Icon of St Olympiada

[Robert Hegwood]

I've recently seen an icon of the holy deaconess St. Olypiada. She is shown wearing what appears to be an epihtrachelion. Can anyone explain this?

Is it an epitrachelion, an orarion worn in a way we are no longer used to seeing, another special vestment for deaconesses or senior deaconesses or is it a technical error in her depiction on the icon or something else?

The following is a link to another forum which has a nice color icon of her in the thread.
http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,13029.new.html#new

thanks

[M.C. Steenberg]

Is this the icon you were thinking of?

http://westernorthodoxy.org/images/synod/stolympias.jpg

Because, if so, that is not an epitrachil, but part of the garment itself.

INXC, Fr Dcn Matthew

[Robert Hegwood]

Yes it is Fr. Deacon.

You say it is part of the garment itself...but if I look at the icon closely the middle vertical part seems to overlay the "gown" part as if it were a separate piece. Artistically it seems to be handled much like an item of liturgical vesture. Indeed, in some ways it seems more akin to a bishop's wrap around omiphor than an epitrachelion which splits in the middle...of course it can't be an omiphor, I know.

Anyway if it is a part of her regular clothing, it is a very courious liturgical looking part of it....at least to me.