(CE:1475a-1479a)

LITURGICAL VESTMENTS. The concept of devoting special

apparel for use at worship services has its origin in the Old
Testament where God commanded Moses to prepare sacred
garments that would impart dignity and grandeur to his brother,
Aaron, and his sons (Ex. 6:3; Nm. 3:2). Vestments for the high
priest included a breast piece, an ephod, a mantle, a checkered tunic,
a turban, and a sash. They were made of finely woven linen, studded
with precious stones, and adorned with gold, violet, purple, and
scarlet yarn. Ordinary priests had to wear simpler and less colorful
vestments consisting of tunics, sashes, and headdresses (Ex. 28:40).
In contrast to vestments of other churches, where shape and style
varied from time to time, those in use by the Coptic church
underwent little modification across the ages. This fact is attested by
the writings of such ecclesiastical historians as Abu Daqn (1963),
Vansleb (1677, p. 60), Renaudot (1847, Vol. 1, pp. 161-63), and
Denzinger (1863, Vol. 1, p. 130).
White is the predominant color in Coptic liturgical garments,
this color being the symbol of purity (Ps. 101:7; Is. 1:18; Rev. 3:4-5;
etc.). It is also the color in which the angels are always robed (Mt.
28:2-3; Mk. 16:5; Acts 1:10; etc.). The twenty-four heavenly priests
are also dressed in white (Rev. 4:4).

Consecration of Liturgical Vestments

Before they are first used, liturgical vestments must be
consecrated by a BISHOP, who says the following prayer over
them:

Master, Lord God Almighty, Father of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus
Christ, we beseech and entreat Thy goodness, O Lover of man, to accept
unto Thee the offerings of Thy servants, which they have dedicated to
Thee. Reward them with eternal gifts in return for their ephemeral ones;
heavenly for earthly things; and everlasting in lieu of passing ones.
Graciously, O Lord, sanctify this vestment, purify it through the grace of
Thy Holy Spirit. Purify our souls, our bodies, and our spirits. Grant unto
 us Thy Heavenly Gift, through Thy Only Son, our Lord, our God, and
our Savior Jesus Christ.

Here the bishop makes the sign of the cross over the vestment,
consecrating it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.
Before the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, a priest's or
deacon's vestments have to be signed by the officiating priest in the
name of the Trinity, but when a bishop is present, it is he who signs
them. While the vestments are being put on, the priest should recite
Psalm 30 ("I will extol Thee, O Lord") and Psalm 93 ("The Lord
reigneth, He is clothed with majesty"), in addition to Isaiah 61:10: "I
will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God, for
he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me
with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a
garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
Each of the three grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy has its
own liturgical vestments. Those of the episcopate can be more
elaborate and decorative than the others. Bishops normally wear
large bulbous crowns, except in the presence of the patriarch, in
which case they wear a special hood known as a koukoullion. The
bishop of Jerusalem alone may keep his crown on, as he occupies an
apostolic metropolitan see.

Cap
The cap is used by bishops as a close-fitting head cover worn
under the hood of the burnus (cape) and is usually embroidered with
golden or silver crosses. It was also worn by deacons during services
as a headdress of white silk or linen material with four embroidered
crosses around it and an additional small upright cross on top, but
this custom has been dropped in many churches where deacons
serve bareheaded.
Cape
The cape (Arabic, burnus) is a liturgical outer vestment in the
form of a loose sleeveless cloak made of linen or silk and
embroidered with crosses or other religious inscriptions. It is worn
by priests and bishops, the latter having a shield-shaped section
attached at the back, studded with precious stones.

Epitrachelion
The epitrachelion is a liturgical vestment worn by priests and
bishops over the sticharion (see below). It is a rectangular band of
silk or cotton that measures about six feet by nine inches and is
embroidered with crosses or, if worn by a patriarch or bishop, with
the figures of the twelve apostles. It has an opening for the head,
allowing a small section of it to hang down the back while the
remainder reaches down in front to the feet.
The wearing of the epitrachelion is a symbolic allusion to the
words of the Psalmist that form part of a hymn chanted by the
deacons in the presence of the patriarch when he is thus robed:
"Praised be God who has poured His grace upon His priests, like the
precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the
beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes" (Ps. 133:2-
3). It also signified the act of carrying the cross and assuming the
yoke of responsibility on behalf of the congregation.

Girdle
The girdle is a band of silk or linen embroidered with golden or
silver crosses. Its use is nowadays restricted to bishops on certain
ceremonial occasions, though in the past, it formed part of the
liturgical vestments of priests and bishop alike. It is worn over the
epitrachelion around the waist, with its two ends held together by
means of a silver clasp.
The girdle stands for the concept of virtue and piety:
"Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist and faithfulness the
girdle of his loins" (Is. 11:5). It also symbolizes vigilance and
watchfulness: "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning"
(Lk. 12:35). It is associated with the leather girdle that John the
Baptist wore round the waist (Mt. 3:4) and with Saint John's vision
of Christ "clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round
his breast" (Rev. 1:13).
As a liturgical vestment, the girdle was first introduced by the
Coptic church. "The use of the girdle in the Coptic Church is more
ancient than in the churches of western Christendom," wrote A. J.
Butler (1884, Vol. 2, p. 126), who in some churches in Old Cairo
had seen fine examples that date back to the eighth century.
As a monastic vestment, the girdle is still an essential part of a
monk's garments, made of leather to follow the example of the
Baptist and of Saint Antony the Great, the Father of Monks.

Miter
Known in Arabic as taj, the miter, or crown, is a bulbous
headdress ornamented with silver or gold and surmounted by a
cross. It may also be studded with gems and decorated with the
figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the apostles.
The miter is worn by the patriarch and the bishops during the
liturgy and in ceremonial processions. It is one of the insignia that,
according to the Rite of Consecration of the Patriarch of Alexandria,
is bestowed upon the selected patriarch by the senior bishop, the
metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East, while the deacons
sing, "The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty" (Ps. 93:1) and "Thou
settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of Thee, and
Thou givest it him" (Ps. 21:3-4). Here the bishops, with the
exception of the metropolitan of Jerusalem, remove their own miters
and cover their heads with the omophorion (see below).

Omophorion
This vestment, referred to as the "white ballin" in the ordination
service of bishops, is a silk scarf about 13 feet (4 m) long and 4 feet
(1.25 m) wide, embroidered with large golden or silver crosses, and
sometimes ornamented with precious stones.
 It may also be worn at the liturgy, on top of the turban, instead
of the burnus-hood, and folded crosswise on the chest and the back.
As a garment, the omophorion symbolizes the breastplate of faith (1
Thes. 5:8), the crown of thorns placed on Christ's head, and the
napkin brought by Nicodemus to the burial of Christ.

Orarion
The orarion is a strip of silk or cotton material measuring about
10 feet (3 m) by 6 inches (15 cm) and embroidered with crosses or
IC (the first two letters of the name of Jesus Christ). It is worn by
deacons over the sticharion (see below). The center section of the
strip is held under the right arm and passed upward to the left
shoulder across the breast and then allowed to hang down loosely to
the feet in front and the back.
Though now commonly used by all ranks of the diaconate (i.e.,
readers, subdeacons, and deacons), the orarion was originally
restricted to deacons alone. According to canon 22 of the Synod of
Laodicea (343-381), "the subdeacon has no right to wear an
orarion"; similarly, canon 23 says that "the anagnosts [readers or
lectors] and psalts [cantors] have no right to wear oraria and thus
read or chant." The Coptic church, however, rarely enforced this
prohibition, and the orarion forms an essential part of all deacons'
vestments, the only difference being that now the lower ranks of the
diaconate, among them teenagers, wear it with a horizontal section
in the front (in the form of an H) and crossed on the back (in the
form of an X).
In the ordination service of a deacon, the officiating bishop,
having read the prayers at the altar on behalf of the candidate, turns
to the west and places the orarion on the candidate's left shoulder,
saying, "Glory and honor to the Holy Consubstantial Trinity."

Sleeves
Sleeves are made of the same material as the epitrachelion and
are worn over the sleeves of the sticharion (see below) and fastened
with loops and buttons. Although they form part of the liturgical
vestments of patriarchs, bishops, and priests, sleeves are now
reserved for ceremonial occasions. They are embroidered with braid
crosses or studded with gems, and may also have embroidered
biblical inscriptions, such as "The right hand of the Lord is exalted:
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly" (Ps. 118:16) on the right
sleeve and "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me; give me
understanding that I may learn thy commandments" (Ps. 119:73) on
the left.
The use of sleeves as part of sacerdotal dress may have
originated in the Coptic church, from which it later spread to other
Eastern and Western churches—a fact for which there is the
testimony of A. J. Butler: "Unless we take refuge in the theory of a
quite independent origin for this peculiar priestly ornament in the
eastern churches and in the Church of Gaul, we are driven to the
conclusion that epimanikia [sleeves] were brought from the East—
perhaps by some colony of Egyptian monks, such as we know came
over to Gaul and to Ireland in the earliest Christian times—and were
deliberately adopted by the Gallic clergy. If this idea of eastern
influence be correct, it is not merely curious when taken in
connection with other tokens of the same influence in the early
British and Irish Churches; but it furnishes also an argument for the
extreme antiquity of the Coptic sleeves as a sacred vestment" (1884,
Vol. 2, pp. 171-72).
The same author expressed particular admiration for a pair of
sleeves at the Church of Abu Kir wa Yuhanna "made of crimson
velvet and richly embroidered with stars and crosses wrought in
massive thread of silver. . . . Round either end runs a double border
enclosing designs, and while one sleeve is ornamented with a
representation of the Virgin Mary and her Son, the other has a figure
of an angel with outspread wings. Nothing can exceed the fineness
of the needlework and the delicacy of the colours in which these
figures are embroidered" (1884, Vol. 2, pp. 166-67).

Slippers
According to Ibn al-‘Assal's Kitab al-Qawanin (1927, p. 121),
which sets down the provisions of Coptic ritual, shoes are not
allowed inside the sanctuary as a sign of respect for its sanctity and
as an implied expression of an inner feeling of security and absence
of danger in the house of God; thus, the footwear used by bishops,
priests, and deacons is a pair of slippers, made of cotton, wool, or
knitted material. The custom of removing the shoes upon entering
the church building itself, not merely the sanctuary, was a common
practice down to the end of the nineteenth century and may still be
observed in the villages of Upper Egypt and, of course, in
monasteries. This is done in obedience to God's commandment to
Moses (Ex. 3:5) and to Joshua, the son of Nun (Jos. 5:15).

Sticharion
The sticharion is a long-sleeved linen vestment. In his
compendium of church ordinance, Ibn al-‘Assal enjoined that the
sticharion must be white, not colored, and must reach down to the
ankles (1927, chap. 12). It has an opening on one or both shoulders,
with buttons and loops. It is worn by various orders of the clergy
from bishops down to subdeacons (the higher the rank, the more
ornate the embroidery) and is usually adorned with crosses on the
front, back, and sleeves. In the past, some sticharia were ornamented
with the figure of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus on her
left arm, and, below, the figure of Saint George slaying the dragon.
Other sticharia had embroidered crosses surrounded with the name
of Jesus Christ and some verses from the Gospels and, on each
sleeve, an angel with outspread wings. As an expression of the
majesty of the Blessed Sacrament, some bishops wear sticharia set
with gems or, following an Old Testament tradition, have small bells
attached to the sleeves.
It is probable that the term sticharion originally meant a dress
used in everyday life. SOZOMEN, who mentioned in his writings
that one of the charges brought against ATHANASIUS I by the
Arians was that he had required the Egyptians to furnish
contributions of linen sticharia, described them as chitonion linon
phoron: "Accordingly, came the first indictment that he had
imposed upon the Egyptian a tax on linen tunics" (1864, 2.22;
Socrates, 1864, 1.27; Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, 1880, Vol.
2, pp. 1933-34).
When a priest or deacon puts on the sticharion to celebrate the
liturgy, he is to recite Psalm 30 ("I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou
hast drawn me up, and hast not let my foes rejoice over me") and
Psalm 93 ("The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty").

Taylasan
The taylasan, or shamlah, is a shawllike strip of white linen or
silk, usually embroidered with crosses, worn by priests over the
head and shoulders.
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ARCHBISHOP BASILIOS