Omophorion

In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition, the omophorion (Ancient Greek: ὠμοφόριον, meaning "[something] borne on the shoulders"; Slavonic: омофоръ, omofor) is the distinguishing vestment of a bishop and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority. Originally woven of wool, it is a band of brocade decorated with four crosses and an eight-pointed star; it is worn about the neck and 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. All Eastern Orthodox bishops wear the omophorion. Clergy and ecclesiastical institutions, including seminaries, subject to a bishop's authority are often said to be "under his omophorion" (see Ecclesiastical jurisdiction).

The equivalent vestment in Western Christian usage is the archiepiscopal pallium, the use of which is subject to different rubrics and restrictions.

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 a little past the waist. 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.

Whenever the bishop presides at any divine service, he 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 vestments. 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. 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 modern practice in the Slavic tradition, 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, with all bishops wearing their mitres. In modern Greek Patriarchal practice, on the other hand, all concelebrating bishops wear the great omophorion at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, with only the chief celebrant wearing the mitre and the other bishops wearing their kalimavkia with the Epanokalimavkion. In other local Churches, notably the Church of Greece, all concelebrating bishops wear both the great omophorion and the mitre, and even carry their staffs.

In the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, often only the great omophorion is used. In this simplified usage, the great omophorion is not replaced by the small omophorion, and is worn by the bishop throughout the entire liturgy. In such cases, the omophorion is often sewn into shape and can be simply draped onto the shoulders rather than wrapped on by assistants. Some Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops, however, insist on the full ceremonial.