The
church is not a kingdom of this world, it is a ship of salvation. And this is
underlined from every side and every detail. This also includes the vestments
of the clergy.
If you
see a tall bearded man in black long robes with a cross walking along the
street you immediately understand that it's a priest. You see a bishop in full
vestments at a service and you think - here he is, truly resembling the Lord in
His majesty and glory.
But
priests and bishops didn't always look the way they do now. Vestments would
change overtime, certain objects which were regular items began to have a
sacred meaning and received a corresponding dogmatic understanding and
finally became a part of the tradition of the church. Here are 5 interesting
facts about vestments:
1. The Mitre - a burial napkin or the crown of
thorns of Christ?
This is
that instance when a number of theological interpretations given on the subject
of vestments by the Church, would not even come to mind of person who is new to
the church. The Mitre is often symbolically associated with the crown of thorns
places by Pilate’s legionaries on the head of the Savior or with the burial
napkin- a special piece of cloth that covered the head of Christ during His
burial.
However
when looking at the beautiful, lavishly decorated crown on the head of a bishop
or an archpriest, you begin to think of it as more of a symbol of spiritual
power than as an item attributed to the Passion of the Lord or even a funeral
veil. Such an understanding can be justified with another symbolic
interpretation which centers around the liturgical band worn by the first
bishop of Jerusalem, James, who was the Brother of the Lord or to the headdress
of the high priest.
Also the
mitre serves a prefiguration of the golden crowns, with which the righteous
will be wedded in the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the
Russian Orthodox Church, mitres are also given to priests - as a particularly
high honor and as an award. Such priests are referred to as mitred priests. The
hierarchical mitre is distinguished from that of a priest by having a small
cross on top.
It is
interesting that in the Alexandrian Orthodox Church, even altar servers are
allowed to wear a mitre, the Catholic pope wore a tiara (a certain version of a
mitre) with three crowns until the
second half of the 20th century. It served as a symbol of his triple authority
over the Vatican and the whole Church (one of the primary reasons which lead to
the Great Schism in 1054) and supreme authority over the sovereigns of Europe.
2. The interesting top of the Russian
phelonion.
The
theological interpretation of this part of the priest’s top vestment can be
compared to the bishop’s omophor: the priest is the good shepherd who zealously
watches over the flock entrusted to him by the Lord and who is not ashamed to
place the lost sheep upon his shoulders.
If we
compare the Russian phelonion with the Greek (in the photo two priests in
Russian and one in Greek), we will see that there is no top collar on it...
Why is
this? Because in Greece, churches are located in a warm climate that extends even
through the wintertime, but before there was indoor heating the Russian churches could get very cold. Until the XVII century, Russian churches were not heated
and in the wintertime they were filled with cold draft winds. Even the
parishioners would attend divine service in fur coats.
That is
when the stiffened or standing collar appeared on Russian phelonions. It was
minimal protection at least so that the priest’s neck would be protected from
cold drafts. Some even attributed the growing of long hair or having a “tail”
as an additional protection from the inclimate weather.
3.
Sulok (Crosier mantle) on the Bishop’s staff.
This
particular vestment piece is most commonly seen in Russian Orthodox churches
and can also be attributed to the cold climate.
Liturgical
staffs were often made of precious metals. Keeping this in mind, bishops would
often have to serve outdoors. One such example can be the blessing of the water
during the Feast of Theophany. Obviously, touching the cold metal at the same
time would be quite unpleasant.
This is
why in the middle of the XVII century, a sulok was invented - a special
rectangular fabric which would be folded
in half and tied under the crossbeam of the staff. The lower part separated the
bishop's fingers from the cold metal, and the upper part protected the bare
hand from the frost.
With the
passage of time, the sulok became a common church decoration, and sometimes as
an award to the hierarch. Today the situation is different because all Russian
bishops have them on their staffs, and the staff without a sulok is designated
only for the patriarch.
In terms
of its theological meaning the sulok symbolizes the Divine grace that covers
the human infirmities of the bishop while in charge of the Church.
4. Limited to black undercassocks?
Among the
majority of Russians, for some reason, there is a common opinion which exists
that priests’ undercassocks(cassocks) need to be black and only black ... Just
like Henry Ford cars.
This is
far from the truth. Black cassocks are worn, mostly by monks. This color of
vestments symbolizes repentance and sorrow for the committed sins (therefore,
the black liturgical vestments are used during Lent), and monasticism - the
rank of those who are repenting.
Married
(also called "white clergy") priests are free to choose the color of
their undercassocks and in everyday life can wear various colors including
black, gray, light gray (almost white) or purple.
At the
same time, since the XVII century, there was a tradition among priest from
Cathedrals and church located in large cities which entailed
wearing cassocks that would match the current feast day color . Accordingly,
they are red or white(on Pascha), green (on Pentecost), blue (on the feasts of
the Theotokos), white (for the Transfiguration of the Lord and other feasts of
the Lord) and gold and all other symbolic colors in the Orthodox Church.
5. Are there priests without a cross?
When it
comes to the Russian Orthodox Church then the answer is definitely not. We are
all used to the fact that the priest, even if outside of the church, still
wears vestments that we can call the bare minimum - pectoral cross and cassock.
But until
the end of the XIX century, the priests' crosses were an exception rather than
a rule.
Until the
eighteenth century, only bishops had the right to wear pectoral crosses. The
cross on their chest served as an indication that they are servants of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins, must have Him in their heart and
follow His example.
In the
late XVIII - early XIX century priests were awarded crosses only in special
cases. A decree of the Holy Synod on February 24, 1820, grated Russian priests
serving abroad to wear special gold crosses given by the Czar. Sometimes they
were also allowed within the country for priests with high honor and as an
award.
If
we look at the portraits of the priests
from the Crimean War, we can see that some of them have 1-2 crosses on cloth tapes over their chests. These crosses
were awarded for valor and given only to those priests who served within the
military.
Around
the same time we begin to see modern crosses with decoration which served as a award that bishops would give to clerics
of their dioceses.
Therefore
a priest from the 18th century would not have any pectoral crosses, and by the
nineteenth century a priest could have up to 4 such crosses.
Finally,
in 1896, Czar Nicholas II, signed a decree on May 14, which introduced a
priestly pectoral cross as a "sign of the distinction for every priest and
hieromonk." This customary silver
eight-pointed cross has since been given to every new priest during his
ordination.
Over the
years and various merits, it could be replaced by a four-pointed golden cross
and then, in turn, with a cross with decorations, in accordance with the will
of the bishop.
Nowadays
we can also come across an additional cross but only as a special award given
personally by the patriarch. It is distinguished by the shape which includes
rays of light and has a mitre on its top.
Translated
by the Catalog of Good Deeds
Source:
https://pravoslavie.fm/interested/pyat-lyubopytnykh-faktov-iz-mira-svyashhen/
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