Vestments in icons

[Patrick Walsh]

Hello

I have wondered about the vestments the church fathers wear, They seem to be magnificently attired in white vestments with different patterns of crosses on them, or in other colors. But in general, if you know the pattern associated with a Father, you can recognize his icon from a distance.

The new saints, St. John (Kronstadt), St. John (Shanghia & San Francidco), and so on, do not seem to have these unique vestments.

So I am wondering what the tradition is, perhaps this is something in the Byzantine tradition which is not in the Russian tradition.

Can anyone give a brief explanation?

Thanks
Patrick

[Theopesta]

I wait the response,

but as I think that: all the churches that confess with the preisthood take this tradation from the old testament as AaRON (ex28: 2, 3)

the incarnated christ not abolish the preisthood but change its kind so the preists still wear the vestments of bueaty and glory honouring to the sacrament and to the sanctuary and the presence of the Majesty of the holy god, also, I think honouring the preist himself as being represent the god in the church, not to be pride over others

some simple people feel the priesthood or monsticism is just the distinguish closes with their external honouring

may be I misunderstand something I will blessed with corrections

[Olga]

St John of Kronstadt (+1908) and St John of Shanghai and San Francisco (+1966) are examples of 20th century saints, who are depicted in their icons in their appropriate vestments to their rank. St John of Kronstadt was a priest, so he wears the distinctive Slavic phelonion which rises at the back of the neck (compared to the Greek phelonion which sits on the shoulders). St John of SF rose to the rank of Archbishop, which entitled him to wear the purple bishop's mantia decorated with the square embroidered panels at the neckline and the lower hem. He has also been depicted in some icons in his bishop's liturgical vestments, which differ from a priest's, including in that the loose tunic called the sakkos is worn instead of the priest's phelonion, and, of course, he wears the long strip called the omophorion over his shoulders and across his body ("that which is borne on the shoulders", hence the name of this vestment). The omophorion is the symbol of episcopal authority, as the epitracheilion the symbol of priestly authority.

In earlier centuries, however, hierarchs wore the phelonion, not the sakkos, though still with the omophorion which distinguished them from priests. This is why early saints of episcopal rank are shown in their icons wearing vestments that are similar to a priest's. The patterns and colours used in the vestments in icons of these saints is less important in their recognition, it is safer to look at their faces to work out who they are if the inscription is indistinct.