Priestly vestments are a set of special liturgical clothes that the priest wears for the Divine Liturgy, evening services, as well as various church sacraments and services. Each of the items included in the vestments of the presbyter has its own history and symbolic meaning.
The most ancient and famous of them are the phelonion and the epitrachelion. Epitrakhil - literally translated from Greek means “that which is around the neck”. Without this clothing, the priest has no right to perform any divine service or sacrament. This is a symbol of that invisible grace of the Holy Spirit, which the priest received during his ordination to the dignity.
The phelonion is a sleeveless top cape with a hole for the head, which the clergy wear over all other vestments. Until the Late Middle Ages, the phelonion was also worn by all bishops, regardless of title. In fact, the prototype of a phelonion or robe is an ordinary cloak, common in early Christian times. In early Christianity, all felonies were exclusively white, then they began to be decorated with sewn crosses, stars and other objects. Symbolically, the robe means that sackcloth and purple robe, in which Christ the Savior walked during his earthly life. With the development of the Christian liturgical cult, felonies of other colors appeared, as well as polystavrions - vestments completely covered with crosses. The classic phelonion is now known as the Greek one, since it is common in Orthodox churches that received their foundation from the ancient patriarchates of Byzantium.
In Russia, from the 16th century, they began to sew felonies with a high trapezoidal collar, which rises above the neck of the priest. The reasons for this cut are not known for certain. According to one version, this was done in order to better protect the clergyman from the wind and cold. According to the other, that this form was borrowed from the cut of the Catholic pluvial (the Latin analogue of feloni).
In the old days, almost no one was involved in sewing Greek-style priestly vestments in our country. The Greek phelonion was a great rarity on the territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. Usually representatives of the farmsteads of various Greek monasteries served in it, who brought their vestments from their native land. But now the Greek cut in the vestments for the presbyter is gradually becoming a daily practice among the Ukrainian priesthood. Some of the presbyters like the aesthetics of this cut more, someone is trying to inherit the traditions of early Christianity, someone is simply more comfortable serving in a Greek felonie. Therefore, many workshops now offer their own versions of Greek vestments for priests.
However, you should be careful here, since not all manufacturers understand the specifics of the Greek cut. Therefore, if you want to buy a priestly vestment of the Greek type, you need to pay attention to who will be engaged in sewing, what experience this master has and what materials the sewing will be made of.
In the online store "oblachenie.com" you can buy Greek-style priestly vestments, made of high-quality materials and at an affordable price. Greek vestments usually have one size, therefore many models are immediately available on the site. For each design and embroidery option, you have the opportunity to independently choose the necessary colors, as well as the base material - gabardine, satin or velvet. All your wishes and suggestions will be taken into account by our consultants during the telephone order confirmation. In addition to the vestments, on our website you can purchase a podriznik and mitra. Also pay attention to the wide selection of pectoral crosses presented in our catalog. Happy shopping!
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