www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Meaning of the exchange bet. the small omophorion and the great

What is the meaning of the exchange between the small omophorion and the great one the bishop does during the Divine Liturgy?

Anyone?

I believe that it is purely practical. The full omophorion is too cumbersome to be used at certain points in the Divine Liturgy.

From Orthodox Wiki:

In the Orthodox liturgical tradition, the omophorion is one of the bishop's vestments and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority. Originally of wool, it is a band of brocade decorated with crosses and is worn about the neck and around the shoulders. 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.

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

When the rubrics call for the omophorion to be removed and replaced frequently, the standard great omophorion is replaced for the sake of convenience with the small omophorion, a shorter band worn after the manner of an epitrachelion. 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. [Italics mine]

The equivalent of the omophorion in the Church of Rome is called the pallium.

Retrieved from "http://orthodoxwiki.org/Omophorion"

Fr David Straut

Father David:

Father bless!!

I asked once before when this custom was introduced and no one seemed to know. The reason I asked was that the Greek Catholics use the greater omofor throughout the DL--though it is sewn together in the manner of the Latin pallium. Some GC bishops now have begun to use the Orthodox custom of using both, but some still use the single, greater form.

Perhaps Father Archimandrite Serge might know more about this. Father Serge?

Asking for your blessing and continued holy prayers,

BOB

Dear Bob,

May the Lord bless!

I do not know about the times and place of the change, though I do seem to have a dim recollection that this was one of the changes introduced into the Russian Church to imitate contempory Greek practise which precipitated the Old Ritualist Schism. I could certainly not be remembering this correctly. As always, I defer to Fr Serge whose knowledge of things liturgical is greater than mine.

That is interesting about the Greek Catholic practise. Perhaps it is one of those similarities of practise they have with the Old Believers.

Yours in Christ,

Fr David Straut

In the Melkite Church, the bishop wears the greater omophorion when celebrating a pontifical Divine Liturgy, or to put it another way, when he wears the stikharion.

The lesser omophorion is thus worn over the rason directly, or under the mantiya for other ceremonies.

At least that seems to be the pattern I see, when assisting our bishop to vest.

The Omophorion is only ever worn outside the garments. It is always visible.

Dear Matta,

I'm pretty sure that the Bishop wears a sticharion like a priest (relatively unadorned, usually white) over his cassock and under all the rest of his vestments for the Divine Liturgy. So do you mean the sakkos (a vestment unique to the Bishop, kind of like a short deacon's sticharion) rather than the sticharion proper?

Fr David Straut

The Bishop's sticharion (Russian podsakkosnik) is very similar to a priest's sticharion, but not entirely identical -the difference is in the number of rounds of fringe, believe it or not. Two for the priest;three for the Bishop.

I'll have to check on the Old-Rite usage for the times of changing the omophoria - will try to do so and report back.

Fr. Serge

Some Old Rite bishops historically did not make use of the small omophorion.

Fr David,

I meant for other ceremonies--outside the Divine Liturgy--e.g. when a bishop celebrates a wedding ceremony. He does not wear the stikharion, just the rason, over which is worn the lesser omophorion and the mantiya.

I see. Thanks!

Fr David

The epitrachelion is worn over the rason and the omphorion over the episcopal mandiyas.