What priests and monks wear, or What is the difference between a cassock and a robe

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Priests, like, incidentally, monks, cannot be confused with anyone, so distinctive is their appearance, which for centuries has embodied the traditions of the Orthodox Church. One gets the impression that just out of the desire to distinguish itself from ordinary people, from the laity, the church keeps the rules of dressing deacons, priests, bishops, monks unshakable, does not recognize innovations in this area, due to which the modern representatives of the Orthodox clergy look almost exactly like their predecessors a hundred, two hundred, even a thousand years ago.

Casual Apparel

The fact that fashion trends practically do not affect the clergy in any way is not accidental. The point is not that Orthodox clergymen do not attach importance to what they put on - quite the contrary. The wearing of each item is strictly regulated by church norms, as well as the order of putting on, the places in which it is supposed to appear in one or another vestment. The process of vesting itself is accompanied by a special prayer - everything that the priest wears brings him closer to God and at the same time removes him from the ordinary world.

Traditions associated with the vestments of monks and clergymen originated under the apostles, and some even in Old Testament times. The connection with those distant eras is expressed in the outward appearance of the clergy and in the unshakable rules that relate to dressing.

Among the many garments prescribed to be worn by the Orthodox Church, there are those that are worn only during liturgies and on special occasions, and there are those that are constantly worn - including at home or in a cell, if we are talking about a monk. The priest's daily attire includes a cassock and a cassock. The cassock is a lower vestment, it is sewn of cloth, wool, satin, linen or silk and is a long, toe-length robe with narrow sleeves. Monks are supposed to wear black cassocks; priests can also wear navy blue, brown, gray, or white. A belt is put on over the cassock.

They put on a cassock on top - this is the outer garment. The word comes from the Greek "rason", which means "worn clothes". The cassock is also long, the sleeves are wide below the palms. In winter, they wear insulated robes that look like coats. Until the 17th century, robes were optional. The Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667, the same one that proclaimed the fight against schismatics, blessed monks and priests with the robes that were worn in the Orthodox East. And the black color of the cassock symbolizes, in fact, the absence of color, and with it - peace and detachment from the world.

The cassock and cassock are the garments of Christ - such a garment, long-skirted with wide sleeves, was worn in Judea at the beginning of the era.

The headdress of a monk and a priest is skufia. Once it was a small round hat, it was covered with hair cut at the top of the head - a gumenzo. The skufia has four folds that form a cross. Instead of a skufia, priests can wear a kamilavka - if they have been awarded it. This headdress is dark blue, purple or black, shaped like a cylinder. A black kamilavka, covered with a black cloth, became part of the monk's vestments; this headdress is called a klobuk. By the way, the word "push up", that is, to push low on the forehead, ears, is formed precisely from the name of this headdress.

Orthodox monks wear a robe - a long sleeveless cape with a clasp at the collar. The robe covers the cassock and cassock, reaches the ground. In the first centuries of Christianity, the mantle was the usual garment for all believers who renounced paganism and left their titles and ranks in the past. Monastic robes are always black, bishops wear purple, metropolitans wear blue, and patriarchs wear green.

What kind of dress is it supposed to serve

Liturgical vestments include additional garments. They are called vestments. They cannot be worn in everyday life, outside the church. After the service, they remain in the church. Traditions regarding the wearing of the robe go back to the times of the Old Testament priests, the robe was worn by the apostles. The canon itself took shape in the 6th century.

During the divine services, deacons are only entitled to the surplice - it is put on a cassock. This is a long robe with wide sleeves, white - symbolizing the purity of the soul.

On the left shoulder, an orarion is worn - a wide and long ribbon. Priests are supposed to wear a double orarion, or epitrachelion - it symbolizes the two goals of the priest - to serve the church and perform the sacraments. Without epitrachilos, a priest cannot conduct divine services. In case of some kind of emergency, he can bless any long piece of cloth, rope, and use it as an epitrachelion. Subsequently, one should either preserve its function for this garment, or destroy it.

Deacons, priests, and bishops are required to wear cords during services. These are strips of dense matter with the image of a cross, they are put on the hands. Thus, it is emphasized that the Lord Himself acts through the priest. Armbands also refer to the bonds in the hands of Christ.

What is the robe and what else is it supposed to be worn by priests and bishops

Priests and bishops put on a phelonion on the surplice, which in this case is called "podriznik" and is sewn from fine fabrics. This garment is very ancient; according to the images on ancient icons, Christ also wears something similar to a phelonion, and besides, it resembles the purple robe in which the Savior was clothed before execution.

The phelonion is a sleeveless cape with a slit for the head. Bishops wear a robe similar to a felonne - sakkos, this is a cape with sleeves. Sakkos appeared due to the fact that once Byzantine emperors began to bestow royal vestments on bishops. Sakkos is sewn from expensive fabric, it has 33 buttons - according to the number of earthly years of Christ. The full priestly vestment includes a belt with a cross sewn on, it is worn over the cassock and epitrachelium and tied at the back, at the waist. If the priest has such awards, he puts on a few more items of vestments - a legguard and a club, which are in the form of boards on a long ribbon.

The headdress of bishops is miter. This is a tall, hard hat, usually decorated with velvet, brocade embroidery, beads, and precious stones. A priest can also receive a mitra as a reward. Among the items of the bishop's vestments is a wide long ribbon, an omophorion, which goes down at one end to the chest, the other to the back, or with both ends to the chest, sewn or fastened with buttons. A legend is connected with this vestment, according to which in 910 the Mother of God covered Constantinople with her omophorion, protecting it from ruin by the barbarians.

The bishop's distinctive breastplate is the panagia, which depicts the image of the Mother of God. Once a panagia contained a reliquary with relics, now this is no longer necessary.

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