore the phelonion, as evidenced by the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 4:13). Many believe that it was his liturgical garment. In any case, even if the Lord and the apostles used the phelonion only as an ordinary outer garment of those times, in the minds of the Church it acquired a sacred meaning for this very reason and began to be used as a liturgical vestment from the deepest antiquity.

The shape of the phelonion changed. For the convenience of wearing in front of the hem, a larger or smaller semicircular cutout began to be made, that is, the front hem of the phelonion no longer reached the feet. Over time, the upper shoulders of the phelonion began to be made firm and high, so that the rear upper edge of the phelonion in the form of a truncated triangle or trapezoid now began to rise above the shoulders of the clergyman.

On the back, in the upper part of the phelonion, under the shoulder strip, just as on the surplice, and for the same reasons, the sign of the cross is placed. And at the bottom of the dorsal part of the phelonion, closer to the hem, an eight-pointed star is sewn on the same line with the cross. The eight-pointed star in the Christian view means the eighth century - the onset of the Kingdom of Heaven, the new earth and the new heaven, since the earthly history of mankind has seven periods - seven centuries. Thus, in two brief symbols - the cross and the eight-pointed star, the beginning and end of the salvation of mankind in Christ Jesus are indicated on the phelonion. These symbols can also mean the Nativity of Christ (a star over Bethlehem) and His feat of the Cross. However, the Star of Bethlehem also contains a sign of the future age, for with the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, “the Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near” to people. The star and the cross on the phelonion also signify the union in the Orthodox Church of the grace of the priesthood of the Old (star) and New (cross) Testaments.

Containing many lofty spiritual concepts, the phelonion in its general appearance primarily means the radiance of Divine glory and the strength of Divine light, clothing the clergy, the robe of righteousness and spiritual joy. Therefore, in the prayer, when putting on the phelonion, it reads: “Thy priests, O Lord, will be clothed in righteousness, and Your saints will always rejoice with joy, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen” (Ps. 131:9). The concepts of Divine light, righteousness, joy, as a wealth of spiritual gifts and feelings, make it possible for felons to be not only white. Phelonies are made of gold and silver brocade, which especially emphasizes the importance of the radiance of glory, as well as of other primary colors used in worship for vestments. Starting from the 18th century, black phelonions with white stripes are put on during Great Lent, in this case being a sign of rags and sackcloth, in which the Savior was dressed when he was desecrated.

Epitrachelion, handrails and phelonion make up a small priestly vestment, in which all evening and morning services and rites are served, except for the Liturgy. When serving the Liturgy, as well as in certain cases provided for by the Charter, the priest puts on full vestments. The basis of a full vestment is a vestment. On top of it, an epitrachelion, handrails, a belt, a gaiter, a club, a phelonion are put on in succession. At the same time, the legguard and club, being awards to the clergy, may not be available to all priests and are not among the mandatory items of vestments.

Belt, worn over a vest and stole, is a not very wide strip of matter with trim in the form of stripes of a different color or shade along the edges, in the middle it has an sewn sign of the cross. At both ends of the belt there are ribbons with which it is tied at the back, on the lower back.

From ancient times to the present day, a tightly tied belt, as an item of attire for workers and warriors, was used to give the body strength and strength. Hence, and as a symbolic object in religious and secular use, the belt has always meant certain concepts of strength, strength, power, or readiness for service. The psalmist the prophet David says: “The Lord hath reigned, clothed in splendor, the Lord hath clothed himself in strength and girded himself.” Here, as in many other places of Holy Scripture, the Divine power is symbolically indicated by a belt, a girdling. Christ, girded with a long towel and washing the feet of His disciples, gives by this an image of His service to people. And about His service to the faithful in the future age of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks figuratively: “He will gird himself, and will seat them, and, coming, will begin to serve them” (Lk. 12:37). The Apostle Paul admonishes Christians, saying: “Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth” (Eph. 6:14). In these words, the concept of the spiritual strength of truth is connected with the concept of serving God in the spirit of truth.

The gaiter is an oblong rectangular board on a long ribbon - the first award in turn for zealous service to the Church.

Gaiter archimandrites, abbots and priests are awarded. Symbolically, the rectangular shape of the cuisse means the Four Gospels, which is in full agreement with the concept of the spiritual sword, which is the word of God.