- Phelonion
The phelónion, in Greek, polytonic|φαιλόνιον (plural, polytonic|φαιλόνια, "phaelónia") is a liturgical
vestment worn by apriest of the Eastern Christian tradition. It is worn over the priest's other vestments and is the same as thechasuble ofWestern Christianity .Like the chasuble, the phelonion was originally a sort of poncho, a round vestment with a hole in the middle for the head, which fell to the feet on all sides. In its present form (dating from about the fifteenth century) the front is largely cut away (from about the waist down) to facilitate the movements of the priest's hands. In Russia the longer front remained common until quite recent times. The use of the phelonion is not limited to the
Divine Liturgy but is specified for any major liturgical function. It is also called phenolion (polytonic|φαινόλιον; plural phenolia polytonic|φαινόλια ) in some books.There are two main styles of phelonion. Byzantine or Greek-style phelonia are tailored to fit over the shoulders, while Russian phelonia (Фелонь, "phelon") have a high, stiffened collar that covers the back of the head. There is also a shortened phelonion (Фелончик, "felonchik") that is worn by a reader at his tonsuring. This "small phelonion" is still worn by
altar server s inOld Believers churches.A
bishop who wishes to serve a Divine Liturgy as a priest ("i.e.", without the special rites and prayers of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy) will sometimes vest in a phelonion instead of hissakkos , but with the small omophorion around his neck. Originally, before the introduction of the sakkos, bishops wore a phelonion identical to that worn by priests, except that it was made of cloth that was either woven or embroidered with a pattern of multiple crosses, called a "polystavrion" ("many crosses").In
Oriental Orthodoxy , the phelonion is often only clasped at the neck, and is thus more open than the Byzantine style, resembling a Westerncope . Its various names are "phanolion" (Coptic), "paynā" (Assyrian), "phayno" (Syriac Orthodox), "šurdzar" (Armenian) and "kāppā" (Ethiopian). These are worn by bishops as well as priests (the sakkos is not worn by priests).
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