Priestly vestments are vestments worn by priests when they perform divine services and the sacraments. They remind them of their duties and are given to them at their ordination. Wearing them is very important because the vestment, in general, symbolizes the spiritual personality of the minister of the sacraments. When a priest wears special vestments in preparation for divine service, he is thereby indicating that his ordinary personality has been obscured and is no longer important, but has made way for a new personality, that of the minister of the sacraments. The priest who performs the divine service is no longer in our view the man we meet daily. He is now the living instrument established by the Holy Spirit to serve the glorious sacraments, which he uses - despite his unworthiness - to spread the grace of the Lord in the Church.
فارتداء الألبسة الكهنوتية يعني أن الكاهن، رغم جهله، وخطاياه التي هي موضوع حساب بينه وبين الله، يمكنه أن يتمم الأسرار الإلهية لأن متمم الأسرار الحقيقي هو الرب يسوع المسيح نفسه الذي هو “الكاهن إلى الأبد” (مز4:110) (عب6:5). وهو يفعل ذلك من خلال الكاهن. والثياب الكهنوتية زاهية الألوان موشاة بالذهب والفضة للدلالة على أن خادم الأسرار المقدسة يقترب من مجد الملكوت الإلهي بصفته وسيطاً بين الله والشعب.
The Church uses bright and varied colors. White represents the redemption by the blood of the Savior and is worn on the feasts of the martyrs and the funeral of Christ. Blue represents purity and holiness and is worn on the feast of Epiphany, the feasts of the Virgin Mary and the righteous saints. Green symbolizes spiritual growth and prosperity with the coming of the Savior. Green is worn on the Nativity Fast and the feasts of the prophets and righteous people of the Old Testament. Gold represents the glory and light experienced by the saints and hermits. It is worn on the feasts of the Lord, such as the Entry, and on the feasts of the righteous hermits and high priests. Purple is the official color of sorrow and therefore dominates the priests’ clothing during the blessed forty-day fast.
We decorate the priestly garments in general and sometimes with pictures of the Lord or Lady or with pictures of the Lord’s feasts to express the joy of the feast and to honor the glorified Lord through the arts used in drawing, music, and hymns, as well as in the decoration of the garments of His servants, indicating the glory that God gives to His servants so that they may serve others and be glorified also by the glory of the Lord.
Types of clothing:
Priestly vestments are divided into three types:
Special clothing for priests: There are six of them: the stichera, the stole, the belt, the sleeves, the stone, and the aphlonia.
The bishop has special clothing: there are twelve pieces of it, which are the stichera, the stole, the belt, the sakkos, the stone, the omophorion, the cross, the anaclibion, the mante, the crown, and the pastoral staff.
In general, the clothes are consecrated by prayer and sprinkling them with holy water. Before wearing them, the priest blesses them by making the sign of the cross, reciting a verse from the Psalms in general, and by praying in a special way.
- Istikhara:
It is a long shirt that falls to the feet and indicates the purity that the priest must possess and maintain in his life. It symbolizes the shiny garment that King Herod put on Christ and sent to Pilate as a mockery (Luke 23:11) or the woven shirt that the soldiers took off Christ when he was crucified (John 23:14). It is the garment of joy and the garment of salvation.
عند ارتدائها يقول الكاهن: “تبتهج نفسي بالررب فإنه ألبسني ثوب الخلاص وسربلني حلّة السرور وجمّلني بتاج كعريس ومثل عروسٍ زينني تزينا” (اس10:61). - The belt (the auraryon):
قطعة نسيج طويلة تشبه الزنار وعليها صلبان صغيرة أو كتابة “قدوس قدوس قدوس” يلبسه الشماس على كتفه اليسار ويمثل لنا أجنحة الملائكة. لأن خدمة الشماس كخدمة الملائكة.
أما الكاهن والأسقف فيتمنطقان بالزنار وعندئذ يشير إلى العفاف اللازم لمن تمنطق به ويرمز أيضاً إلى السياط التي جلد بها المخلص. يشد الكاهن والأسقف حقويه بالزنار متهيأ للقيام بالخدمة المقدسة الإلهية بكل ضبط لشهواته ولذلك هو يرمز إلى القوة التي تمنطق بها السيد في ملكوته بحسب الرؤيا. يقول الكاهن والأسقف حين التمنطق بالزنار: “تبارك الله الذي يمنطقني بالقوة ويجعل طريقي بلا عيب مقوماً رجليّ كالأيائل ورافعاً إيايّ على المعالي” (حب19:3). - Sleeves:
Two broad pieces of cloth with two small crosses on them. The violin covers the arms of a deacon or the ends of the sceptre of a priest or bishop. It signifies the spiritual weapons necessary for the wearer in his spiritual struggle against the devil and the opposition he incites against him, as well as the bonds that bound the hands of the Savior during His passion.
الأكمام تغطي طرفي استيخارة الكاهن أو الأسقف فيسهلان حركاته وحين ارتدائها يقال على الكم اليمين: “يمينك يا رب تمجدت بالقوة، يدك اليمنى سحقت الأعداء وبكثرة مجدك حطمت مقاوميك” وعلى اليد اليسرى: “يداك صنعتاني وجبلتاني فهمني فأتعلم وصاياك” (مز73:118). - The Batarshil:
قطعة نسيج طويلة وعريضة يلبسها الكاهن أو الأسقف على العنق وتتدلى على الصدر وينتهي إلى الأسفل بشراريب والبطرشيل يدل على النعمة الإلهية المستقرة على لابسه ويشير إلى تحمل الأسقف أو الكاهن مسؤولية الرعية . وبدونه لا يستطيع الكاهن القيام بأية خدمة كنسية. وحين ارتداءه يقال: “تبارك الله الذي يسكب نعمته على كهنته كالأطياب على الرأس النازلة على اللحية لحية هارون النازل على جيب قميصه”. (مز2:132). - Stone:
A square piece of cloth with a cross or a picture of a saint in the middle, placed by bishops and priests on the right side, and indicating the virtues of courage, honesty, meekness, and truth that the priest should possess when offering the divine sacrifice.
The stone symbolizes the victory of Christ over death, His glory and power, since He has no partnership with sin.
It also symbolizes the spiritual sword that the priest and bishop must carry, and this sword is teaching, preaching, and uprightness of opinion. It is the sword of truth that is always drawn against the evil one.
It is worn by the bishop and by the priests whom the bishop entrusts with the responsibility of performing the sacrament of confession as spiritual fathers.
يقول الكاهن عند لبسه الحجر: “تقلّد سيفك على فخذك أيها القوي بحسنك وجمالك، واستله وانجح واملك في سبيل الحق والدعة والخير فتهديك يمينك هدياً عجيباً”(مز3:44). - Avalonian:
A wide, round robe (meslah) with an opening at the top. It is worn through which the priest’s head is placed, and the aponeur covers the priest’s body.
It symbolizes the purple robe that the Roman soldiers mocked our Lord Jesus Christ with during his sufferings, and it symbolizes the grace of the Lord that is established by the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and their successors.
The priest wears it with the stole when performing all the holy mysteries and when performing the isodun (entrance) in the evening prayers as well as in the festive evening prayer (when consecrating the five loaves).
إنها وشاح المجد والطهارة والقداسة التي يسكبها الرب على خدامه. يقول الكاهن عند لبسها: “كهنتك يا رب يلبسون البر وأبرارك يبتهجون ابتهاجاً”. (مز9:131). - The sakous:
رداء الأسقف: هو قميص واسع قصير وعريض الكمين ومشقوق الطرفين يجمع طرفيه بجلاجل ويرمز إلى قميص المخلص الذي اقترع عليه الجند ساعة صلب السيد ويرمز إلى عبادة الله الصانعة الصالحات التي تستر مرتديه وتكتنفه من كل الجهات يقول الأسقف عند لبسه: “رؤساء كهنتك يارب يلبسون البر وأبرارك يبتهجون ابتهاجاً”(مز9:131) - Amophorion:
Shoulder vestment: a rectangular piece of cloth worn by the bishop only on his shoulders and around his neck over the saxophone. It represents the lost sheep that Christ searched for and when he found it, he carried it on his shoulders with great joy and added it to the ninety-nine. It also symbolizes the wood of the cross that Christ carried on his shoulders, which is why it was woven from wool.
يقول الأسقف عند ارتداء الأموفوريون: “لقد حملت على منكبيك طبيعتنا الضالة أيها المسيح المسيح، ولما صعدت قدمتها إلى الآب”.
There is a small omophorion that the bishop places instead of the large one in the Divine Liturgy after the Gospel, and he also wears it with the stole in various services. - Encolpion:
أيقونة السيد أو السيدة أو أحد القديسين مرصعة بالحجارة الكريمة يعلقها الأسقف على صدره دلالة الإيمان القويم من كل قلبه يقول عند تعليقها: “قلباً نقياً أُخلق فيّ يا الله وروحاً مستقيماً جدّد في أحشائي” (مز50: 10).
The encolpion indicates the importance of its bearer and his eligibility for service, and that the bishop confesses from his heart the right faith. - cross:
يتدلى صليب من معدن ثمين مرصع من على الرقبة تمثلاً يقول: “من أراد أن يتبعني فليكفر بنفسه ويحمل صليبه ويتبعني” (مرقس8: 34) يلبسه الأسقف وأصحاب الرتب الكنائسية. - The crown:
The head ornament is round, decorated with lace and holy icons, and topped with a cross, worn by the bishop in church celebrations and in the fulfillment of all the holy mysteries. It indicates the crown of thorns that was placed on the head of the King of Angels and refers to the turban that Aaron and the chief priests wore in the Old Testament according to the command of Moses (Exodus 39:3, 31).
The bishop wearing the crown means that by assuming the duties of the parish, he will, by God’s grace, reach the crown of glory and victory.
يقول الشماس حين يلبسه التاج: “جعلت على رأسه اكليلاً من حجارة كريمة، حياةً سألك فأعطيته طول الأيام” (مز20: 3-4). - Crutch:
- Pastoral staff: A long metal or wooden staff topped with two whales with a small cross in the middle, showing the pastoral rights and spiritual authority of the bishop. It refers to the staff of Moses that turned into a serpent and devoured the priests of Pharaoh. It also refers to the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness.
يدفعها الشماس إلى الأسقف ويقول: “عصا قوة يرسل لك الرب من صهيون فتسود فيما بين أعدائك” “عصاك وعكازك هما يعزيانني”.
On the one hand, he draws inspiration from the Lord’s sufferings and guidance and relies on Him. On the other hand, with the Lord’s rod, he disciplines and governs the church. - The mantet:
A wide, long, red or purple robe with bells attached to the front ends, decorated with two icons on the chest and embroidery in the lower corners. It is worn by the bishop during ceremonies as the teacher of the church, and by the heads of large monasteries as the teachers and fathers of the monks. It was originally a monastic garment that moved to the city with the bishop.
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