Fresco from the 14th century depicting St. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or Gregory the Great wearing a white omophorion.

In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition, the omophorion (Greek:ὀμοφόριον ; Slavonic: омофоръ, omofor) is the distinguishing vestment of a bishop and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Church Slavonic (also Church Slavic, Old Bulgarian) is the Liturgical language of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions especially the Latin Rite and other Roman Catholics A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight Originally of wool, it is a band of brocade decorated with crosses and is worn about the neck and shoulders. The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. [1]

By symbolizing the lost sheep that is found and carried on the Good Shepherd's shoulders, it signifies the bishop's pastoral role as the icon of Christ. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed "

Clergy and ecclesiastical institutions subject to a bishop's authority are often said to be "under his omophorion".

The equivalent vestment in Western Christian usage is the archiepiscopal pallium, the use of which is subject to different rubrics and restrictions, while all Orthodox bishops wear the omophorion. This article refers to the religious garment called a "pallium"

Use

The omophorion has two forms: the ancient great omophorion, which passes around the neck, is folded in the front, and hangs down past the knees in both the front and the back, like a loosely-worn long scarf; and the small omophorion which is much simpler, passing around the neck and hanging down in the front similar to an epitrachelion (stole), only wider and shorter, coming down only a little past the waist. Uses and types In cold climates a thick Knitted scarf often of Wool, is tied around the Neck to keep warm The Epitrachelion (from the Greek, "around the neck" often called simply a stole in casual English-language usage is the liturgical Vestment Because of the complexity of the great omophorion, and because of the dignity of the episcopal office, whenever the bishop puts on the omophorion or takes it off, he is assisted by two subdeacons. Subdeacon (or sub-deacon is a title used in various branches of Christianity.

Whenever he presides at any divine service, the bishop will be vested in the omophorion. If he is serving the Divine Liturgy he will wear both the great and the small omophorion at different times over his liturgical vestements. The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. At any service other than the Divine Liturgy he will usually wear the small omophorion.

At the Divine Liturgy, the rubrics call for the bishop to put on and take off the omophorion numerous times. The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. A rubric is a word or section of text which is written or printed in Red Ink to highlight it When he is first vested, the subdeacons place the great omophorion on him, but afterwards, when the rubric calls for him to wear the omophorion, it is replaced, for the sake of convenience, with the small omophorion. In some places, when several bishops concelebrate, it is now the custom for the chief celebrant to use the great omophorion when called for, and the other bishops to wear the small omophorion throughout [2]. Main article Eucharist (Catholic Church In the Catholic Church concelebration (from Lat

In the Ruthenian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, often only the great omophorion is used. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a Sui iuris (ie self-governing Catholic Church (see Particular Church) which uses the Divine Liturgy of History Before the Union of Brest See also History of Christianity in Ukraine The Ukrainian Catholic church did not exist as such until the In this simplified usage, the great omophorion is not replaced by the small omophorion [3] [4], and is worn by the bishop throughout the entire liturgy. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions Some Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops, however, will insist on the full ceremonial.

During the All-Night Vigil, the bishop will wear the small omophorion at the beginning, but then near the end will change into the great omophorion for the Great Doxology. For the musical setting by Rachmaninoff, see All-Night Vigil (Rachmaninoff The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox The Great Doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the Trinity which is chanted or read daily in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches

Development

In the early church, the omophorion was a broad band of white wool ornamented with crosses and draped loosely over the neck, shoulders, and breast. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c The modern Roman pallium developed from this early omophorion; however, in the West it has changed over the centuries into a circular, thin woolen garment for the shoulders, with short, weighted pendants before and behind. This article refers to the religious garment called a "pallium" The papal pallium adopted by Pope Benedict XVI is closer to the original omophorion. Pope Benedict XVI ( Latin: Benedictus PP XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger

The only change in the omophorion in the East has been the augmentation of its width, and the material from which it is made. We find distinct testimony to the existence of the omophorion as a liturgical vestment of the bishop in Isidore of Pelusium about the year 400. Isidore of Pelusium (d ca 449 was born in Egypt to a prominent Alexandrian family Events By Place Western Roman Empire Italy is first invaded by Alaric (probable date It was made of wool and was already seen as symbolic of the duties of bishops as shepherds of their flocks. In the miniatures of an Alexandrian Chronicle of the World, written probably during the fifth century we already find pictorial representation of the omophorion. In later times we meet the same representation on the renowned ivory tablet of Trier, depicting the solemn translation of relics. A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial Among the pictures dating from the seventh and eighth centuries, in which we find the omophorion, are the lately discovered frescoes in S. Maria, Antiqua in the Roman Forum. This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and The representation in these frescoes is essentially the same as its present form.

The omophorion probably developed from the civil omophorion, a shoulder garment or shawl in general use. Probably either the bishops introduced directly by a positive precept as a liturgical pontifical badge a humeral cloth resembling the ordinary omophorion and called by that name, or the civil omophorion was at first used by the bishops as a mere ornament without any special significance, but in the course of time gradually developed into a distinctively episcopal ornament, and finally assumed the character of an episcopal badge of office.

Oriental Orthodoxy

His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, wearing red emip'oron.

In Oriental Orthodoxy the omophorion takes a number of different forms:

• The Armenian Orthodox emip'oron is similar to the Byzantine great omophorion. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի Hayasdaneaytz Arakelagan
• The Syriac Orthodox baţrašil or uroro rabbo ('great stole') is a straight strip of embroidered material, about 20 cm wide, with a head-hole midway along it, that hangs down a bishop's chest and back. The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world
• Coptic Orthodox hierarchs (Patriarch, Metropolitans and Bishops) wear the omophorion, usually folded, due to its large width. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family In Hierarchical Christian churches the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the Diocesan bishop or It is white in color, with extensive ornamental embroidery. It is wider than its Byzantine counterpart, wrapped over the head over the monastic Kouklion, then crossed from the front over the chest, wrapped again from the back, crossed over the back by the waist level, then over the shoulders, then coming straight down, tucked under the frontal (over the chest) crossed wrapping. It is called a Ballin, and it is almost the double the length of the Byzantine Omophorion.

Sources

(incomplete)

External links

• Great omophorion (front)
• Great omophorion (back)
• Small omophorion

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia